REVIEW – Almost every product photo and video on this site gets shot on my workbench, and for a long time the camera sat on an old budget desk tripod that I never fully trusted with it. My Sony ZV-E10 isn’t a cheap camera, and a wobbly tripod leg is all it takes to put it face down on the bench. The SIRUI AM-223L + VA-5X is a compact carbon fiber video tripod kit, with an adjustable leveling base built into the legs and a small fluid video head on top. It’s short enough to sit on a bench and light enough to take outside, and the head pans a full 360 degrees and tilts from -60 to +90. It has held my camera for every workbench shoot for the last month, and it went along for the outdoor shots in my LevelMatePRO review too. SIRUI lists it at $269, and it’s on sale for $242 on SIRUI’s own store right now.
Note: This SIRUI AM-223L + VA-5X was sent to me by SIRUI at no cost. They had no editorial input and did not see this review before it published.
Photos and video by Gregory Morley.
The Basics
The AM-223L is a three-section carbon fiber tripod with no center column. Instead of a column, it has a ball base under the head that tilts up to 15 degrees in any direction, so you can level the camera without fiddling with each leg. The VA-5X is a small fluid video head with an adjustable internal spring for counterbalance and a pan handle you can rotate and lock at whatever angle suits the shot. The whole kit weighs about 2.7 pounds (1.22 kg) and holds up to 6.6 pounds (3 kg) of camera.
What You Get
- SIRUI AM-223L carbon fiber tripod legs with the built-in leveling ball base
- SIRUI VA-5X fluid video head with pan handle
- SIRUI TY-70A Arca-type quick release plate
- Three metal spikes
- Two mounting screws
- Allen keys
- Carry bag
By the Numbers
- Price: $269 list, $242 on sale at SIRUI as of this writing
- Legs: Carbon fiber, three sections, twist locks
- Leg angles: 22, 55 and 80 degrees
- Center column: None
- Leveling base: Ball base, adjusts up to 15 degrees
- Head tilt: -60 to +90 degrees
- Head pan: 360 degrees
- Counterbalance: Adjustable internal spring
- Feet: Rubber feet, plus three metal spikes
- Quick release: Arca-type TY-70A plate
- Accessory mount: One 1/4″-20 threaded hole
- Kit weight: 2.7 lbs (1.22 kg)
- Max load: 6.6 lbs (3 kg)
Design & Build
Once the legs are locked and the head is tightened down, nothing on the AM-223L moves, even when I bump the bench or press a button on the camera. I never trusted my old desk tripod that way, and I used to keep a hand near the camera whenever I stepped away from it. I stopped doing that once the SIRUI took its place.
Each leg has two twist locks, and a half turn is all it takes to loosen or tighten one. Printed markers on the lower sections make it easy to set all three legs to the same length.
The legs also click out to three different angles, 22, 55 and 80 degrees, using the blue levers at the top of each leg. The widest setting gets the camera low enough for flat product shots on the bench, and it’s also the steadiest the tripod gets. With no center column, the head sits right on top of the legs, and there’s nothing to crank up or down.
The VA-5X head is small, but it doesn’t feel cheap. The pan handle rotates and locks at any angle, so I can set it where it’s easy to reach from behind the bench. The spring inside the head helps hold the camera’s weight when I tilt it, and it adjusts, so a heavier lens won’t drag the tilt downward.
The camera screws onto SIRUI’s TY-70A quick release plate, an Arca-type plate that slides into the clamp on top of the head. A lever locks it down, and a separate release on the clamp lets it slide back out.
There are two bubble levels, one on the leveling base and one on the head, so I can check both without guessing.
On the Workbench
Most of my shoots need more than one angle. I’ll shoot the hero, then drop down for a close-up of a button, then go back up for a shot of everything laid out. With the old tripod, every change meant starting the whole setup over, and it never quite went back to where it was. With the VA-5X, I loosen the pan and tilt locks, move the camera and lock it again. Going back to the first shot is the same loosen, move and relock, and the camera stays just as steady after the move as it was before it.
For video, the fluid head makes slow pans across the bench smooth enough to use. I’m the host, the camera operator and the entire crew on every one of these shoots, so the tripod has to hold the shot on its own while I walk around to the front and talk to nobody.
Setup means pulling out the legs, giving each section a half twist to lock it, leveling the head on the ball base and putting the camera on. It’s the first step of every shoot now.
Taking It Outside
The AM-223L is a short tripod built for tabletops, so outside it needs something to stand on. When I shot the photos and video for my LevelMatePRO review, I solved that by setting it on the hood of my truck. Between the adjustable legs and the built-in levels, getting a level shot on a sloped hood took about a minute. The ball base did most of the work, so I didn’t have to keep adjusting each leg to chase the bubble. A second person holding the camera would have been faster, but nobody else came along, so the hood got the job. The rubber feet also come off, and the three metal spikes in the box go on in their place for dirt and mud. The whole kit is compact enough to toss in the truck for any shoot.
What Could Be Better
I wish it folded down smaller. It’s still compact, but it isn’t a tripod you slip into a jacket pocket. It’s also a little heavy for its size, although I’d take that weight over a lighter tripod I don’t trust. The short height is by design, but you need a table, a bench or the hood of a truck to shoot anything at eye level. There’s only one extra 1/4″-20 threaded hole for accessories, and once a small light goes on, there’s nowhere left for anything else. The twist locks don’t show whether they’re fully tight, and more than once I’ve gone back to check a leg I’d already locked.
Watch the Review
Video review coming soon. The companion video is still in edit, and it will be embedded right here as soon as it goes up.
Quick Questions
Q: Does the AM-223L have a center column?
A: No. The head sits on a leveling ball base right on top of the legs, which is how it gets low for tabletop shots.
Q: How far does the head tilt and pan?
A: The VA-5X tilts from -60 to +90 degrees and pans a full 360 degrees.
Q: How much weight can it hold?
A: SIRUI rates the kit for up to 6.6 pounds (3 kg), and the kit itself weighs 2.7 pounds (1.22 kg).
Q: How do you level it on uneven ground?
A: The ball base under the head tilts up to 15 degrees, so you level the head with the ball base instead of adjusting each leg.
Final Thoughts
I trust the SIRUI AM-223L + VA-5X with a camera I can’t afford to drop. It doesn’t budge once it’s locked, the fluid head makes every move between shots a quick loosen, move and relock, and the leveling base makes uneven ground a minor chore. It’s short, a little heavy for its size and short on accessory mounts, and none of that has kept it off my bench. At $242 on sale, down from $269, it’s a fair price for a carbon fiber kit with a fluid head, and a good fit for anyone shooting product photos or video on a tabletop.
Price: $269 list, $242 on sale at SIRUI as of this writing
Where to buy: Direct from SIRUI
What I like: Steady once it’s locked, quick to move between shots, the leveling ball base makes uneven ground easy, quick setup, carbon fiber legs
What I don’t: Doesn’t fold down as small as I’d like, a little heavy for its size, short height, only one extra accessory mount
