Professional Video Tripod ST-650, 65mm Bowl, 62 inch height, with 2 Quick Release Plates, Fluid Head and Travel Bag

I got this tripod a few weeks ago and had some chance to shoot some pictures as well as some videos. Like others, I was pretty skeptical about this tripod and the company because of the lack of review as well as information online. I seriously searched far and wide and the only other places that sold these bad boys were at some international websites. I decided to take a risk and I have to say, it was definitely worth the risk!Here is my extensive review on Somita ST-650:Pros:- This is a really sturdy tripod. Even with all the legs extended, once the latches are locked in, it won't be moving around. I've taken pictures with this tripod on a windy day with low shutter speed and the tripod held up. It will definitely hold up your Canon 5D with 300mm zoom lens.- The maximum height and the minimum height is good. With everything extended, it came up to about 61" but with the camera mounted, it would've cleared the advertised 62". I'm a 5'9" man and I just had to bend ever-so-slightly in order to get to my viewfinder.- Having both rubber foot as well as spikes foot was a plus. When you need to shoot at a grassy or dirt area, you can just screw up the rubber foot to reveal the spikes. And obviously for tiles and flat surfaces, you can screw down the rubber foot to hide the spikes.- The fluid head makes the panning smooth as a baby's bottom. There might be a small sudden movement when you initially try to pan but the rest of the panning will glide. The only downside is that there is no drag control so you're stuck with what you got. But what you get with this tripod isn't so bad; in fact, it's pretty decent. In terms of tilting, once you go past a certain point, it will slowly try to get back to the original position which will help with smoother tilt.- Quick release plate is nice and long. When it latches onto the tripod, it's there to stay. On the tripod, there's this lever that you pull to pop out the plate. The process was so easy and simple, I had to list it under pros.- It comes with a bubble leveler that's true.- The bag that comes with the tripod was what surprised me. It's a sturdy bag and you can feel that it's not made out of flimsy materials. There are two sections to the zippers: one that goes up and down and the other that zips the circular top. This was actually a nice touch because when you're trying to take out or put back your tripod, you don't have to struggle to fit it in there. Another nice touch that I was surprised by was the well-padded, velcro strap that will go over your tripod head to make sure it doesn't rattle around when you're carrying it. Only downside to the bag was that it didn't have a shoulder strap so whenever I had to carry this, I had to carry it by the hand strap.Cons:- Had white-clear-ish grease/oil on the places where the locking screws are for the head as well as for the quick release. I know this is a minor thing and I can easily wipe them down but I haven't gotten myself to yet because everything's smooth the way it is now and I'm afraid if I wipe it, it'll mess up the smoothness.- This really isn't a con but I didn't want to make another section called "Neutral" so decided to list it here. The top/bigger leg latch doesn't slide down automatically. You actually have to un-latch, then push it down for you to extend the leg out. However, the bottom latch will slide down as soon as you un-latch the bottom/smaller latch. Again, not really a con but just something to note.- Due to the double leg sections, the tripod is on the weightier side. I haven't measured how many pounds it weighs but if I were to be going on a long hike up the mountain, I'd bring a lighter tripod.- I wish the handle was made out of rubber or something with a better grip. It's decent enough that it never slipped out of my hand but it might've added that finishing touch to this already fine piece of tripod.- When I wanted to tilt it 90 degrees to take a portrait picture, I felt like I was fighting the resistance of the tripod. I'm not sure if the tripod is even meant to take it that far but I had to lock it into place for it to remain there. But once it was locked in, ST-650 once again delivered its steadiness.Conclusion:Don't let the price fool you. This thing is a piece of gem. Maybe Somita is a new company and they're trying to sell things at a cheaper price to compete with the more renown mid-level companies such as Manfrotto or Ravelli but I would say Somita (at least with ST-650) is hitting the market with a full force. For videographers, I would HIGHLY suggest this tripod due to its sturdiness as well as its fluid head panning ability.

So I am really really surprised by this tripod and head. At this price (sub $90) I thought no way is it going to be that great. Maybe a decent tripod with a crappy head? No, this entire set is good at this price.The tripod is great, it's sturdy and light and tall enough. The head is also great, it's a little tight though I wonder if that will lessen with use. Either way the head is counterbalanced, which you don't usually see with cheaper heads. This set is easy to level thanks to the 65mm bowl and bubble level. This is a very decent set for $90. If you are on a budget go with something like this.The first thing I did was put my double distance camera slider on this set and my camera on the slider. Together they weight about 10-12 pounds and I was worried that it would flex. There is very little flex with this set. It does flex slightly when the slider is out to either side but it's not very noticeable at all in videos. Having said that though I REALLY had to tighten the set screws to get the head to not tilt.Now this set is no $500 Manfrotto set, but at it's price I would say this is the best of the budget sets for people on a budget. Best budget tripod and head I've seen. I tried a $45 Neewer tripod with a $40 Neewer fluid head before this and I had to return them immediately they were so bad. So I was very skeptical about this one, and it worked out thankfully.I would still suggest getting something better if you have the budget to do so. If you are looking for something under $100 though, look no further. Seriously. If you are going back and forth about whether or not to spend almost as much as your camera on a set of legs and a head, but you really want to have good quality, then this set isn't probably going to do it for you. As much as I like this set I am going to probably go with a Manfrotto head and tripod instead. These are good, but they aren't as good as I need. This stuff is way too expensive....

I bought this as a cheap second tripod, when my other tripod is in use on another camera.It works quite well, but buyer beware – you cannot adjust the positioning of the "guide pin" on the tripod plate. What does that mean? Well, to connect to some cameras and rigs, you need to be able to adjust this distance. For example, this tripod does not work well with my black magic rig - because the bottom holes do not match the distance on the tripod plate with this tripod.

I truly love this tripod. It is taller than most tripods which gives greater options for shots. Its pretty durable however it does contain alot of plastic but most tripods at this level will cost you $200. For the price it is totally worth it. If it were not for the plastic I would have given it a 5 star rating.

Quality so bad, it's shocking.Who wrote all these five star positive reviews?Knobs are cheap. Fluid head defines the term joke.Icing on the cake, the tripod came bent and broke.I've no idea what quality control dept does.