NEEWER TP62 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod review

The Neewer TP62 is a lightweight, compact travel tripod primarily designed for photographers seeking reliable support during their travels, whether it’s an adventurous journey or a simple hike through the hills.

The compact design is achieved through the combination of five-section legs and the use of carbon and aluminium materials, culminating in an extremely attractive travel tripod.

Neewer has included some extra features, notably an accessories port on the crown, which allows for direct attachment of friction arms and other accessories as needed.

The overall build quality is exceptionally high and refined, demonstrating good attention to detail. As for its target market, this travel tripod squarely aims at the higher end of the enthusiast market, considering its features, materials, and price point.

Once again, as we’re beginning to observe with travel tripods, the quality of design and manufacture has noticeably improved. This is a positive development for a market previously impacted by a plethora of cheap, lightweight tripods that, while light, often failed to provide the hoped-for support.

Thankfully, those issues seem to be a thing of the past, and products like the Neewer TP62 demonstrate that it’s possible to have a compact, lightweight travel tripod capable of securely supporting a Mirrorless or DSLR camera without issue.

The build quality of this tripod truly stands out, and details such as the lever lock leg clamps have an industrial yet refined appeal. The finish of the Carbon Fiber is also notable, with its slight matte finish imparting a sense of quality and sophistication.

In terms of handling, while many prefer lever locks, they do show how slow these can be for releasing and locking leg sections. There’s nothing inherently wrong with them; it’s just the nature of lever leg locks. It’s convenient, however, that the four levers are designed to sit closely together, allowing for all to be undone in one swift action – provided your fingers are strong enough.

Once released, the precision of the carbon leg section fit is excellent, exhibiting no internal play, and they lock solidly. At the top of each leg are the leg angle adjusters, which are of the push style, easy to release, and automatically return to the lock position once pressure is released. On the small crown is an accessories port featuring a standard 1/4-inch thread. This doesn’t have endstops but is designed in such a way that if your friction arm has stoppers, the crown will prevent unwanted rotation.

The small ball head on top features a simple lever lock for release and offers ample flexibility. There’s also a small bubble level on the side to aid with levelling, whether the camera is on or off the tripod, which is a nice touch.

A slight disappointment is the Arca Swiss compatible head, which only seems to be compatible with Peak Design PD Capture clip V3 square base plates and nothing else due to the stops at either end. The base plate is released by pushing a large button on the side. While this enables easy quick release, there’s no stop or lock, so this button could be accidentally pushed.

Overall, the build quality is excellent, but there are a few aspects that have emerged during handling that I’ll investigate further in the field.

The Neewer TP62 boasts features that should captivate enthusiastic photographers. Firstly, its Quick Leveling Ball Head, as stated by Neewer, offers 360° panoramic shots and a 90° tilt. While this is broadly accurate, the panoramic rotation isn’t confined to a single axis. Instead, the full ball head capability – encompassing tilt, roll, and pan – allows for a full 360º rotation, although not always perfectly level.

The Arca-type Quick Release Plate is another loosely termed feature compatible with the Peak Design PD Capture clip V3. This compatibility is quite handy but only guarantees partial compatibility with other Arca Swiss-compatible base plates. However, it does facilitate easy switching between tripod and clip.

The Spring Flip Buckles, essentially lever locks, are well-engineered and designed for quick and easy height adjustment.

The 1/4-inch accessory port on the side is a thoughtful addition, enabling customization through the attachment of magic arms, lights, or microphones, making the tripod suitable for videography use.

Finally, as standard, the tripod comes equipped with non-slip foot pads and includes removable spikes in the accompanying bag, enhancing its versatility across different terrains.

The Neewer TP62 is a beautifully slimline, lightweight tripod that packs down nicely onto the side or back of a backpack. Its lightweight nature, even shedding 200g compared to the SmallRig AP-100, is noticeable, making it an excellent choice for travel where keeping weight to a minimum is essential.

Setting up is straightforward, with the lever lock providing the instant precision that only leg locks can offer. Height adjustment is easy, and although it is quicker than twist locks, we’re talking seconds rather than minutes. The more you use the tripod, the easier tasks like lever adjustments become.

Finding a level is also extremely easy, with the small bubble level on the side quickly helping to find the best shooting platform. However, like other tripods of this style, while the small ball head offers plenty of flexibility, it doesn’t enable a smooth and accurate panoramic rotation. However, you can release the ball head and rotate, although there is some inevitable tilt and roll movement.

Like most tripods, there is the option to drop to ground level; to do this, you simply unscrew the bottom section of the central column. It’s a simple design that takes a few seconds to unbolt but ultimately works, even if there are more elegant solutions. With the column removed, the height drops to 19cm, offering plenty of options for shooting angles.

Back up to full height, and on the base of the centre column is the bag hook. This is one of the smallest bag hooks I’ve come across, and throughout the test, my standard camera backpack straps would only partially fit through or on the hoop. To really attach anything, you need to use a bungee or something similar.

While the tripod is designed primarily for stills, a nice touch is the accessory port on the side. This allows you to attach a friction arm and accessory, such as an ATOMOS Ninja V. What’s really nice about this is the design prevents the friction arm from rotating. While the space around this port is quite cramped, there is just enough room to tighten the arm sufficiently without too much trouble.

The final point is the head and that Arca Swiss compatible head, or almost. The small plate, very reminiscent of those used by the Peak Design PD Capture clip V3, enables quick mounting of your camera and is nicely designed. The idea of the push-button release is good, although I would have preferred some type of lock or stop to ensure you don’t accidentally release the plate. The issue, however, is that while the design might accommodate small square-shaped Arca Swiss compatible plates, any variant on that design is blocked by the end stops, which really restricts you to either the Neewer or Peak Design PD Capture clip V3 plates.

Overall, this is a great travel tripod with plenty to offer enthusiasts ready to set out on an adventure. There are a few drawbacks: the lever locks are slower to release and secure compared to twist locks, there’s no pan for the head, and the Arca Swiss clamp is limiting in terms of compatibility.

However, in use for most people who will only use the tripod with the supplied plate and have no interest in taking panoramic images, this is a great tripod with plenty to offer for the price.

The Neewer TP62 is an excellent choice if you’re gearing up for travel. Its tall height, coupled with a small pack-down size and weight, makes it a superb travel companion. There’s plenty on offer here to provide the flexibility needed to capture the shots you want while on the go.

The downsides include the lever locks. While beautifully engineered, they are slower than twist locks for releasing and securing, but many people prefer these over the alternative.

The other points to consider are the lack of a dedicated panoramic rotation for the head – though full head movement is possible, it’s not limited to a single axis – and the Arca-compatible clamp. Aside from these two points, everything else is exceptional, and for most users, these issues will not impact their usage significantly.

The main highlights are the compact size, weight, and absolute versatility of this small and extremely attractive travel tripod, making it a fantastic travel companion.