Andoer Aluminum Video Tripod with Fluid Head.

Christmas has come early, thanks to my lovely wife who insisted I order my gift early to ensure I got it before the shopping mayhem begins in earnest this week! We made wish lists and we sat down and chose what I wanted, and I know that doesn't sound altogether Chistmassy, but we do buy each other little surprise gifts too.

Andoer Aluminum Video Tripod Panorama Fluid Head...Merry Christmas!

Anyway, the gift I chose was a nice, sturdy video tripod. While I did try to replace all the video equipment that I had at work before I left, my redundancy came a little sooner than I expected and I wasn't able to buy a few items before the paychecks came to an end. A good tripod was among these.

Now, my trusty work tripod had been a heavy-weight Vinten Pro-5 fluid head video tripod, wonderfully made, but a bit of a pain to lug about. Still, it was ideal for rock-solid shots, and particularly smooth when doing slow steady pans. It was, also, the ideal platform for my slider own it's own, with the slider attached centrally via the quick release - anything lighter than this weight of tripod means that you may have to resort to attaching two tripods, one at either end of the slider, for stability.

The solid Vinten Pro-5 heavy-weight video tripod, with my Koolertron 60cm
camera slider attached via the tripod's head.

Sadly, I am no longer in a position to be able to afford tripods of this type (which are about £350 or more if you go down the Manfrotto route), as I am out of work. So I did some research for budget equivalents and, for starters, here's good primer for what to look for in tripod features...

Now, the budget video tripod that keeps coming up as a recommendation (as in the above primer) is the Magnus VT-4000, and this would have been my first choice, but even at just £160 I could not justify this expense (especially as the wife and I put a £100 limit on presents to each other this year). So, the next best tripod, which was nearer my budget, was the Andoer Aluminum Video Tripod Panorama Fluid Head (£105).

Now, compared to the Magnus VT-4000 the Andoer is missing a couple of handy features - like the spiked feet (for outdoor shooting stability) and the counter-balanced, tension-controlled head. But, the Andoer still has very smooth, friction controlled pan and tilt head - the friction coming from screw nuts which you adjust the tightness - and thus the friction - of the head's movement.

I am fairly happy with the smoothness of the pan and tilt, plus the Andoer comes with a nice extra feature which the Magnus - nor my old Vinten - doesn't have, an extendable control handle...

The handle has a screw collar which can be loosened and then you can pull the arm out, which gives you a nice long length of handle, with which to smoothly control your pan or tilt movement. It's a simple feature but one that does actually help you perform these actions in the steadiest possible way. Somehow the longer handle makes these movements smoother and I am sure there is a logical explanation for this, but all I know is that it just works.

The Andoer unfolds to a very reasonable height, tall enough for me (at 6'4") to
have the camera's viewfinder at eye level. Obviously, the more one extends
the legs, the more unstable the tripod becomes. 

The fluid head of the Andoer attaches to the tripod via a 'swing away' pivot (or 'ball') mount. Now these heads are far more effective for video work than other, so-called, fluid video heads which mount on ordinary photographic tripod bases by means of a simple screw attachment. The screw-tensioned ball mount allows you to quickly and easily find 'level' without going through that tedious shortening and lengthening of tripod legs that you have to do were the head attached via a fixed method.

And finally, the aluminium tripod legs are of tubular design (rather than the 'U' shaped alloy telescopic legs you find on some cheaper tripods), and while the diameter of the tubes isn't as large as my old Vinten, they are definitely sturdy enough to support my slider. Yes, the absence of spikes on the feet is a disappointment, but - thinking about it - I can't actually remember the last time I made use of the spikes in tripod (I think it was a few years back when I was filming some students playing football on a grass pitch). The rubber feet it does come with are perfectly adequate.

All in all, I am very happy with the Andoer tripod (thank you, Wife). It comes with a handy little bag, with a shoulder strap and is also - by the way - a very nice satin black colour that does, actually, make it look more expensive than it actually is!

Another item off my wish list! :)