Velbon Videomate-538 Video Tripod Height 161 cm Black

I haven't had this long at all, but have already put it to some good use. I didn't know what to expect as the price was quite low for a tripod with a fluid head. I have read many comments saying it is not a true fluid head, but for me that technical point doesn't really matter as it does give a very smooth pan and tilt action. I will still find it hard to dispense with the heavy-duty rubber band use to pull the handle, but that is more down to habit than any shortcomings with the fluid head itself.There are quite a number of plastic parts on the tripod, but that doesn't detract from the quality feel of it. The tripod certainly seems sturdy and the legs do give a good spread and hold my DSLR with telephoto very well.There are thumb screws on the head to enable it to be locked off on position which works well, although they could do with a more positive action, but this is a minor issue and maybe me not being fully used to it yet. There is also a small bubble level built into the tripod to enable it to be positioned horizontally. The adjustable height slider has a nice smooth action too, and this can also be locked off.EDIT - I have had three of these tripods now. The first one ended up with a broken leg clamp, so the leg wouldn't lock in position. Fortunately, I returned it within the one-year time frame and Amazon replaced it. The second tripod, was bought to match the first so I could mount a motorised slider on them both, and it works fine still. The replacement for the first tripod has now failed again, exactly on the plastic leg lock too. The tripods are great, but probably not up to sustain hard use. I have now replaced all my video and DSLR camera mounts etc with the Swiss/Arca system so have full compatibility with all my cameras and fluid heads. I now have twist-lock Carbon fibre tripods and the remaining Velbon is relegated to the cupboard as a spare.

This is just perfect for those people who sit in that little gap between amateur and professional filmers. It is both lightweight and sturdy with just the right amount of taughtness and fluidity to allow a decent "pan" when filming. The spirit level is such a big help and the quick release head means you can have tripod up and the camera out and working within seconds.The fact that it is so lightweight means you can attach it to your rucksack and take up to the top of Place Fell without the weight troubling you...and capture those amazing views over Patterdale without having to anchor yourself to a rock due to the wind!

Great tripod but would be nice if the head was removable but obviously for the price it is expected.

Tilt up / down - yes, this works. Excellent.Pan side to side - works, but very, very stiff - far too stiff to be useful. Loosening the knob has no effect.Up / down gear - doesn't work at all. Rigid, Immovable.have ordered replacement but not hopeful.

Bought this but have only used it a handful of times. It's very light and very sturdy, which proved itself one evening during strong winds. However it's now showing signs of wear and considering I've not used it much I'm a little disappointed.The rotating head is now stiff. There's a circular piece of plastic at the base of the arm, this has now started to break off - probably linked to the rotation sticking.There is also a vertical extending arm to the tripod but I really wouldn't advise using it. The recommended loading weight is 2kg and my camera is 1.7kg, the arm cannot support it. When using the crank to move it up/down the movement isn't smooth and keeping control of the movement is incredibly difficult because it wants to just shoot straight down. I also extended the arm and tightened the nut on it to stop it being cranked up/down. It held the camera up for a few seconds before shooting straight back down - not great if you've got some expensive kit!

I bought this tripod more than 1 year ago and I can say it's an amazing product, solid and professional. Absolutely pleased with my purchase.

A great tripod. A very practical size, light, easy to move around when the legs are spread out. It pans & tilts very smoothly, has it's own bubble level and comes complete with a case. I use it for wildlife photography/video, solar & planetary astronomy. If you want to get up & go and when you get there set up & look this is ideal.

I bought this Videomate 538 tripod as an up-to-date replacement for the long discontinued DV6000 tripod. The 538 is very similar, with an identical head, but that's where the similarity ends. The quality of materials is inferior with more use of plastics, thus making the unit lighter and less stable. As with most Velbon heads, the pan movement was too tight, causing the tripod to topple when panning. This was overcome to some extent by removing the logo disc and loosening the pan tension screw (with a screwdriver) by half a turn. I'll keep this tripod for use with lightweight Flip camcorders, but have since managed to source from Amazon a couple of new DV6000 tripods, which will be used with Handycam-size camcorders. At just under £100 each, the extra is well worth it compared to the cheaper Videomate 538 and a lot lighter to use than the DV7000.

La livraison du trépied fut très rapide. Le trépied est livré dans une sacoche pour le transport. Le produit est de bonne qualité, les materiaux sont solides, et le tout reste plutôt léger. Je fais du spotting d'avion et j'ai pu constater les performances de ce trépied. La tête est très fluide et permet de faire des mouvements rapides sans saccades apparentes. Il faudra neanmoins penser a tenir le trepied a sa base si vous comptez faire des mouvements pour suivre des mouvements très très rapide comme le passage d'un avion de chasse car le trépied devient légèrement instable ce qui est normal pour ce prix. J'utilise une caméra Panasonic hc-vx870 et cela est parfait pour mon utilisation. Je recommande ce produit.

Me decidi por este trípode por el precio, estuve entre este o el 638, 10 cm mas alto. recomiendo totalmente este ya que tiene altura de sobra y es bastante mas barato que el 638. El trípode es fuerte y el cabezal es de muy buena calidad y muy fluido. Es muy fácil de manejar y transmite seguridad al no tambalearse. La mayor pega es que cuesta un poco desplegarlo y hay que hacer un poco de fuerza pero por lo demás es el mejor trípode que se puede encontrar por este precio e incluso mejor que algunos mas caros. Es sin duda la mejor opción.

Hallo!Vorerst: ich habe besagtes Stativ als "Warehouse-Deal" für 35€ bekommen und mich demnach sehr darauf gefreut! Der Zustand ist 1A. Trotz der Angabe "gebraucht", sind lediglich Schäden an der Packung zu finden, wenn auch nicht viele. Zu dem Stativ wird zudem eine praktische und hochwertige Tragetasche geliefert, was ebenfalls sehr positiv hervorzuheben ist.Aber nun zum Stativ. Was mir direkt aufgefallen ist, ist dass der Kopf nicht abnehmbar ist. Das ist nicht weiter schlimm, könnte aber für manche ein Kritikpunkt sein. Die Höhe ist angenehm und auch mit ausgefahrener Mittelsäule steht das Stativ noch recht stabil.Die Beine sind zudem auch sehr gut aus Metall verarbeitet, lediglich die Scharniere oben sind aus robustem Plastik gefertigt (ebenso wie die Spinne). Der Fluid-Head wirkt sehr professionell. Man bekommt mit etwas Geduld sauberste Schwenks hin. Bereits am ersten Tag enstanden folgende Aufnahmen (Verlinkung zu meinem YouTube-Video): [...]Gefilmt wurde hier übrigens mit einer Canon EOS 550D auf der ein 50mm f/1.8 sowie das Kit-Objektiv verwendet wurde.Am zweiten tag kam ich dank Full HD und der Verwendung des 50mm Objektives auf erstaunliche Ergebnisse.Natürlich sind die aufnahmen bearbeitet, jedoch wurde keine Stabilisierung verwendet. Korrigiert wurde mit den Farbkurven, der 3-Wege-Korrektur, der Helligkeits-und Kontrast Korrektur sowie der digitalen Nachschärfung (in beiden Videos).Dabei kam das heraus: [...]Ich empfehle dieses Stativ uneingeschränkt an jeden der eine kostengünstige Methode für schöne Aufnahmen sucht und sein Auge für cinematische Aufnahmen schulen möchte.An sich existieren keinen Mängel und man kann bedenkenlos zugreifen!

Ero alla ricerca di un cavaletto con testa video che non costasse molto. Alla fino ho scelto il Velbon Videomate 538 perchè mi sembrava un buon compromesso, altezza buona, testa per video, bolla, struttura solida e peso non eccessivo per il trasporto.La testa è sufficientemente fluida per il tilt, mentre il pan è molto duro. Durante il movimento di pan il cavalletto si "storge" perchè la testa fa molto attrito, anche tenendo ben saldo con una mano il treppiede, si fa fatica e rendere il movimento fluido soprattutto in fase di partenza. L'asta verticale sottostante la testa funge da regolazione per la durezza del pan, ma sembra non funzionare, ruotandola nei due sensi non si nota nessun indurimento o alleggerimento della testa. Forse con il tempo e l'utilizzo, la testa si ammorbidirà, ma rimane sempre l'asta di regolazione che sembra non funzionare a dovere. Un altro difetto migliorabile è la stella dei piedi, l'anello di giunzione dei tre perni scorre liberamente sull'asta centrale e non ha possibilità di blocco (non si può "avvitare" per bloccarla all'asta). Questo rende i piedi meno fermi e il cavalletto più instabile.Un vero peccato per questi difetti perchè il prodotto avrebbe notevoli potenzialità, ma va migliorato.Nel complesso per un utilizzo amatoriale va abbastanza bene.

Ich habe dieses Stativ gekauft, da ich besonders viel Wert auf sanfte Kameraschwenks lege. Aufgrund des integrierten Gelkopfs in diesem Stativ sind solche Schwenkt ohne weitere möglich.Das Stativ selbst ist relativ leicht, schnell aufzubauen und erfüllt alle meine Zwecke . Auch die Quickmount Platte funktioniert Hervorragend. Lediglich mehr Einstellungen für den Geklopft wären Wünschenswert um den Widerstand genauer anzugeben.