Ravelli APGL4 New Professional 70 Tripod with Adjustable Pistol Grip Head

Ravelli APGL4 New Professional 70" Tripod with Adjustable Pistol Grip Head and Heavy Duty Carry Bag

Product Details

Item Weight: 10 pounds
Shipping Weight: 10 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
ASIN: B003SQEAY0
Item model number: APGL4

By : Ravelli
List Price : ~~$399.99~~
Price : $93.33
You Save : $306.66 (77%)

Product Description

The Ravelli APGL4 is a Professional Quality Tripod providing a solid base for high-end photographic equipment. This model is all pressure treated aluminum alloy construction and is unrivalled in stability. The pistol grip adjustable head provides smooth fluid adjustment to any angle. The center elevator is gearless, non-rollback and can be inverted for low angle shots. Dual foam grips, quick release leg locks, a quick release camera plate and rubber feet/metal spikes complete a very nice tripod.

Technical Details

Quick Release Camera plate
Pistol Grip Tilt Adjustment Head
Quick Release Leg Locks
Rubber And Spiked Feet Included
Invertible Quick Release center Column

Customer Reviews

I've got to say everything the other reviewers have said is true. This thing is awesome, especially for the money. I've broken this down into PRO's and CON's because there are a few nit picky negatives, but I say GET IT!
PROS
1. Pistol Ball grip - This thing is awesome. Easy to adjust and rock solid in any position. I'm doing a lot of portrait work and constantly changing from landscape to portrait. Position changes are instantanious.Grip is easy to work.
2. All Aluminum construction - That pretty much says it. Everything is either cast or extruded aluminum. And not the cheap stuff either.
3. Adjustable positions - The main legs can be independantly set to any of three angles allowing for almost any configuration you could think of. The center shaft can easily be inverted for low shots.
4. Carrying bag.- Unlike what another reviewer had said, you CAN put the tripod in the bag without removing the head as long as you tilt the head to around 30 degrees. It's a tight fit but it does go. The bag is high quality with a side zippered pocket to hole the extra camera mounting plate and supplied allen wrenches.
5. Oversized camera mounting plates - These mounting plates are great. I specifically bought this tripod because I use a Canon Battery Grip and the bottom is a little flexible or "soft" feeling. With the oversized plates, the weight is distributed evenly and there's no rock to the camera at all. Also, with the extra big rubber cushion undernieth, you just have to barely snug up the attachment screw on the mounting plate and the camera is on there. No rocking or rotating. This is a VERY important feature for me since I am always mounting and dismounting the camera and this will prevent damage to the mounting threads on the bottom of the camera.
6. Solid as a rock - This thing is well, like a rock!
CONS
1. It would be nice if there were an instruction manual to give you some idea of the features and how to use them. Also it would be nice if the manufacturer told you how to adjust the tension for the snap locks on the legs, because the tension IS adjustable.... they just don't tell you about it. You will figure it out, but for all they did with a great product, to not include a 2 cent piece of paper is just plain DUMB.
2. More bubble levels would be nice. There are 3 of them to help you in flat or landscape shooting, but no levels for when you tilt the head 90 degrees. I'll have to get a stick on level for that, but geez, 3 for one orientation and nothing for the other. Who was the rocket scientist there?
3. A free mini-tripod is trown into the package but it's so small it can barely hold itself up. I'd never use it for anything. My wife did say it was cute!
4. LOOSE SCREWS - IMPORTANT, I found 3 really loose screws on the tripod. I would highly recommend you tighten everything AS SOON as you receive it. If any of those fall out, it could mean trouble. Also, since some are some very small metric screws, good luck finding more. You can, but a pain.
Overall, the PROS vastly outweight the CONS and I have to say this ranks right up there with top values for the money EVER.
I'd give it 6 stars out of 5 if I could!

First I ordered this tripod on Amazon.com and it arrived right on time. It qualified for free shipping which was great, the box weighed 20 lbs.
I felt like I was taking a bit of a gamble when I ordered this tripod. There is not much info out there on Ravelli and the APGL4 tripod is a new product. I am really happy with what I recieved. There is no plastic on this thing anywhere. The pistol grip head alone would usually cost more than this whole setup. It comes with two plates which is nice and has all of the features you would expect in a tripod costing much more. The center colum is reversable, spikes on the feet, two levels on the tripod and one on the head. I am using it with a good sized spotting scope which weighs about 7 lbs and it is rock solid. Not much to complain about, the movement on the head could be a little smoother. Also the bag that came with the tripod is about 1/2 inch to short to zip with the head on the tripod.
Bottom line for me is this tripod is a freakishly good value. Its heavy duty and has all the features. Not the nicest I've seen but I have seen and owned tripods costing 2-3 times as much that were not nearly as nice as this one.