Zomei 669C Test Results

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.

NameZomei 669C
ClassTravel
Yaw Stiffness243 +/- 5 Nm/rad
Yaw Damping0.244 +/- 0.024 Js/rad
Pitch Stiffness763 +/- 9 Nm/rad
Pitch Damping0.503 +/- 0.05 Js/rad
Retail Price$140
Weight2.42 lbs (1.097 kgs)
Manufacturer weight rating16.5 lbs
Maximum Height42.3 in (107.4 cm)
Minimum Height12.8 in (32.5 cm)
Max Height with Center Column54.7 in (138.9 cm)
Center ColumnYes
Base Diameter1.8 in (4.6 cm)
Folded Length18.1 in (46.0 cm)
Folded Circumference11 in (27.9 cm)
Folded Volume174.0 cu. in. (2.9 liters)
Leg MaterialCarbon Fiber
Leg Sections5
Primary Leg Angle24 deg
Leg LocksTwist
Top Tube Diameter19.8 mm
Second Tube Diameter16.8 mm
Third Tube Diameter13.8 mm
Fourth Tube Diameter10.9 mm
Fifth Tube Diameter7.9 mm
Exchangeable FeetNo
Foot TypeRubber/Spike
Bottom HookYes

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.