Nikon Ni400 Tripod

I bought two of the Nikon Ni400 Tripods for mounting off camera flashes on wireless remotes that have the ability to hold an umbrella. I wanted them for taking free headshots of people at a local job club. When I mounted a Sigma 500 DG Super and a very light (33") umbrella, it strained the tripod. It will still work, since I will not be touching them during the shoot, but if you are expecting to mount anything other than the lightest point and shoot camera...pass.

These are also very short. I am 6' and it comes up just above my waist. For my purposes (flash into an umbrella to get shots of seated individuals), they will actually still work.

If a Nikon executive every walked up on my photoshoot, with a Canon 7D and grip on a real tripod with a nice head, 70-200 2.8L lens gleaming white in the light, quality studio lights, and backdrop setup with name brands emblazoned, and then my flashes and umbrellas causing the Nikon tripods to list sideways, I think he might fire the staff in the Chinese factory that turns these out. If you do not know how to use a tripod, you will be out of luck unless you read Mandarin or whatever those little scratches on the instructions were. I felt safe buying them because they said Nikon. Makes me glad I chose to go with Canon equipment all those years back. Wonder what other substandard items Nikon is slapping their name on just to make a buck these days.

If I had it to do over, I would go to WalMart and spend $12-15 (maybe less) and buy a cheap SunPak tripod that would better serve my purpose. Might even still do that. It was a mistake to buy these, but at least it was a cheap mistake.

All that being said, I will be keeping both. I got them for about $9.00 each including shipping so sending them back would be at least that much, and as I said, for the very limited purpose I bought them, they will suffice. I just hope there are no other real photographers there.

Bought this as a gift for a friend who is a budding photographer. It was a bit smaller than expected, but is sturdy, lightweight and easy to use. The quick release feature is especially useful, and makes the camera+tripod unit significantly less cumbersome.
A great addition for anyone experimenting with photography.

it fits the requirement....it is compact....light...and inexpensive! I had a need for a very portable tripod. I like to carry a camera with me. to capture that sunset or a view that is so impressive that you want show others. Now I have a tripod that I can take with me to.

I have not used the tripod yet. I am confident it is worth what I paid for it. I bought it because of the Nikon brand name vs price: it looked like a good deal. It is very light weight.

A point-and-shoot camera is about the limit of its carrrying capacity. I bought it for a Canon G11.
It arrived with a broken leg brace. But it is so cheap, it was not worth sending it back. I managed to fix it with a bend paperclip. The camera mount is wobbly. The quick-release plate does not fit properly in the shoe. I sort of fixed that by sticking pieces of duct tape on the q/r plate.
But it is light and very small so easy to stick in a small backpack and take it along. Just in case you find you need a camera support. Then it sort of works.