Home > Consumer Reviews > Velbon El Carmagne 530 Carbon Fiber Tripod with Pan Head and Case

I bought this tripod for my Nikon D200 setup. I was using, till now, a cheap $20 tripod from Ritz. I must say, this is one heck of a sturdy tripod. I was looking for something from Bogen-Manfrotto and around the $150 mark. But I found this at Best Buy for $199 (I didn't buy this from amazon) and once I checked it out, I didn't mind the extra cost, at all. Its light and sturdy. Exactly what I was looking for, since I travel quite a bit and need portability. If you're shooting in a studio with a fixed setup maybe you want something heavier and sturdier. The head is detachable, which is good cause I might want to replace this head with a ball-head sometime in the future, but the default head works great. This is highly recommended and you might want to check up Bestbuy for the $199 deal.

Got one today and am very pleased. A good deal for the money. Sturdy, light weight, and all of the controls just work very well. I particularly like how you can fold in/out both of the clamps on each leg at the same time with one hand, which speeds up the process.

And you don't *have* to remove one of the handles to put it in the bag. You can leave the top unzipped a little ways and carry it with the one handle sticking out a bit.

The only negative I can find is that the leg clamps are made of plastic, which makes me wonder how long it will last. But for $200, that's fairly cheap for a high quality, light weight tripod like this, so as long as it lasts a few years, I'll be happy. And then maybe my next tripod will be one of those $600 jobs.

Update, Oct. 17, 2009:

I've used it quite a lot since buying it, and still like it very much. Everything I wrote before, still applies. But I wish it had a quick-disconnect plate (this is only significant if you attach/remove the camera often) and a smoother movement of the head (have to break loose the friction sometimes, to get it moving). But then, if it had those features, it probably would would cost a lot more than $200.

I bought this, but wish i got the 540 instead.... why? because the 540 is only a little price difference, but the 530 is long and for me, just an inch too big, the 540 would probably have fit in my carry=on better.... but as a tripod, this thing is freaking amazing!

This tripod is light and easy to use. The camera must be screwed onto the base. There is no quick release or shoe. A lever on the thumb screw helps to release or to put that extra twist on the shoe screw. The overall height is excellent. The legs can be made to extend out to provide a very low setting. Markers on the legs allow the user to extend each leg to the same length. The only thing missing, that I wish this unit had is a bubble level. I will have to add my own. A bubble level is needed when doing multiple panning shots that you wish to stitch together. In some of my shots, horizontal lines are on a slight angle. I think a bubble level would eliminate this. All in all a very good unit for the money.

Overall the tripod is great. The only problem is that there is no quick release for the pan head. It is not very useful to have to screw in the camera every time you need to use it. Solved the problem by getting a quick release, that worked perfectly , it wasn't the higher priced tripod model (actually it was a third of the cost and had secure locking clamps).