Nikon must be nearing bankruptcy to slap their name on this!

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.

Great tripod for the price.

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.

Awful product. Very little value for the money.

Is easily in my top 10 worse purchase in my life. Quality is incredibly poor. Don't understand how Nikon allows someone print their name on it. The clearance in the extensions is huge. head is very cheap plastic with poor molding quality and precision. It is light but sure for the money there are way much better solutions. Is really bad regardless the type of camera you have. Do not recommend at all.

You get what you pay for and this is JUNK!!!! Do not waste your money.

This 'Nikon Ni400 Tripod' will hold most small digital cameras. I wanted it for my Cannon AE1 35mm film camera. WAY too light weight to hold that camera. I could not tighten the clamps tight enough to keep it from tilting down to point at the ground. Holds my old little Kodak digital camera ok. It is a great price but no way it is made by Nikon. They would never put their name on a piece of junk like this. The price is excellent but the quality is awful. The second time I used it, the head that holds the camera came off in my hand. I paid way too much at auction. If you can get it for .99 it might be worth that. I could not recommend this tripod to anyone. EVER!!! I can almost guarantee it will drop your camera at some point. The leg clamps are pretty good. The head is threaded into the aluminum tube. The plastic head is almost as hard as the aluminum tube. I super glued mine back together after the head fell off.

it fits the requirement....it is compact....light...and inexpensive!

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.