Most tripods can be considered relatively universal tools that can be used for just about anything within their weight category. Even the tripod I’m reviewing today – the Fotopro E7 Camo – could, in theory, be used for something like studio photography. However, its camouflage coating and other design features clearly mark it as a companion for a different kind of adventure!
According to the manufacturer, the E7 Camo is a professional tripod for bird photography. So, I took it with me on a month-long trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos, where I put it through some proper field testing. On birds, of course.
Table of Contents
Technical Specifications
The Fotopro E7 Camo tripod stands on four-section legs made of classic carbon fiber tubes (10 layers), specifically Mitsubishi 30T Carbon Fiber. The top leg section has a diameter of 32mm, with the thinnest section measuring 22mm. This is on the thick side for a tripod – it is meant as an ultra-stable platform, not so much as a lightweight travel option.
The minimum working height (measured from the ground to the mounting platform with the legs fully spread) is 0.18m (7.1 inches), while the maximum height reaches 1.52m (59.8 inches). Its folded length is 0.71m (28 inches), but part of that includes the gimbal head itself. If you remove the tripod head, the folded length is reduced to 0.61m (24 inches), making it viable even for international travel. For example, most airlines limit carry-ons to 22 inches, and placing the tripod diagonally in your suitcase should allow it to fit.
The tripod legs weigh 1795g (3.96 pounds), and the head adds another 980g (2.16 pounds), bringing the total system weight to 2775g (6.12 pounds). Like I said – not a lightweight travel tripod, but instead, a platform for maximum stability with supertelephoto lenses. Tripod load ratings are not done by a scientific standard, but if you care about them nonetheless, you will be satisfied that this tripod’s 10kg rating can comfortably handle any modern camera and lens combination.
The advanced capabilities of the Fotopro E7 Camo do not come cheap. The current price of the tripod + gimbal on the manufacturer’s website is $1,199.
Design and Features
1. Camouflage
The most striking feature of the Fotopro E7 Camo tripod is the camouflage coating. The pattern resembles classic military camouflage, and it works very well to hide the tripod if you’re shooting in a forest or other vegetated environment. If you set the tripod down on the forest floor and get caught up in the moment, you’d better remember exactly where you left it. I once absentmindedly tossed it into the undergrowth and later had quite a hard time finding it.
The significantly keener eyesight of notoriously suspicious birds will probably not be fooled by camouflage, but it may increase their willingness to classify you overall as mostly harmless. The same applies to your clothing and other elements of camouflage. I assume that for mammals, camouflaging your tripod could play a greater role in making your equipment truly “invisible.”
2. Leveling Base
One of this tripod’s best features is its built-in leveling base. If you’re used to working with a ball head, you might not fully appreciate how important it is to have a properly leveled gimbal head. With a regular ball head, loosening it lets you move the camera freely in all directions. That’s great for speed, but when working with telephoto lenses, things get more complicated.
Wildlife photographers usually rely on fluid video heads or gimbal heads instead. However, these often do not have a built-in way to level the horizon. You must either rely on the rotating tripod collar on your lens, or, instead, take the time to perfectly level the tripod legs when setting it up.
To solve this, photographers sometimes add a leveling base between the tripod and the gimbal head. This allows for quick adjustments — typically within a range of around +/-15° — to level the head without fiddling with the tripod legs. The downside is that third-party leveling bases add extra weight and complexity, and they harm the tripod’s ability to shoot at ground level.
With the E7 Camo, the leveling base is built right into the tripod. You simply adjust the leveling platform using the bubble level on the gimbal head, tighten the side screw, and you’re ready to shoot.
3. Tilting Gimbal Arm
Traditionally, a gimbal head rotates around a central axis to allow panoramic movement, while a secondary arm allows the camera to tilt up and down. This secondary arm essentially acts like a swing mounted to a rigid frame. The E-7HS head, however, also allows you to tilt the main vertical arm itself — and that opens up a few interesting possibilities. In short, it has two different ways to tilt the camera up and down.
The biggest benefit is that the E-7HS head allows a greater degree of tilting compared to most gimbal heads. If a bird perches in the branches above you, or you are trying to photograph the moon overhead, it can be a very useful feature.
Another handy use for this feature is when shooting very low to the ground. Sometimes, you need to get your camera as close to ground level as possible. For example, when photographing shorebirds feeding along a beach or wading in shallow water. By tilting the gimbal arm 45 degrees, you can lower the camera plate to 0.15m above the ground while retaining full horizontal rotation. Tilting it to 90 degrees drops it to just 0.08m, though at that angle horizontal rotation is limited to about 30 degrees.
Let’s stick with the gimbal head for a moment. If you want to shave 213 grams off your setup, you can leave the secondary arm — the “swing” portion — at home. By removing it, the E-7HS transforms into a side-mount gimbal head. In addition to reducing weight, this setup allows you to mount a camera directly onto the head using an L-bracket.
4. Sheep Hooves and Titanium Spikes
No, I’m not describing some mythical creature from Greek legend. “Sheep hooves” is actually the term the manufacturer uses for the shape of the tripod’s rubber foot pads. These pads are asymmetrical and designed to make maximum surface contact with the ground. It works extremely well, in my experience.
When the situation calls for a more aggressive way to anchor your tripod to the terrain, the foot pads can be easily detached by hand, revealing titanium spikes hidden beneath.
After a month of intensive use, the sheep hooves stayed securely in place on my tripod, just as they were on day one. They showed no tendency to fall off on their own or rotate into awkward positions. And if the rubber material does wear down over time, the kit thoughtfully includes three spares.
Practical Field Experience in a Nutshell
- The tripod’s weight is at the upper limit of what I’m willing to carry into the field without hesitation. It’s neither as light nor as compact as my trusty Peak Design Travel Tripod; however, I never left it behind on a photo shoot.
- Its stability is excellent for its weight class. To get something more stable, you would need to go even heavier still.
- The tripod’s height is just about perfect for my height of 185 cm. On flat ground, I usually kept the last 10 cm of the second leg section retracted. In uneven or hilly terrain, those extra centimeters were useful for compensating for the slope.
- I’m used to working with a leveling mechanism on my FlexShooter head, and I honestly can’t imagine shooting without this feature anymore. It’s one of the key arguments in favor of E7 Camo for me. Personally, I’d also love to see a bubble level on the tripod’s built-in leveling base in case you opt to mount a third-party head without an integrated level.
- If you don’t want to use one head for wildlife photography and another for landscapes, I highly recommend getting an L-plate. It lets you easily mount the camera in a side position after removing the “swing arm.” (If you do want to switch between the gimbal head and a ball head, you should consider the Arca Swiss Quick Link Set that Spencer reviewed previously.)
- So far, all of the gimbal head’s bearings move smoothly. However, given how I use my gear — regularly submerging tripods in water and putting them through various forms of torture — it’s probably only a matter of time before that smooth movement starts to fade. The manufacturer assured me that they service both the head and the tripod, not just in the U.S., but in over 30 countries worldwide, including in the EU.
- Initially, the build quality made me hesitate. The main hinge screws connecting the legs to the tripod chassis tended to loosen during the first few days of use (perhaps the coating on the contact surfaces needed to settle?). After a couple of rounds of tightening with a 4mm hex key, however, everything held solid.
- The camo paint took a fair beating over a month of heavy field use. Some wear is already visible on the aluminum components, and there are minor scuffs on the carbon tubes from use in muddy and sandy environments. The manufacturer told me that this was an issue discovered with early pre-production samples and that their team improved the coating technique for production models.
Competition
In the $1200 price range where this tripod typically sells, the competition includes some excellent choices. At this price point, you’ll find offerings from some of the top names like Gitzo and Really Right Stuff (especially if you catch a good sale). However, with those brands, you may only be getting the legs for that money. The head and leveling base often need to be purchased separately.
The Leofoto LN-404C, priced at $699, can be considered a competitor that even uses partial camouflage. However, it belongs to a different weight category that is much heavier (weight 3.4 kg without head, compared to 1.8 kg). If weight is not an issue for you, you can certainly get a new gimbal head and leveling base for the $500 remaining from the price of the Fotopro.
A more direct rival in the same weight category as Fotopro E7 tripod would be the Sirui CT-3204 Explorer Series Carbon Fiber Tripod with CH-20 Gimbal Head. For half the price ($595 to be exact) you’ll get four-section carbon fiber legs in digital camo, a claimed 25 kg maximum load capacity, and, like the Fotopro, a leveling base included in the kit. The gimbal head follows a more traditional design, with a height-adjustable swing arm. Total weight of the setup is 3.32 kg.
As it often happens though, your biggest competition might be from within your own family. The same applies here. If you can live without the camouflage coating, you can currently pick up what’s essentially the same tripod (Fotopro E7 with E-6H gimbal head), albeit in classic carbon fiber finish and raw aluminum. It’s currently on sale for $799 at B&H Photo, down from $1,349.
By the way, if you’re thinking of adding some camouflage to your existing tripod, there are plenty of options available. Just bear in mind that, due to how tripods are built, you’ll only be able to wrap the thickest leg section and the gimbal head itself.
However, if none of that sounds as good as the Fotopro E7 Camo, then you can buy this tripod on the manufacturer’s website for $1,199.
If you have any questions about camouflage and choosing a tripod for bird or wildlife photography, don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments below the article. I wish you sturdy legs and good light!
It looks like this is only a potential acquisition if you have a lens at least the size of a 500/f4. I don’t imagine wanting something in this league for my 500/f5.6 or 100-400.
Wonder if there’s a rule of thumb: ‘if you’ve spent £N,000 on your (main) telephoto, then spend x% of that amount on a tripod’?
The rule should take your own strength into account as well. For example, I have heard that in his prime, even after hours of shooting, Mike Tyson never used a tripod with his 800mm f/5.6.
Well, I’m afraid most of us are quite happy to have something solid and reliable to support a behemoth lens like that. Still, I’d be curious to know if Tyson had the same reach and punch and especially sharpness after a few hours of shooting.
Hard to say, Robert. For the gear you mentioned, I’d have no problem using a smaller, lighter tripod. A compact and lightweight tripod lets you aim at one spot for hours — which is really its main job when it comes to wildlife photography. The trade-off is that it won’t absorb vibrations as well as a heavy tripod. But in most cases, that doesn’t bother me too much, since it’s usually the animal’s movement, not the camera’s, that limits your shutter speed.
Well, I’m guessing that everyone reading this has their tripod and head already set up, but I will offer my setup that works well for me. The Sirui CT-3204 Explorer Series Carbon Fiber Tripod is less than $300, and I still had my Wimberly Gimbal. I did add an RRS lens support with a lever release that fit the Wimberly Gimbal. Sadly, I couldn’t find the part on the RRS site. Maybe if you call.