Ulanzi F38 Quick Release Travel Tripod Review
Ulanzi F38 Quick Release Travel Tripod Review
NOTE: Ulanzi has been kind enough to offer my readers a 10% discount on this fantastic tripod. Just use coupon code JIM at checkout.
Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3GXf8tT
Key Quick Specs:
Built-in ballhead with quick release plate
Carbon fiber leg construction
Additional aluminum parts
Abrasion and scratch resistant
Compact design
Quick and easy setup
Very light: 2.2 lbs
Maximum load of center column: 39.6 lbs
Maximum load of ballhead: 11 lbs
Maximum height (center column raised): 62.6”
Folded length: 16.7”
Very affordable: $370
Lifetime warranty
Includes a storage bag
QUICK SUMMARY
The Ulanzi F38 quick release travel tripod is really a fantastic product. It’s super portable due to its light weight, it easily supports my full frame Sony A7R3 and a wide angle lens, and the amount of flexibility it offers is just incredible. It’s a very well thought out and compact design.
And for $370, you get an amazing product that performs at least as well as the most similar product out there, which is the Peak Design Travel Tripod (which is amazing, but nearly twice the cost - so this Ulanzi tripod is an excellent budget-friendly choice).
The tripod feels great in the hand and looks great holding up my gear. And of course, the key thing is performance - and it performs very well. Despite the light weight, it feels solid and sturdy, and leaves me with no worries at all about handling my gear. I’m impressed, and will be using it a lot!
LEGS
The tripod has 5 leg sections, and they operate with the traditional flip locks. I like that quite a bit, because it is quick and easy to open or close (even all 3 legs at once), and you get the visual cue that they are closed completely when the flip lock is in the locked position. I like this way better than knobs for locking legs into position. I just trust it more.
The legs all have a rubber foot at the bottom, which you can quickly unscrew if you want to remove or replace them. The kit also comes with metal spiked feet, so if you are shooting in an icy location for example, you can use these instead to ensure your tripod has a firm grip on the ground.
And of course, there are the traditional 3 angles included for positioning the legs: 20 degrees, 55 degrees, and 75 degrees. You can get really close to the ground if you want to, although doing so requires a trick with the center column (which I will cover shortly).
Fully extended, the tripod will reach a height of over 62”, which is plenty unless you are very tall. I am not, so it works great for me.
Unlike the Peak Design tripod, this Ulanzi tripod has round legs, which feels a little more natural in hand.
BALLHEAD
The ballhead is included and essentially built onto the center column (although the center column is removable, and you can install upside-down to get really close to the ground). The ballhead has a clever and versatile design. It uses two different levers to allow you to get the optimum position. The first lever lets you raise or lower the center column. The second lever allows you to adjust the angle of the ballhead. Both are quick and simple.
You can then lock it into nearly any position you want, but it also has a built-in bubble to check your leveling. That’s super handy! This is going to be great for me, since I am always having to straighten my images. And there is a knob you can loosen to allow for smooth panning (great if you take panoramas, for example) which is separate from the level positioning. This is a great design and it’s beautifully done.
You can also tilt it into portrait orientation, and then swivel it around to any direction you want. It works great, and is super flexible! Also, there is a quick-release plate which includes a “safe lock”. The safe lock mechanism can be pushed in to allow for disconnecting the camera from the tripod, but can also be put into a lock position to prevent accidental removal of a camera.
Just below where the ballhead sits is an additional 1/4-20 thread for adding on accessories: you could mount a phone, light or whatever. Pretty clever, and certainly useful.
All in all, I find the ballhead design and usefulness to be simply fantastic. It’s really an incredible design and implementation. It’s quick and easy to use and gives me a lot of flexibility too.
CENTER COLUMN
Interestingly, you can take the center column out completely and replace it with an included non-ballhead center column. This one has a standard 1/4-20 mounting thread, which means you could attach any other ballhead to it instead. Personally, the included ballhead is so good I doubt you would want to do that (it would add weight and height) but you could instead add their fluid head (separate purchase) and convert this to a video tripod. Great stuff!
At the bottom of the center column is a tool that is hidden away. Just unscrew it and your hex key tool for tightening the various hex locks is there. When installed, it contains a hook for hanging a bag or other heavy object in case you need further stabilization while out shooting, such as on a windy day.
But there’s another really cool feature of this hex tool. You can tilt the ballhead into portrait orientation, and you will see a hole there. Insert this tool and turn to the left - this will loosen up the center column and allow you to remove the majority of it, shrinking the size of the center column significantly. It literally just unscrews and the large bottom section of the center column comes off. You are left with a very short center column piece, and of course the ballhead is still attached to that end.
This allows you to position the tripod really low to the ground without the center column getting in the way - because now the center column is VERY SHORT. This is an ingenious way to allow us to get those super interesting low angled shots.
