The Zomei 669C is a relatively small budget tripod made by Zomei. Zomei is an off brand manufacturer whose products cannot be found at mainstream retailers. It is made from carbon fiber, but of necessarily poor quality. The resulting performance isn’t great, and it isn’t particularly tall or light. The only reason to buy this tripod is the price.
| Name | Zomei 669C |
| Class | Travel |
| Yaw Stiffness | 243 +/- 5 Nm/rad |
| Yaw Damping | 0.244 +/- 0.024 Js/rad |
| Pitch Stiffness | 763 +/- 9 Nm/rad |
| Pitch Damping | 0.503 +/- 0.05 Js/rad |
| Retail Price | $140 |
| Weight | 2.42 lbs (1.097 kgs) |
| Manufacturer weight rating | 16.5 lbs |
| Maximum Height | 42.3 in (107.4 cm) |
| Minimum Height | 12.8 in (32.5 cm) |
| Max Height with Center Column | 54.7 in (138.9 cm) |
| Center Column | Yes |
| Base Diameter | 1.8 in (4.6 cm) |
| Folded Length | 18.1 in (46.0 cm) |
| Folded Circumference | 11 in (27.9 cm) |
| Folded Volume | 174.0 cu. in. (2.9 liters) |
| Leg Material | Carbon Fiber |
| Leg Sections | 5 |
| Primary Leg Angle | 24 deg |
| Leg Locks | Twist |
| Top Tube Diameter | 19.8 mm |
| Second Tube Diameter | 16.8 mm |
| Third Tube Diameter | 13.8 mm |
| Fourth Tube Diameter | 10.9 mm |
| Fifth Tube Diameter | 7.9 mm |
| Exchangeable Feet | No |
| Foot Type | Rubber/Spike |
| Bottom Hook | Yes |
The stiffness and damping data are the averages of 10 trials for each measurement. The reported error is the standard error, except in the case of the damping data. I have set the error in the damping at 10% as the standard error metric does not appropriately capture the error in fitting to the data. All of the reported specifications are measured, with the exception of the weight rating. The tripod is measured at full height, with the center column down.
Example data for oscillations about the vertical axis of the tripod:
Beautiful resonant data, poor stiffness and damping.
Example data for oscillations about the radial axis of the tripod:
This data isn’t quite as clean, be but it clearly gets the message across. Not so great on the stiffness or damping on the pitch front either.