Wedding, wildlife and adventure photographer, lover of nature and all things wild. I have a deep love for technology and photography and videography gear as well and love to review it.
Hey sorry that you had that bad experience. The answer they gave you is a bit like a joke, that can't be serious! I would have been very offended. The costumer service is very unreliable then. Did they ever try to reach you again? They need to correct their mistakes!
That’s my thoughts on it. A lot of their products are interesting and seem to be half decent, my thoughts are that this one just slipped through QC. But they asked for my order number and then removed me from the Facebook page. That was the last contact I was able to get from them
Just ever so slightly but noticeable to my eye. I haven’t 100% figured out what it is yet but the r5 RAW files feel slightly warmer and more contrasty to me. I almost always tend to primary shoot my r6 and secondary shoot my r5 cause of this and the better dynamic range of the r6
@@GrahamMediaLLC R6 is my primary also. Original R for a backup. Honestly like the colors out of the R better. Probably picking up an R5 as an extra body soon. I'm in central/upstate NY also btw. Great place for some beautiful weddings.
@@philcupper the R has the best colors out of the R series thus far (at least from my experience). I’m considering picking up one again because it was a far superior landscape camera
Good video dude..! If you get a chance need to hit the north fork trail and climb to chimney rock.. The ridge line is full off rock cliff over looks. When you find tbr “chimney” you can find a crossing section on the far right side.(you’ll have to jump down 4’ then climb up about 7’) it offers a 360* view.. Next location to check if you wanta do a back back style over night trip. Park on the mountain at Seneca Creek trailhead, hike 7 miles down you’ll find a beautiful 40’ water fall and a stream side camping spot. 🤘🏼
I think I’ve done chimney rock before a few years ago. I’ll have to check those out next time I head down there. I used to go like twice a month but wedding season is CRUSHING my opportunities to get out and explore as much as I’d like right now. Thanks for the info!
Thanks for the review. I almost bought one, however, their response to you was ridiculous. I won't buy just because of that. To many options out there to deal with poor customer service.
No problem! Thats my primary gripe. And I unknowingly just bought another Ulanzi product from Amazon, hoping to not have any issues with it. Seems okay so far
My guess is that after two hours it’s just old news and needs to be replaced by newer content. Otherwise, I would assume if it does well after those two hours, the algorithm keeps it in the feed
The real answer is the algorithm. Basically it'll push it for 1 to 2 hours but if it doesn't get enough engagement it'll stop pushing it. That's also why there's random videos on here from like 3 years ago that'll pop back up. Anything that gets a large amount of engagement will keep getting pushed on people regardless of how recent the upload
@@MichaelThe-Pyro see I see that on my TikTok and Reels a lot, people finding stuff from years ago and liking it. Maybe I just need to do more and different content
I love mine, I find the vignetting is mostly removed if I use the Fuji 27mm F2.8 lens profile in Affinity photo. My copy is much quieter than my Fuji lenses, maybe you got a bad copy ?
That’s good to know! Wonder if it works like that in Lightroom as well. It’s possible but I think it’s just me being used to EF-L and RF lenses. I have tested with video and it’s not loud enough to fully pick up on a shotgun mic, so I’d say it’s still good to go
you have such a kind energy! Thanks for this review - I've been looking for a starter camera to get me off my phone More and was about to just order a few disposables when I saw this! Definitely making a purchase
Another good option is the Papershoot! I’ve been looking at ordering one of those and reviewing it as well, but the images I’ve seen from them are very nice! I try to be as kind to everyone as possible, my MeMe raised me right 😂
Thanks for this review. I'm searching for a seriously light and small travel tripod and just can't swing the price of the Peak Design. And for the price it also has its share of quirks and reported failures. The Ulanzi Zero Y, which is like yours but does not use a dedicated quick release is extremely compelling on paper. And it is clear that Ulanzi flooded RU-vid and social media with people marketing their tripods in the guise of reviews. This had the opposite of the intended effect on me. If the product was this good and half the price of the PD they wouldn't have to pay these guys to do these fake reviews. I also totally lost respect for these reviewers and certainly wouldn't trust them with any other reviews. Still, the Zero Y remains possibly the perfect design (on paper), given the many compromises a really light small tripod has to make. So it is still on my list. The Peak Design is not. What will likely steer me away from the Ulanzi is your report on customer service. I've read plenty of written reviews saying their tripods have been great with no issues. Any manufacturer can let a bad unit out sometimes. Its how they respond to it that counts. Ulanzi's response to you is TOTALLY unacceptable for a $300+ tripod. They say their Zero Y comes with a lifetime warranty but those are useless if they won't honor it and they are in China so they have no enforceable obligation. So for now Ulanzi is at the bottom of the list. I have looked at Three Legged Thing. I have one of their L-brackets and its great. But looking at the specs on their travel tripods you are going to find that they are way heavier than the Ulanzi of CF Peak Design. Good luck.
K&F has a few good ones, as does Sirui. The design of the Ulanzi is impeccable, I can’t say anything bad about that, but when quality control fails Customer Service should be there to pick up the slack. I did end up epoxying it and use it as a back up from time to time, but my usual go to is my Vanguard with a Gimbal head on it now. I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about the 3 legged things, and I’m a fairly decent sized boy, so an extra pound or so is negligible to me. I feel like a lot of reviewers reviewed it initially and then didn’t spend extra time with it.
@@GrahamMediaLLC My issue, along with a lot of folks who buy these tiny lightweight tripods, is that I plan on using it for hiking fairly long distances. I'm a big guy too but after a few miles every ounce counts! Thanks again for the review.
I’ve not seen anything regarding a crop, and if I remember correctly it doesn’t. I will say this though, it applies line skipping and does not have a LOG profile, so if you’re looking at this for video there are definitely better options, especially with the climate of the Fujifilm used market right now
I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about the 3 legged thing products. I’ve been leaning onto my video tripod and my Vanguard more lately because I haven’t had time to do much hiking.
Did you know Davy Crockett Used one of these during the siege of the Alamo in 1836!? Using just one roll of Kodak Eastman 5222 black and white 35mm motion picture film he shot enough sprocket holes to stave off General Santa Anna and his army of 2000 men for THIRTEEN DAYS! Learn more in my new youtube short "the untold history of the Yashica Mat 124G" Thank you so much for sharing. SUBBED! More people need to know about the storied history of this legendary camera spanning nearly 200 years!
Thank you for sharing this awesome news about the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Full Frame! 🎥💫 The discount and your insights are super helpful for anyone looking into cinema-style cameras. 👍 I can't wait to see the cinematic productions and short films you create with it! 🌟 I'm curious about your future plans for the channel. 🤔 Are there any specific types of content or special projects you're excited to explore or showcase in the coming months? 🎬🔍 Your expertise and reviews are always insightful, so I'm looking forward to seeing what's next on Grandam Media! 🚀🎥
I have a few bigger projects I’m working on in the travel content and documentary realms. Until I get those out, my plan is to keep making content about camera news and reviews, as well as some of my travels!
@@GrahamMediaLLC Thank you for sharing your exciting plans! It's always a pleasure to see your innovative projects and camera reviews. By the way, have you explored our Easy Formula website? It's tailored to help RU-vidrs like you enhance channel growth and content quality. Your expertise in camera news and reviews would greatly benefit from our formula. Looking forward to seeing your upcoming travel and documentary content! Wishing you continued success with Grandam Media! 🎥
Thank you! I’ve read and have heard personally some really good things about the Peak, haven’t pulled the trigger on one myself (yet) but it’s on my list
I not going to disagree with you, but that is the worst analogy I've ever heard. People are going to look up to you, and you need to do better. Ulanzi is a "good" quality cheap equipment that has no customer support. You knew that going in or at least you should have. You want customer support buy Manfrotto or Ifootage and you will pay for it, probably twice the price. I can see your frustration over the Tripod, and may well be deserved, but as far as the F38 quick disconnect system you had better remember the F22 and F38 quick disconnect system is what put Ulanzi on the map. The F38 is the benchmark for which all quick disconnects are compared. Without the the F38 system you wouldn't even know who Ulanzi even is and the F38 system is ARCA Swiss compatible so I fail to even see your point.
While I understand your point, I pride myself in providing an unbiased review, and will continue to do so. Whether I’m given a free product, or purchase a product with my own money, it’s going to get an equivalent review. Customer service and quality control are two aspects of the consumer experience that should be made aware. And to be frank, I was unaware of the failed customer service of Ulanzi, I bought into the hype surrounding the product that it was the “Peak Design Travel Tripod Killer” when it’s not. As for the F38 design, it’s quite brilliant, the glue used on the base plates leaves some to be desired (and something I’ve only experienced with the Falcam system), when I have owned Vanguards, Manfrotto, and Sirui tripods, I just don’t have a preference to quick release systems in general. My hope is that Ulanzi sees this and does better, even if it does potentially burn a bridge with them. I would rather my viewers (especially those who do this as a hobby), not have the same experience I had with this product and their customer service, which is why I made it a talking point.
@@GrahamMediaLLC I agree with you and enjoy your videos, just be careful with the analogies. That analogy was bad but I think it came from your frustration with the tripod, but I get it. To be honest I don't think I use the adapters and if I do they get mounted to something like a light and never gets removed. All the cameras are in cages that have the F38 mount built into the cage. Again love your channel, keep up the videos I will continue to watch.
Thank you! And yeah their cage systems look super intuitive to be honest. I’m hoping to get back on track with long form videos soon, wedding season has been kicking my butt. My team has knocked out about 15 weddings in the past month
I bought the Ulanzi S-63 rotatable mount plate, and it broke just when I tried to figure out how it work, a mere 5 minutes out of the box. I haven't even atteched it to the camera yet. From that on I vow to never buy Ulanzi products ever again.
I won’t either, which is unfortunate because they have some clever designs, but I just can’t. The Falcam camera cages look really nice and intelligently designed but I refuse.
🌟 Wow, what an incredible video! 🌟 Thank you so much for sharing your experience of the 2024 solar eclipse! 🌞🌕 The footage, the excitement, and the personal reflections were all amazing! 🙌 🧐How did you manage to stay focused on capturing the eclipse while experiencing such an awe-inspiring event? 🤔 Thanks again for this fantastic video! 📽👏
Thank you! It was definitely an emotional experience. I think the best way to describe it was when it started hitting totality I almost got that feeling like right before I used to step on stage, I had all the focus I needed and just felt relaxed but excited. It was a powerful moment.
I don’t know man.. I’ve had this tripod for 5 months and I’ve beat the crap out of it and it’s still solid and nothing has failed on it. Maybe you got one of the earlier tripods with quality issues
It’s possible, if the customer service was better, I’d have let a QC issue slide. I understand those things happen, I just feel there’s no excuse for absolute garbage customer service.
I picked one up too and dropped a video on my channel discussing this as well! One of the best deals I've ever seen in the camera world. Can't beat it!
I just purchased this tripod and the center column was SOOO TIGHT. I had to use two hands to raise the stem. I couldn’t believe how hard it was to move and then it would get stuck at the point with the short stem that can disconnect. I sent a video and was told that it’s supposed to be that tight. What?? It’s essentially unusable. I tried some dry lube on the stem with no improvement. I pestered them until I got a return label. Hopefully I will get my money back. I told them I wanted another exchange and I got an email saying they all are that tight. There is no way they are all that tight. I do t think people would be buying them.
Agreed. Terrible customer service. I emailed them within minutes of trying the tripod out. I sent a video with my order number asking for an exchange. My questions weren’t answered other than a ONE SENTENCE reply telling me it was supposed to be tight. It took five more days for me to get the return label with one sentence replies. It all could have been done in one email exchange. Anyone who buys from this brand is taking a quality control gamble and customer service is not good. I bought into the f38 system (pretty slick) with this tripod purchase and now don’t have the tripod I was going to use with it. I will stick with my peak design for now.
@@novphotobeagle I couldn’t get a response via email at all, I sent pictures and videos. They responded on Facebook and asked for my order number, then just went ghost on me after that. I really wanted to like the tripod, but I won’t buy anything at all from the company anymore. I’ve even avoided products I’ve specifically wanted because of the customer service and quality control issues. The version 2 quick release system actually looks pretty nice, but I’ll stick with Arca plates
@@GrahamMediaLLC yes you are right, it is complicated if you want to move the camera a lot. but, Ulanzi offers three different ball heads. I think one video ball head, the F38 quick release and a smaller ball head. I choose the F38 quick release due to the size.
The new Falcam quick release system looks pretty intriguing, they have it on the new backpack clips and it accepts PGYTECH plates and Peak Design plates as well as the falcam ones
I’m currently using Canon EF lenses adapted via a Fringer adapter. But Viltrox makes some really great budget lenses (I have the 13mm for vlogging), the XF 16-55mm f/2.8 is also a phenomenal all-around lens. It just would depend on what you like to shoot
Really nice product review. 8 megapixel's isn't much nowadays, but go back a dozen years or so and 8mp was the best available, and there's still a lot you can do with it editing-wise. Another "feature" or benefit I see in this little camera is that it forces the user to take properly framed photos instead of the horrible smart-phone photos everyone takes because they can't take the time to simply re-orient their phone before taking a picture or shooting a video. I would much rather see the photos of your river trip taken with the 8mp Camp Snap than the photos taken on your new 48mp smart phone if your smart phone photos are all in Portrait orientation. Maybe I'm just old (ok, I AM old) but I can't stand today's vertically oriented photos and videos everyone takes on their smart phones. Seriously, can't you just rotate your phone please before hitting the shutter button?
Thanks! I think no matter what, having a camera of any type in your hands makes you think things through a little more than just a phone snap. That and the added depth from a larger sensor, some of the IQ and characteristics that come with a camera. That paired with the fact that a camera has one purpose and one purpose only. I am 32 years old and was the perfect age for that transitional period between landscape and portrait orientation, and while portrait does have its purposes here and there, I much prefer horizontal compositions. Phone manufacturers get so caught up in the “megapixel and zoom” race that they kinda miss the point of what makes an image speak to people, character, emotion, and effort. Those are things that can’t be replicated. Some of my favorite photos I’ve taken have been on my iPhone 13, but they were also ones that served a purpose and to help put people in the moment that I was experiencing.
Well... good thing this showed up on my feed. I was heavily interested and see that more people are complaining about things breaking, and the support for it being awful. Guess I'm gonna spend some extra money on the Peak Design, at least they give lifetime warranty!
Peak is always a good company! I have quite a few things from them and trust a lot of their stuff. I’ve also been having pretty good luck with Sirui lately!
I hope so as I'm late to the mirrorless party and just bought an X-T20 last month as a replacement for my well used Canon 760D and I'm loving the smaller form factor of the Fuji and I've been delighted with the results so far.
I am a canon shooter and shot on a t7 prior to my XT-20 and it was leaps and bounds ahead. Some of my favorite pictures I’ve ever taken came from that camera. Wish I wouldn’t have gotten rid of it.
Love your video. Dinkus Stinkfinger is my new favorite newscaster! I began planning in early February by reserving a campsite at a state park in southern Illinois called Stephen Forbes Recreational Area. It was my second choice as my first choice, Rend Lake State Park located near the centerline of totality was already completely booked. Fortunately, my second choice offered nearly 3 minutes of totality which was good enough, and they had half a dozen sites left so I snagged one. I live in central Illinois so my driving time from home to campsite was 3 hours 15 minutes. I drove down the night before and pitched a tent, then hunkered down during one of the worst rainstorms I've ever been in a tent in. During a break in the rain I also pitched a tent for my grandson and his friend, who wouldn't arrive until near midnight due to my grandson not getting off work until late. I had convinced my grandson and his friend that this event was not to be missed and would be worth the drive. After a cold stormy night we woke up to a sunny day with light wispy clouds. Yes!! The weather looked like it was going to cooperate. We only had to drive a short distance to get to a nearby marina on the lake we were camped at and set up for the event there with the lake as a background. I had a smart telescope set up to record video and a still camera set up to do stills. The still camera was, unfortunately, a failure so I did not get any good still pics. I won't get into the details of that here because it was all my fault, but, thats ok. It was the experience that was important and the witnessing of totality is something that can never be forgotten and no pictures taken by anybody can replace the experience of being there and seeing it with your own eyes. The reactions of those around me were priceless and I'm so glad my grandson and his friends made it to experience this amazing event. I also had a Insta360 camera set up to record the surroundings and reactions and the smart telescope I deployed captured a pretty good video that I will cherish. Many days later I still feel like I'm coming down from the event and am enjoying others reactions to it. Similar to you in that you are now evaluating landscape photography (go for it!) because of the eclipse, I am quickly developing an interest in astro photography and intend to further travel down that rabbit hole as I am now researching dark sky areas to travel to. Your pictures and videos turned out great. Some of the best I've seen. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks for the kind words and for sharing your story! Sounds like it was a hell of a trip. Unfortunate that you didn’t get any useable still images out of it, but I’m sure it was still such a cool experience. We got about 5 minutes of totality in Ohio and were lucky enough to get it right in the back yard of where we were staying. We planned a couple months out and I researched the best way to get good photos of the event for quite a while. I’ll definitely get some more expensive and well built equipment for the next one (star tracker, better filters, etc.) but what I had for sure worked this time. I just bought an insta360 x4 (which I’m recording a review on as well) and I wish I would’ve had it for this, it’s such a cool camera! Dinkus will be back for future videos 🤭
I was also just about to buy a Ulanzi Zero Y tripod when I found your video doing a search for additional reviews. Lack of communication from this company's customer service department is really awful. I'll avoid Ulanzi for now.
They definitely have some decent and notable products, I just have a hard time standing by a company with that poor of communication. I just got one from Sirui (my second product from them, first being a monopod) and it’s another solid one. Heipi is also intriguing
@@GrahamMediaLLC Yes, poor communication is very troubling for a company like this. There's ways to make customer service work for small companies based overseas; not as quick resolving problems; but, one would expect at least an email response in a week. Good to know about Sirui and Heipi. I'll take a look at them along with a few other tripods, like Freewell's.
@@marcosv8426 I don’t expect an immediate response, especially from a smaller business or one trying to keep things in house. I do expect A response though. If you can comment on your Facebook post selling the item you can respond to my email lol
