The Neewer LiteTrip LT38 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod is a lightweight travel tripod that has a small diameter when folded up. We tested it in the field to determine its sturdiness and ease of use.
NEEWER LT38 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod
Note: NEEWER sent us the LT38 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod to review and keep. However, this is a completely independent review. All thoughts about this product are our own.
Pros
- Sturdy build…even the bottom section of the legs doesn’t feel spindly or flex much.
- Ability to attach accessories easily via three 1/4″-20 accessory mounts (two on the tripod and one on the ball head).
- Not only Arca-Swiss compatible, but also compatible with the Peak Design Capture Camera Clip v3.
- Tightly fitted legs fold down to a handheld diameter of 2.7″/7 cm and a compact folded length of 19.7″/50 cm.
- Removable center column.
- Working height range from 18″ to 61″ and goes down to as low as 5.9″ when the center column is removed or inverted.
Good-quality carrying bag.
Cons
- The ball head has no friction adjustment.
NEEWER LT38 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod — Technical specifications
All of the technical specifications for the LT38 are from the official NEEWER website.
- Model: LT38
- Item Type: LITETRIP Travel Tripod
- Compatibility: Compatible with PD, Arca Type
- Application: Photo/Video/Film
- Main Features: Leg Design & Center Axis Use
- Mounting Points: 1/4″, 3/8″
- Main Material: Carbon Fiber
- Load Capacity: 22lb/10kg
- Dimensions: 18″~61″/46~155cm
- Weight: 3.15lb/1.43kg
- Folded Diameter: 2.7″/7cm
- Folded Length: 19.7″/50cm
- Height for Lowest Shooting Angle: 5.9″/15cm
Package Contents
- 1 x LT38 LITETRIP Travel Tripod with Ball Head
- 3 x L Shaped Hex Key
- 1 x Carrying Bag
NEEWER LT38 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod — Ergonomics and build quality
Build quality
One of the first things you notice is how well built the tripod is. Nothing wiggles inappropriately, everything feels tight and solid, and the angle locks slide smoothly. Both the legs and the ball head feel solid and inspire confidence. You certainly cannot say this about all travel tripods, so this already separates it from the pack. The tripod feels light but not flimsy, which is exactly what you want in a travel tripod.
Travel tripods, especially those with legs that have five sections, can have spindly legs at the bottom. Not so here. Even the bottom sections of the LT38 seem solid.
Ergonomics
I am accustomed to using twist locks on tripods. I had some negative experiences with lever locks early on—although, to be fair, that was while using a 1970s aluminum tripod. The issue I had was that the levers seemed to get snagged on everything—clothing, bushes, etc.—while using it. Consequently, I gravitated toward twist locks.
However, these lever locks work beautifully. They are quick to deploy and lock. And best of all, they don’t seem to snag on clothing, anything in the back of my car, or desert bushes.
It is also easy to adjust the angle of the legs, as the angle locks are simple to operate. You can slide them down with your thumb if you wish. However, they lock solidly. Once you realize that you simply slide the angle locks down when the legs are not already in a locked position, you see how intuitive the design is.
The center column is simple to remove. Simply twist and unscrew it. Great design.
The ball head, although solid, lacks a friction adjustment of any kind, whether via a separate knob or otherwise. This means that when you loosen the adjustment lever, the ball head can become very loose. You must be mindful of this, knowing that your camera can flop over if you are not careful.
Height
The tripod can extend to 61″ (155cm) using the center column. However, if you are like me and prefer not to use center columns, the legs still extend to about 52″ (132cm). I am 6’1″ (185cm), but this is still a comfortable height for me. For a travel tripod, that’s quite good.
NEEWER LT38 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod — Holding Accessories
NEEWER LT38 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod expansion, capable of holding many accessories. Photo courtesy of NEEWER.
There are two 1/4″-20 accessory mounts located on the tripod, and one more located on the quick release plate. These are for phone holders, microphones, LED fill lights, magic arms, etc. NEEWER has some of these accessories, which you can combine here, such as the RGB61 Magnetic RGB Video Light, KM17 Video Microphone for Phone, ST83 Super Clamp with Magic Arm, SP-04 Phone Tripod Mount, and ST25C Articulating Magic Arm with Super Clamp.
NEEWER LT38 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod — In the field
As mentioned above, the tripod was easy to deploy and lock. It felt solid whether using a heavy Pentax K-1 full-frame DSLR with a 15–30mm f/2.8 lens (which weighs about 4.5 pounds, or just over 2 kg) or a lighter setup. My friend also used it with an Insta360 and liked the feel of the legs.
I disliked the lack of a friction adjustment on the ball head. In fact, it’s the only thing I disliked about the LT38 overall. When I loosen the ball head, I have to be very mindful of loosening it too much and causing the camera to flop. I always keep one hand on the camera when adjusting. While this is good practice, it is far less necessary when you have a friction control knob, which allows you to fine-tune resistance to your liking. I prefer a fairly tight setting so that it doesn’t sag or flop during adjustment. I don’t have that option with the LT38, unfortunately.
NEEWER LT38 Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod — “Great travel tripod”
For a tripod that folds down to a diameter of 2.7″/7cm and 19.7″/50cm long, it’s surprisingly sturdy. The angle locks and lever locks feel solid, and the legs do not feel spindly.
I know it’s almost mandatory to have a review that compares this to Peak Design. After all, similar to Peak Design, the legs don’t swing up. Instead, they are flattened instead of circular to enable them to fold around the center column. Because of this, the tripod has a slimmer diameter when folded. I find this design easier than the sort of legs that swing up. It makes it faster for me to set up or stow away. And it offers less opportunity for pinched fingers.
There are many things to like about this tripod. In fact, I like everything about the LT38 except the lack of a friction adjustment on the ball head.
