The Canon g7x is a good all-around camera. It can create photos with excellent quality for its class; and includes a fine lens. It’s streamlined shooting design, as well, is easy-to-use and makes the camera quite capable in many situations.
That being said, the camera, like any other, definitely benefits from some decent stabilization options. The Zomei Q666 is the tripod that we recommend most for the G7X, for many different reasons. The Q666 is a versatile and affordable monopod/tripod combo with a wide range of features to help you get the perfect shots.
It features a sturdy construction of aluminum alloy, a 360-degree rotating ball head, and other features like a clearly visible spirit level. It’s nicely portable and reaches a nice maximum height of 62 inches when fully extended. You can also flip the center column around to get inverted shots, in case you need to get really close to the ground.
Being as portable and affordable as it is, this tripod offers a good range of features that make it quite effective for any niche of photography. It’s easy to set up; and performs well even after repeated usage. It also has a great reputation amongst the community to boot.
Performance And functionality
The Zomei Q666 comes with the following features:
- 3.9 lbs weight
- 15” collapsed
- 62” fully extended
- Rotating ball head
- Aluminum alloy construction with ABS plastic parts
- 26.5 lbs maximum load
- Easily converts into an effective monopod
- Center column can be flipped for inverted shooting
- Easily visible spirit level on the head for easily leveling your shots.
The Rotating Ball Head
Zomei tripods typically have a really high-quality ball head that allows you to rotate your camera set up any way you want. This one is no exception. The rotating ball head gives you lots of leeway when it comes to setting up your shot.
When the camera is mounted, it feels very sturdy and pans very nicely. The resistance on the panning makes it feel very smooth, and opens the door for some really nice landscape panoramic shots or videos. All of the locking and adjustment knobs on the ball head are well-made and easy to manipulate.
Quick-Release Plate
Zomei includes these quick-release plates that attach to the bottom of your camera, and allow for you to release the camera from the tripod at the touch of a button. This allows you to set the tripod up somewhere else without putting the camera at risk. It also allows you to quickly swap out different cameras if you need more than one in the middle of a shoot.
If you want to quickly swap out multiple cameras, you will need to buy more quick release plates. We’ll talk a little bit more about this when we start talking about accessories for the Q666.
The Legs
Lighter tripods like the Q666 are typically less stable than their heavier alternatives. While this is still true of the Q666 compared to some higher-end models, it does feel very sturdy and capable for the price range. Even at maximum height, the tripod holds up nicely and doesn’t seem to tip easily.
The legs can be removed, and one of them can be attached to the bottom of the center column to create a full-length monopod. This is great for situations where you need stability, but you might not want to carry around an entire tripod to set up over and over again.
The monopod is also great for situations where you need some stability but you can’t quite fit into whatever tight space you need for shooting. The monopod setup takes up way less space and is easier to adjust than the full tripod setup.
Twist-Lock Release
Some photographers are not big fans of twist-locks for tripod legs, like the ones on the Q666. Releasing, adjusting, and tightening all the twist locks can be time-consuming, and adds a lot of time to the setup of your shot. Luckily, however, there is a decent workaround for this that every good photographer should know.
When the tripod is fully collapsed, you can actually unlock all the twist-locks at the same time, since they are so close together. Simply use your whole hand to grip all of the twist locks at once, and twist to unlock them. Voila! Now your tripod is fully extended and it only took a few seconds!
You will need to tighten all of the twist-locks individually, unfortunately.
The Center Column
This tripod has a nifty inverted shooting mode for when you need to get your camera really close to the ground for those low-down shots. Basically, you can remove the center column and attach it back to the tripod upside-down, allowing the camera to be mounted underneath the legs of the tripod.
This is great if your subject is really close to the ground, as it means you can get the shot you need without sacrificing the stability of a tripod. To put the tripod back to normal, it’s as simple as replacing the center column to its original orientation.
Maximum Load Capacity
The Zomei Q666 can hold up to 26.5 lbs. Although many tripods can hold more weight than this, it is to be expected from a lightweight, affordable tripod like the Q666. The one area where this can really limit you is attaching hefty camera loadouts or accessories onto the tripod itself.
If you’re working with a lighter camera rig, this shouldn’ be a problem. For the Canon G7X, which weighs in at about 10.7 oz, this is more than enough weight capacity, even with a hefty lens attached. This means that you have plenty of room for extra accessories on your camera rig or the tripod itself without worrying about damaging the tripod or your camera.
The other cool thing about this tripod is that there are plenty of independent customer reviews online. If you’re looking to see what other photographers are saying about this tripod, there are plenty of these available for you to read.
User Interface And Control System
The control features and hardware on the Q666 are all of decent quality. There are no major complaints about any of the knobs or markings. The spirit level is nice and accessible, especially with lighter camera rigs.
Converting To Monopod
Releasing the center column from the tripod body and converting it into a monopod is fairly straightforward. You can unscrew the tripod head from the center column, allowing you to remove the column from the body of the tripod. After that, it’s just as easy to remove one of the legs from the tripod body by simply unscrewing it.
These separate parts can then screw into each other, and then attached to the base of your camera rig to turn into a nifty monopod. The monopod is just as sturdy and easy-to-use as the full tripod, and allows you to get stable shots while taking up less space. The only trade-off is that you lose a couple of inches of height compared to the full tripod.
Switching To Inverted Shooting
Flipping the center column upside down for inverted shooting is similarly straightforward. Just like with monopod conversion, the center column unscrews to separate from the tripod. It can then be attached again upside-down, allowing you to get your camera nice and low to the ground or surface.
The center column holds well in all positions, including for the reverse orientation and monopod settings. Reversing the Upside-down orientation is as simple as repeating the process in reverse. The whole construction retains plenty of stiffness and stability even after repeatedly reorienting the different parts.
Panning Dial And Spirit Level
The panning dial is clearly marked with degrees, allowing you to easily measure for panning shots or remember angles that you want to shoot from. The panning dial itself turns very nicely, with a good amount of resistance to smooth out your panning. All the knobs that control the panning dial (and the head of the camera in general) are easy to release and hold very nicely.
The spirit level allows you to make sure during and after setup that the tripod is level for your shot. Although the level is nicely visible for a wide range of camera rig setups, there is a possibility that it will be obscured by particularly hefty rigs. On the G7X, this shouldn’t generally be an issue.
That being said, if you do run into issues with the spirit level getting blocked by your camera, the quick-release head allows for you to easily detach your camera to move the spirit level to a visible position.
Accessories
There are a few essential accessories for Zomei tripods that make this tripod really outperform its price point. The first one we have to recommend is counterweights. You have lots of options here, but Zomei actually makes their own sandbag counterweights for use with their tripods.
These sandbags can hook onto the legs or underneath the tripod for lots of added stability. The fact that they are sandbags also comes in handy if you need anything else weighed down easily.
The second accessory we would definitely recommend for this tripod is additional quick-release plates. The one that comes with the tripod is good, but if you’re frequently switching between multiple cameras, it can become a pain to reattach the quick-release plate. Buying additional ones for each of the cameras you plan to use with this tripod means that you’ll always be just a touch away from quick-releasing your cameras.
Build Quality And Design
The aluminum construction on the Q666 is less hearty than its carbon-fiber counterparts, but the construction is still very solid. The twist locks and various knobs for controlling the head and legs do not seem to lose stiffness or functionality, even after repeated use.
The ball head and rotary system, despite being very fluid and effective, also retain their sensitivity, resistance, and ease of use after extended periods of readjustment. This means that you’ll always be able to get nice, versatile, stable shots out of this tripod, despite it being made out of aluminum rather than carbon fiber
One advantage of the aluminum body is that it is very light. The whole construction weighs in at just 3.9 lbs. After collapsing the whole tripod, the legs can also fold upwards over top of the head to make the collapsed tripod even smaller. The portability on the Q666 is one of the areas where it really shines.
Monopod Setting And Inversion
The monopod construction also holds up very nicely. Although some photographers may worry that repeatedly switching back and forth could have an effect on the overall stability, this has not proven to be the case. If you’re really concerned about losing sturdiness, you can alternate which leg you use for the monopod each time, to minimize damage to a single leg.
Inversion works equally well. All of the attachments on the head work perfectly fine upside-down. Since you don’t need to mess with the legs at all during inversion of the center column, doing so has a minimal possibility of damaging the tripod.
One thing you will definitely want to look out for is adjusting the center column while inverted. If you release the support without removing the camera, it can end up dropping down and damaging your hardware.
Conclusion
Overall, the Zomei Q666 is a very portable and effective tripod that fits perfectly with the G7X. Just like the G7X, the Q666 is an affordable alternative that still retains plenty of high-quality functionality. The portability and versatility of this tripod are where it really shines, allowing for a wide range of different shots without weighing you down too much.
The only real concern is the maximum load and the possibility that your camera may obscure the spirit level. Although as we have discussed above, these things shouldn’t be too big a problem with the Canon G7X. Even if you have an overly heavy camera setup, you should still have plenty of weight left over for things like accessories and such.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to fire away in the comment section!
