ToCAD Sunpak Mini-PRO Plus/B Table Tripod - 620-350
7.50" to 12.50" Height - 2.20 lb Load Capacity - Black

I was a little sceptical about this small tripod. I thought it may turn out to be a poorly designed and flimsy toy at best. However, to my pleasant surprise the tripod is both well made and well designed. And best of all it works. Having a 2.2lb or 1kg load capacity it actually accepts a larger load. I took the liberty of placing a Giotto MH 7001 with a 621 camera mount on the tripod. The 7001/621 is rated at 6kg. Everything fit well and the Mini-Pro looks like it was made for the Giotto which is a quality and professional socket and ball head camera mount system. Now the Giotto is a much more expensive item and the fit and finish is definitely better than the Mini Pro tripod. But you have to get close to observe this. The Mini Pros ball and socket fits on top of an aluminum screw molded into a shaft that runs through the top of the tripod allowing over six inches of elevation. The shaft is secured at a desired height by means of a compression ring that seems well made and capable of many cycles of use. Again the entire tripod is made of, at least on the surface, a quality plastic. I only qualify this because I've not used the tripod very much. It shows no sign of wear though. The socket and ball appears to be made of the same quality plastic material with a ball made of what appears to be a solid metal which is chromed. The finish of the seat for the ball is just as solid looking as the rest of the tripod and the seating screw appears to be made of a harder and more finished material than the one in the shaft which is at least adequate. I was able to place a fairly weighty astronomical binocular on the tripod and could use it reasonably well. The binoculars are a varible magnification type with 80mm objectives and is pretty solid. Although I don't know its exact weight it is certainly over 1kg. The binoculars were placed on the tripod by use of a standard adapter. When the middle shaft is raised to its fullest height, the binoculars are well over a foot off the table or floor. The legs extend a good deal further than I expected and make the tripod reasonably stable. It was a little overloaded by the heavy binoculars and the legs flexed some but not a lot. And certainly not enough to create worry. The stability was good and again better than I expected. There is not a lot of shake after touching the binoculars. Not nearly as much as some of my much larger metal tripods. It is not rock steady either. Just pretty good. I'm afraid I did not use a camera on it yet. I have been doing a lot of observing lately and only that. I'm certain as can be the tripod will take any DSLR on the market better than the binoculars. In all the Mini Pod is a remarkably solid and well built tripod. And at the price it can't be beat if you're in the market for a mini-tripod for camera work.
 
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I bought this mini tripod to do closeup shots of small product for company catalog. It serves the purpose well. Only complaint... the legs will "squat" out if your camera is too heavy. Stay under a 2 lb. camera and you should be okay.
 
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