Today, I have for you guys an exclusive first look at an upcoming product from Sirui and it is the EPC-10K.
This was sent to me directly from Sirui Europe free of charge for review purposes. I have not been instructed to say anything in particular about it so all opinions expressed will be my own.
The EPC-10K arrived without any packaging and there is no information for it listed anywhere yet because it is not yet for sale. I received a pre-production unit but was told that the one I received is representative of the final product. The EPC-10K is expected to be available starting September 1, 2019 for $149.90. If there are any updates to the product after the official release, I’ll make sure to update the information in this write up.
When I first saw images for the EPC-10K, I said to myself “Wait, this looks really familiar.”
Take a look at the Sirui EP-204S. This is the monopod that I most often use, but just look at its feet. Very familiar right? That’s because the feet of the EPC-10K is of the same design as the one used for the EP-204S and a few other Sirui monopods.
Prior to receiving the EPC-10K, this is something that I’ve already done in the past. When I needed a table top tripod, I just took the legs of my EP-204S and threw a ballhead on it. The EPC-10K just comes with a better fitting ballhead.
Although there are no released specs for the EPC-10K yet, I do have the specs for the individual parts and we can make some very good assumptions.
First, the EP-224ST table top tripod. These legs feature a carbon fiber, one section leg design. The legs span from a minimum height of 210mm/8.27in to a maximum height of 285mm/11.22in. The legs can be utilized at 2 different angles and can be adjusted by releasing the leg lock button. The legs by themselves weigh 0.43kg/0.95lb but can hold a max load of 8kg/17.64lb.
When it comes to features, the EP-224ST is a bit more unique than most table top tripods. Again, these legs were originally intended to be used with a video monopod so we get the various features that that entails. The most interesting thing about these legs are the inclusion of the leveling base. Once the security knob and ball locking knob is released, the upper section of these legs act like the leveling base of a video tripod. You can move the stem and achieve different angles much easier than if you were to adjust the tripod legs. This is very useful for leveling out those horizons. The base can also help you achieve some simple camera movements that may not be as stable if you were to handhold.
Next, we have the Sirui CS-10 ballhead. This head measures in at 88mm/3.5in, weighs 0.22kg/0.49lb and has a max load of 13kg/28.7lb. In terms of features, this is a pretty standard ballhead. It utilizes an arca swiss plate system that is accessible by a locking knob and security pin. The main ball and panning base are held in place with two other locking knobs.
To get the final specs of the EPC-10K, we just combine the specs of the EP-224ST legs and the CS-10 head.
Minimum Height - 298mm/11.77in
Maximum Height - 373mm/14.72in
Weight - 0.65kg/1.44lb
Max Load - 8kg/17.64lb
You may have noticed that the max load did not change from that of the EP-224ST. While the CS-10 can hold 13kg/28.7lb, the EP-224ST can only 8kg/17.64lb. With a tripod setup, you have to consider the final product as only as capable as its weakest components. In this case, although the head can hold more weight, the legs are not recommended for such weights. Pushing the head to its limits while using these legs may damage the legs and cause total failure, which may result in damaging your camera gear.
This is where this setup surprises me. Typically, the head will be the weak point of a tripod. The legs can typically hold much more than the head. In either case, this seems like a case of missed opportunity. Either make the legs sturdier so I can take advantage of this head’s full potential or give me a head that is more in line with the legs and maybe drop the price a little. Having the head being able to hold almost twice as much as the legs really doesn’t mean anything unless you want to push the limits.
Overall, I would have to say that as a table/mini tripod, this product does very well. That being said, there are a few things that I don’t like about it.
First, I just don’t like the aesthetics of the tripod. This is essentially Sirui using scrap parts to make something new. Because of this, the head doesn’t exactly fit flawlessly with the legs. Had everything been made for each other, the connection between head and leg would be more streamline and not have excessive ridges or gaps. To me, this looks a bit janky and I don’t like it. But again, it functions as it’s suppose to and it does it very well. Like I said, this is something that I myself have done in the past with the EP-204S legs and my own tripod head, but it’s just not pretty. Also, had everything been made for each other, maybe we would have a product with specifications (max load) that fall in line more so with each other.
My second complaint with this product is just that it’s confusing. I’m not sure why this thing exists. Sure, Sirui had the parts around so might as well throw it together to get another revenue stream but I think that this could’ve been implemented better. Again, these are the legs from a video monopod. The adjustable leveling base is to help video shooters get a leveled composition much faster. However, for photography, there is little use for this because the setup comes with a ballhead. The ballhead is much simpler and faster to use than the base. To me, the only big use for a leveling base during photography is for shooting panoramas. But because this is such a short tripod and if you want to shoot panoramas with it, you’d likely always be getting a ground level parorama. This tripod would primarily only give you one look. A better use for these legs would be for video like it was designed for. I think that Sirui should’ve brought this product out with a small, compact fluid head. That would’ve paired real well with these legs and, sure, a table top fluid head tripod would be a niche product, but I guarantee that there would be a market for it.
Some of you may be reading this and be thinking that this would make a good vlogging tripod. You can attach a camera and use the tripod as a makeshift selfie stick to get a wider shot and the legs allow you to put the camera down. This seems like it would be a good run and run setup but for those interested in doing this, let me point out a few things. First, this is a pretty unergonomic setup for handholding. The way that the legs themselves are orientated make the entire lower section pretty wide so unless you have some pretty big hands, it will be uncomfortable to hold the tripod over time. Another issue with the legs is that they never fold up evenly unless you spend some extra time to really try to achieve this. When you try to collapse the legs together, they’re typically lopsided and this just adds to the unergonomic grip. Again, you can spend the time to adjust this but imagine doing this every time you try to grip the legs. It’s just a lot of wasted time. You can definitely use EPC-10K as a vlogging tripod, but I just really don’t think that it’s optimized for it. Check out Sirui’s 3T-15 or 3T-35K which are two superior vlogging tripod options.
At the end of the day, had Sirui not sent me this item, I honestly would not buy it. That sounds bad but this is simply because I already have the legs from the EP-204S and can just throw my own ballhead on there and make my own version of the EPC-10K, like I have in the past. For those who own a similar monopod with a similar set of legs, I would suggest you do the same. I wouldn’t spend the extra money just to buy this setup for the extra head. However, if you don’t have the legs already and are really considering this option then I would’nt mind recommending it. This is a very stable tripod and although I don’t think that this is the ideal package, the minor features can come in handy sometimes. This is an interesting product and worth checking out.
If you're considering on buying any of the products mentioned, please support my work by using the links below.
Sirui EPC10K https://amzn.to/2LeSW1p
Sirui EP-204S https://amzn.to/2KWdPNw
Sirui 3T-15K https://amzn.to/2Zl20W5
Sirui 3T-35 https://amzn.to/2ZdnkNj
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