Welcome to our article where we will be going over what we feel is the absolute best all round Zomei tripod for Panasonic gh5 camera owners on the market today. Due to the exponential growth that Zomei and their tripod range has seen over the last few years, we have noticed a drastic increase in the number of people reaching out or showing curiosity in them.
Due to its low price tag, excellent performance, great functionality, and solid build quality, we feel that at the time of writing, the Zomei Z818 (Click here to check for product prices and availability) is without a doubt the best Zomei tripod for the Panasonic gh5 as it offers so much for such a low price tag. In addition to this, the Zomei Z818 has also earned an excellent reputation amongst photographers and videographers while also having a constantly growing user base.
Although the Zomei Z818 was actually designed for primary use as a travel tripod it also performs very well as a general purpose use tripod as well as offering your Panasonic gh5 some excellent image stabilization in a number of specific photography niches too. We have no doubt that adding the Z818 to yours gh5’s camera accessories will be a good investment and help improve the image quality of the photographs that you are able to capture.
Click Here To Check For The Latest Prices On The Zomei Z818 Tripod!
User Interface And Control System
Zomei has done a great job of packing an absolute ton of functionality into the Z818 to ensure that it can meet any situation you find yourself and your gh5 in. Thankfully, Zomei has also been sure to keep the control systems for the different features shown in the image above as simple and easy to use as possible.
The ease of use of the Z818 makes it a great first tripod for anyone new to photography or videography while the ton of features and level of performance it offers ensures it will perform well for the more experienced photographer too. One thing that we would like to point out is that the ball head included with the Z818 shown in the image below should meet the needs of the majority of our readers without issue. That said though, anyone wanting to get involved in niches where slow pan video or panoramic photographs will be common may want to look at picking up a decent pan head (Click here to check for product prices and availability) too for easier panning.
The ball head shown in the image above really couldn’t be easier to use and we feel that it will serve your Panasonic gh5 well. The bubble level shown to the right of the quick release plate is in a fixed position but unlike some other tripods in the sub $100 bracket, Zomei has taken the time to ensure that the bubble level can still be seen once you have mounted your camera rig on it.
Although this sounds like a basic feature, it is often missed by other brands and can make your life much easier depending on the niches you work in. There is nothing worse that checking your bubble level on your tripod, mounting your camera rig and presuming everything is level only to find out it isn’t and having to do some work in post-production. With the Z818, you can mount your gh5 and glance down whenever you like to ensure everything is horizontal. We will be covering the quick release plate system on the ball head in more detail in the next section of the article so will just skip over it for now and say it performs well and is very easy to use.
As we mentioned earlier in the article, the Z818 was initially designed to be used as a travel tripod although it can be used as a general purpose tripod too. Due to this, it uses the twist lock leg lock system shown in the image above as they are much quicker to set up and debuild than the flip lock variant while offering very similar levels of stability. Due to you being able to grab all three twist locks on a leg at once when it is compressed you can actually end up saving yourself a fair amount of time over the course of a session.
The rubber feet at the base of the tripods legs allow it to grip wet or slippy surfaces better and you can also remove the feet of the tripod to reveal the metal spikes to help you dig your legs in if required. The usefulness of the metal spikes will depend on the photography or videography niche you work in but for the most part, they will be covered by the rubber feet anyway.
Click Here To Check For The Latest Prices On The Zomei Z818 Tripod!
Performance And Functionality
We feel that the main two reasons that the Zomei Z818 has proven to be such a hit within the community is its low price tag and the excellent performance that it can provide for you. Although small and lightweight, it is a heavy duty tripod that is very robust and can pretty much be taken anywhere your photography or videography gigs may need you to go.
We have made the bullet points below of the three main features that most people care about when it comes to tripods to make them stand out better:-
- Maximum Load Capacity – 33 pounds.
- Maximum Operational Height – 65 Inches.
- Minimum Operational Height – 21 Inches.
Now, we know that the minimum operational height for the tripod is listed as 21 inches but we just want to specify that this is with the center column in the upright position while using the tripod in the traditional way. The Zomei Z818 has a center column that you can fully invert if required as shown in the image below to use your Panasonic gh5 at a much lower height while still getting the excellent image stabilization that the tripod provides.
If you are involved in something like food photography or macro photography and are planning on taking photographs of something at ground level like a flower and its petals this feature is excellent. It allows you to capture the flower in all its glory with your Panasonic gh5 and get some excellent macro image quality with minimal effort required on your part as it is very quick and easy to flip the center column.
The Four individual leg sections on this Zomei camera tripod also ensure that when debuilt it is as small as possible and will not take up much space in your photography bag while also allowing you to build the tripod and use it at up to 65 inches too. This excellent usable height range on the tripod pretty much covers you for any photography or videography situation that you can think of where you may need a tripod.
As we mentioned earlier, the quick release plate on the Zomei Z818 is great. It allows you to quickly mount your Panasonic gh5 on to the tripod as required and then quickly unmount it again within seconds if needed. If you are working a gig that needs you to quickly change up what you are doing like going from handheld, to tripod, to gimbal, to handheld, then back to tripod for example this can end up saving you a ton of time.
On top of this, the Zomei quick release plate (Click here to check for product prices and availability) is cheap and readily available too. This means if you are on a job where you need to use a secondary camera in addition to your Panasonic gh5 you can mount quick release plates to both of them and work as required. Additionally, if you misplace or damage the included quick release plate a spare is easy to source.
Now, the usefulness of the monopod feature on the Zomei Z818 is going to depend on what you are planning to get up to with your Panasonic gh5. Some people may never use it whereas others may use it a few times a week but it is nice to know that the feature is there. We are massive fans of tripods with detachable legs that serve as fully fledged monopods as it can reduce the size and weight of the kit you have to carry to your location while still providing you with some decent image stabilization.
The system to build the monopod from the Z818 couldn’t be easier either as shown in the image above! Although the first few times you do it, the process may take a minute or so but once you are used to it you can easily get it done in less than 15 seconds.
All in all, we really do feel that Zomei has totally nailed it when it comes to performance with this tripod. It should be able to meet your needs and provide the image stabilization that your Panasonic gh5 needs no matter what situation you find yourself in.
Click Here To Check For The Latest Prices On The Zomei Z818 Tripod!
Build Quality And Design
The majority of the tripod is made out of a high-quality aluminum alloy rather than carbon fiber. This is due to carbon fiber being so expensive while the aluminum alloy allows Zomei to keep the Z818 lightweight and robust without having to hike the cost up. Thankfully, they have done a great job and the Z818 will be able to take a ton of bumps during use without even being phased.
The various locks and latches on the tripod are well put together too and to date we have been unable to find a single report from a Z818 owner saying that a let lock or a leg angle selector has failed on them and caused them problems. As we touched on above, the process to build the monopod is sleek and easy too and has been designed very well indeed.
Click Here To Check For The Latest Prices On The Zomei Z818 Tripod!
FAQs
Question – Is there spiked feet on the Zomei Z818 if you remove the rubber feet?
Answer – Yes, the tripod has stability spikes to allow you to dig the tripod into surfaces for increase stability.
Question – Does the Zomei Z818 use a 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch mounting screw?
Answer – It uses the 1/4 inch thread size to mount a tripod head to the tripod body.
Third Party Reports
Our Verdict
That brings our article on why we feel the Z818 is the best Zomei tripod for Panasonic gh5 cameras to a close. We hope that our readers as well as anyone who has found our article via Google or social media has found our article helpful. The Zomei Z818 will provide your Panasonic gh5 with some excellent image stabilization and make a great addition to your camera accessories without you having to spend much cash.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!
