Product Description

A deluxe heavy-duty photo/video tripod with 3-way fluid panhead 3-section 27mm tubular aluminum legs Radial leg braces for maximum stability Quick side-lever leg locks & non-slip rubber tipped feet Maximum extended height - 63 Folded length - 24.3 Weight - 4lbs. Finish - Titanium bronze & black

Product Details

• Brand: Hakuba
• Model: CX-690
• Dimensions: 63.30" h x 1.05" w x 24.40" l, 3.83 pounds

Features

• Deluxe, heavy-duty dual tripod ideal for 35mm SLR cameras, digital cameras, and camcorders
• 3-way pan head with left-side, sure-grip pan/tilt control handle that offers easy access to camera
• Right-tilting, quick-release camera platform positions cameras vertically and horizontally
• Geared center column with preset friction control system; side-lever leg locks and rubber-tipped feet
• Adjusts as tall as 63 inches; folds down to 24.3 inches; weighs only 3.9 pounds

Amazon.com Product Description
The rugged Velbon CX-690 Deluxe is a full-featured tripod designed for use with all 35mm SLR cameras, digital cameras, and full-size video camcorders. Its key features include a large three-way fluid pan head, right-tilting quick-release platform, level bubble mounted on the body, an impressive full extension height of 63 inches, and a geared center column with preset friction control. The CX-690 is basically a heavy-duty version of the Velbon CX-570 with the same features incorporated into a larger overall body, including thicker legs and increased extension.

The CX-690 is for the serious user who wants extra stability even at extended heights along with easy all-around functioning. It features the biggest version of Velbon's unique three-way pan head combined with a large, bidirectional, right-tilting, quick-release platform (retractable camcorder alignment pin included). The sure-grip pan/tilt control handle is located on the left side to allow free access to the camera's controls from the right. The three-section tubular aluminum legs are equipped with braces, rubber-tipped feet, and big side-lever locks for fast and easy adjustments.

This hefty tripod weighs only 3.9 pounds and folds down to 24.3 inches.

Velbon Tripod has been in the business for 46 years.

Customer Reviews

Lightweight, but weak link is connection to equip
This is not my primary tripod. It is being used for binoculars while I'm out at the telescope and is probably light enough to carry in a backpack. Seems strudy enough, but it has shortcomings right at the most important link. The quick release shoe is a small plastic piece held into the tripod by a plastic cam. The 1/4"x20 screw that holds binocs (with binoc adapter) or camera or a small telescope is tightened by a tiny plastic knob from underneath the quick release shoe before the shoe is locked onto the tripod head using the cam. This tiny knob is too small to be tightened securely using fingers and you must use a coin, not a screw driver, to tighten it securely. It still comes loose. The lightest most compact, sturdiest tripod is no good if your equipment can't be attached securely and part way through a session swings loose and swivels to one side requireing releasing the shoe and retighteneing the screw. ...

Rugged? I don't think so!
I've been using this tripod for a 4-5 years infrequently. I love it's light weight and handy quick release. That weight comes at a cost. Once the crank handle snapped off because I forgot to collapse it before packing it away. Luckily I found the number for Velbon customer service who sent me a replacement with detailed instructions for free.

This month, after taking some family portraits, I was closing up the legs and one of the quick side-level leg locks broke, the leg extension slid out and little pieces of black plastic fell out of the hole. The clamp no longer worked and the leg no longer functions (it falls out or in). The legs and clamps are dependent on a tiny piece of plastic which is probably getting brittle after just a couple years.

Rugged is it not. Just because it can hold ~6kg/15lbs doesn't make it rugged. Nice quality otherwise? Yes, perhaps that's reflected in it's price? Maybe.. I'm without a tripod now trying to decide if I will be able to fix this or have to buy another. This review is actually for the cx-680 (with QB-5LC & PH-468) which is discontinued.

Hakuba USA handles distribution & customer service on these tripods and the two sample types of tripod service are the two problems I have had. No coincidence.

Great for what it is -- a light tripod
This tripod is great for what it is -- a very light weight, fairly sturdy tripod. Good for mobility. If you want good vibration damping, more sophisticated pan, tilt motion mechanism then you'll have to go much higher end and heavier. If you want quick, light and fairly good -- I recommend this tripod. One of the earlier reviewers (from 2001) complained about cheap plastic screws etc. That was true of older versions of this tripod -- the mount links are now made of metal.

I use this tripod for computer vision work where I have to collect data from many views. For that its great since I can move and readjust it rapidly. If I were hiking and doing nature photography where I moved a lot, I'd recommend this for the same reason. The tripod legs adjust by quick on/off clamps. The stem screws up and down -- you can also loosen the clamping screw and just yank it up and down for quick changes. There's a level on the tripod to keep it oriented. Despite how light this tripod is, it is better at damping out vibrations than several other cheap aluminum ones I've tried.

If you have a super high zoom lens on a high end camera, you probably need more damping than this tripod can provide for rapid shots. I used it for precise photometric vision and had to go to 2 step SLR shuttering: Lift the mirror, wait, open the shutter since the mirror lift caused enough shaking to be noticable. But that only occured at very high zooms (400x) on a very high end camera.