Dolica ZX600B103 Professional 60-Inch ZX Series Carbon Fiber Tripod with Ball Head and Carry Bag (Black)

For those of you reading this review, it will be fairly lengthy with plenty of photos. Scroll to the bottom for the "TLDR" aka short version of the review.I spent a number of days researching forums, reviews, online videos and much more in search for a tripod that wouldn't burn a hole in my wallet. I had exactly $200 to spend and I wanted a few things: A solid carbon fiber tripod, an L-Plate quick release for my Sony A6000, and a nodal slider for panoramas (I managed to successfully purchase all there with money left over). I'm by no means a professional and judging strictly on pricing, brand and recommendations was overwhelming. Things get confusing and complicated when you aren't sure what you need, should have, whether you should buy the best first or best later. I've had the chance to play with multi hundred dollar tripods recently and although I did not thoroughly assess them, for someone looking to have a tripod that is functional, well made, light and cheap the Dolica ZX600B103 will suit you well. Let's break it down.The tripod shipped in a nice box with a really nice bag. Honestly I was impressed with the bag because I was expecting something crappy but its actually pretty sturdy. I'm not sure if it will stand the test of time but either way, I didn't have a tripod bag coming into this and now I do. As for the tripod itself, everything is well crafted. It is strictly a tripod and does not have a leg that unscrews to function as a monopod. The mount and ball head are solid and I really like the markers at the base of the mount that allow you plot your degrees of horizontal rotation. The ball head stays in place well, is fairly smooth all around and comes with a quick release clamp and camera plate. The clamp has a quick release safety switch that prevents the plate/camera from sliding off accidentally. I simultaneously like and dislike this feature because it has already served its purpose when I wasn't too attentive. However, the safety mechanism adds a small bump to the mount that prevents you from easily using third party plates. More on the ball head and third party plates later.As mentioned in the specifications, there are two minor but handy features on the tripod: a small level and compass. It's a simple detail that really enhances its usability for me. The level has the obvious use of ensuring your setup is stable and lined up with the additional use of the ball head. The compass allows me to position the tripod in the appropriate direction relative to sunset or sunrise. If the day is overcast (or smoggy) the compass will help ensure you are prepared and oriented in the right direction if things clear up.Because I've never owned an expensive tripod I wasn't entirely sure how the locking mechanism of the legs functioned and pictures of the legs never really made things clear. For anyone in my position here's how simple it is: the legs have an L-shaped bracket/wedge that leans against three "steps" at varying angles. You simply reach behind the leg near the joint, push the bracket out to release, move the leg in the desired angle up or down, then "lock" the leg by pushing the bracket (pushing the Dolica logo on the leg) until it sets. I've uploaded photos of the mechanism in action.The legs lock in place really well, and even fully extended it seems pretty stable. The neck of tripod screws to lock your neck in place or unlocks to allow you to fully extend the neck to the tripod's maximum height of 60". I'm 5'9" and with the camera in place and tripod at full height the LCD screen is roughly eye level. Obviously with full extension of the legs and neck the tripod is not nearly as stable but luckily the bottom of the neck has a spring loaded hook that you can use to hang your backpack, groceries or anything heavy to provide more stability. The hook unscrews to allow you to completely remove the neck of the tripod and place it upside down. This naturally allows you to have your camera mounted closer to the ground to take close ups of whatever suits you fancy.The entire mount/ball head itself is easily removable in the event you want to upgrade to something better. I wasn't looking to upgrade just yet until I discovered my only real major fault with this tripod. The clamp is not truly arca swiss compatible so many of your additional camera plates may not fit properly with this clamp. With the L-Plate for my Sony A6000 the Dolica clamp does not close tight enough to hold my camera safely in place. But not to worry, you can simply spend a few bucks on a new clamp to place on top of your preexisting ball head right? Well maybe, maybe not. The clamp removes easily with an allen wrench but unfortunately the "neck" or mounting point of the ball head has two points that fit specifically with its own clamp. In addition, a replacement clamp may not have the proper screw thread size or height that allows it to sit flush once installed which is a real bummer.This is my only real point of contention with this tripod. I had a slight feeling there would be something about this tripod that would leave me wanting more and in the end it came down to the clamp and in part, the ball head. That is not to say that the tripod itself is not great. In fact, I really love this tripod. I've used it in multiple terrains and conditions already and the tripod has performed well. For anyone wanting a simple and affordable tripod (relative to known brands), I truly recommend it. Be warned that you'll more than likely have to purchase a new ball head that is arca compatible to fit your arca mount plates, unless you can modify the ball head to make a third party clamp fit.TLDR: Short VersionPROS- Well built- Pretty Stable- Very light and easy to pack- Perfect maximum height (for me 5'9")- Hook to hang your backpack to provide additional stability- Level and Compass on the base- Can mount camera upside down and take photos closer to the ground- Ball head and clamp works well if you don't plan on using other mounting plates- Ball head easily replaceableCONS- Clamp is not truly arca swiss (although to be fair the listing never claimed to be)- Guessing game for beginners as to whether or not you can easily replace the current clamp to an arca swiss clamp- Spring Hook that holds your backpack for stability came loose a few times (nothing super major but you have to make sure its fairly tight when traveling so you dont lose it)OVERALLI recommend this as a solid entry level tripod that will hopefully last you a long time. If you can find a tripod that is this cheap AND has an arca swiss clamp + plate I'd recommend you go with that if it has a similar feature set. Otherwise you'll have a great time using this tripod and can breath easy knowing the ball head is easily swapped for something better.

This tripod is GREAT!!!! There were some complaints about it not being stable enough. It is a small tripod. It won't be as stable as the larger ones but this light weight little bad a$$ was AWESOME for my two week trip throughout Europ. I took over 6000 photos while i was there. Some of them had 15-20 second exposures. If you know wat you're doing this it a great tripod. In fact, I just purchased a second one. I have been shooting professionally for over 15 years and started in photography over 25 years ago. I have a Manfrotto 058B for my commercial work it's a $500.00 tripod and weighs over 13lbs without a head, NOT a traveling tripod. I put a Canon EOS 5DMIII with a battery grip and a 24-105 lens with no problem! Use a timer and let the tripod settle before the shot and you won't have issues.There was a great warning about over tightening the leg supports. They just need a slight turn after you feel friction. I haven't had any issues but I'm not going to push it, there isn't any reason to. I have also but a large video head onto this tripod without any issues.My advice. If you're looking for a smaller, light weight, carbon fiber tripod. Grab this one!

This is one of my favorite tripods when I don't need a pan head. Either for photographer, or for video. I use this at weddings to film ceremonies as it's very lightweight compared to my big video tripods and it has enough weight capacity to hold a lot. I also don't need the pan/tilt at those, I need the portability this provides.The twist leg locks are better than Dolicas clip locks by a mile. So if you're thinking between the two, go twist. They're a lot more reliable and won't snap off at the worst possible moment (in most cases).As with all equipment of this type, you should make sure all the bolts and nuts and such are all tight before use. The foam on the legs is also a bit fragile and may in time fall off.The ball head is pretty good. We threw a manfroto ballhead on it as we needed the additional "sturdiness". I will tell you that the included ballhead is much nicer than typical Dolica ballheads.The carbon fiber doesn't make a huge difference in weight over my aluminum dolica. It is sturdier (stiffer) however to a small degree and it weighs a tiny tiny bit less. I believe the ballhead this one has is a bit heavier than the aluminum one...that, and aluminum isn't all that much heavier than CF anyway, esp in small amounts.The bag it comes with is pretty top notch compared to other photography/video equipment I've had. In fact, it's hte best I've had. You can JUST fit a manfrotto ballhead + these tripod legs in the case if you need to.Height is good for most run-and-gun type situations.It's more money, but if you're looking for a sturdier value-priced tripod. This may just fit the bill for you!

I purchased this tripod a few months ago and I have used it a lot since it arrived. It is very easy to set up and use. The bag is another story not long after the purchase I started noticing the bag was getting pinholes in it and starting to tear. So what I did was place the tripod in another tripod bag that was sitting in my garage and then placed it in the bag that came with it. Other then that I love this tripod and I would gladly purchase another one if needed.Update Jan 2016 I still have this tripod it is my go to lightweight tripod when I am out and about or travelling. But I recently loaned it out to a friend in Photo school and he somehow lost the pin and spring that is on the head which is used when you lock the camera in place. I was wondering if I could get a replacement pin and spring. If not that will give me an excuse to buy another or upgrade.

Excelente producto, es para profesionales, se les puede cambiar el cabezal y hacerlo para video, aunque así ya se puede colocar cámara de video. Estoy contento con mi compra. Buen precio.

Excelente reipie. Lo mejor que se puede comprar por este precio. Fibra de carbono y muy estable. Se puede invertir el tubo central para tomas cenitales.

Está bien echo, buena calidad, pero está un poco chaparrito, le faltan cómo 20 centímetros de altura se extiende total a full como 1:50 CM. La entrega perfecto muy rápido bien empacado sin golpes

Excelente Trípode para fotografía. Sobre todo si buscas uno que soporte una cámara, objetivo y flash que pesan más de 1.7kg.!

Great tripod, just as good as gitzo at a fraction of the cost.