Velbon CX Mini Tripod Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification

The Velbon CX mini tripod is a lightweight tabletop tripod with a three way panhead. It comes in its own handy carrybag and folds up really compactly. It is designed for more compact and mirrorless cameras.

Velbon CX mini Features

The Velbon CX mini is very compact and lightweight, and folds up to just 30cm in length. It has three sections to its legs and is easily adjustable with clips to enable you to quickly adjust and secure the legs.
The three way panhead enables you to pan left and right, up and down and also alter whether the camera is in portrait or landscape position. You can also buy the quick release top plates seperately so that you can attach one to each of your cameras for quicker change overs.

Key Features

• 3 way panhead
• 3 section legs
• Easy to adjust legs
• Lightweight Aluminium
• Clips quickly release and secure legs in position
• Rubber grip feet
• Just 30cm long when folded
• Slide elevator
• Radial braces

Velbon CX mini Handling

The tripod is easy to pan up and down by unscrewing the handle, and simple to pan by loosening the left screw. However it is very fiddly to move the head to the protrait position. The quality of the legs is good, but the head area feels a little flimsy and plasticy. When fully extended the legs feel a little slippy on a plain table surface and this causes some movement of the tripod.  It very easily slides into the open and closed positions, making it very simple to deploy.

Velbon CX mini Performance

The tripod's movement features are all fluid although the screws can be a little fiddly to loosen. The handle is nice and chunky and feels good to hold, despite the miniature size of the rest of the tripod. When placed on more grippy surfaces the tripod is very sturdy. You do get the feeling that if you put a camera that is much heavier than my Canon Powershot G12 on the tripod the camera would be a little too top heavy for this tripod's small size. The tripod can be used as a table top unit, or it can also be used outside on raised platforms such as rocks and benches. It is ideal if you are doing low level photography but still need the support of a tripod.

Velbon CX mini Value For Money

This tripod is amazingly good value for money and is available for just £22.99 from Wex Photographic. What holds it back is its lack of features. A similar tripod with a few more features is the Manfrotto MKC3-P02 Compact Photo Tripod, which is slightly more expensive at £36.95, but has 5 leg segments and the ability to reverse the middle column.

Velbon CX mini Verdict

The Velbon CX mini is great if you want a simple tripod for tabletop or low level use. It doesn't have many extra features, but for the price you can't really argue. It it very compact and lightweight, which makes it ideal for taking along just in case you should need some support. It will be ideal as a back up tripod too should something go wrong with your main kit.

Velbon CX mini Pros

Very small
Easy to set up and pack away
Simple to operate

Velbon CX mini Cons

Feels a little flimsy around the head
Slightly wobbly with legs fully extended
Screws can be fiddly

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
VERDICT

Velbon CX Mini Specifications

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