TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head Tripod Kit Review
The TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head Tripod Kit features a lightweight fluid head, sliding quick-release plate, carbon fiber two-stage lever-locking tripod, and a ground spreader. The fluid head utilizes a 100mm half ball.
It was specially designed for fast setup and teardown. The tripod’s two-stage legs can be adjusted quickly with quick levers. The legs deliver sturdy, stable support with an adjustable height range of 27.2 to 70″ / 69 cm to 177.8 cm, and the assembled system weighs 15.6 lb / 7.07 kg.
Key features
- Fluid Head with 100mm Flat Base
- 2-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod
- Ground Spreader
- 27.2 to 70″ Tripod Height Range
- Supports Loads up to 33 lb /14.97 kg
- ±90/-75° Tilt Range
- Sliding Quick Release Plate System
- 0 to 5 Drag/0 to 7 Counterbalance Grades
- Weighs 15.6 lb / 7.07 lb
- Red and Black Color Scheme
Build Quality
With a lot of more affordable tripods, you probably have a preconceived notion that the build quality might be average at best. However, with increased competition in this space, a lot of the newer options are much better when it comes to being robustly constructed and manufactured.
The overall build quality is very good, and the tripod is well made and constructed. At least in my opinion, it punches well above its price when it comes to build quaility.
While it isn’t going to have the same high-end build quality as more expensive offerings from companies such as Sachtler and Miller, etc., it offers very good value for money, especially considering it’s a 100mm fluid head.
The TS120CF-Q Fluid Head is solidly constructed, and all of the lock-off mechanisms work as they should.
The plate adjustment and release mechanisms are very similar to what you would find on a lot of the Sachtler tripods.
The quick-release locks on the legs are robust and sturdy, and they are in a vertical position rather than a horizontal one, which I personally prefer. They are easy to open and lock, and then won’t pop open accidentally.
The leveling device is easy to hold and operate. There is no hook to be able to hang a bag or a counterweight.
The tripod feet are a little different to what you would find on other tripods. They are flat, but not overly large, and they feature a similar release system that you would find on some of the older Sachtler tripods; however, they are attached to the spreaders. So idf you want to take the feet off, the spreaders also need to come off.
The spreaders are nice and robust and easy to adjust. As I mentioned earlier, if you remove them, the feet also come off.
There are clips to secure the tripod legs together when it isn’t in use. These can stick out a little bit when the tripod is in use.
I found it easier to fold them behind the legs. While there is nowhere for them to really go, at least this gets them out of the way.
You also get spare 1/4-20″ and 3/8″ screws, which is handy.
The included bag that the tripod comes in is pretty decent, and I like that there are secure straps and protection for the head. This is something you don’t see often. There is an included strap so you can carry the bag over your shoulder.
There wasn’t anything I came across that overly concerned me when it came to the overall build quality. However, it is impossible for me to say how well the tripod would hold up to life in the field over many years of use.
TERIS offers a limited 3-Year manufacturer warranty. While this is nice, I am not sure what would happen if you needed the tripod repaired; it would probably need to go to China.
Size & Weight
The TERIS TS120CF-Q weighs 15.6 lb / 7.07 kg.
Below you can see how that weight compares to some other fluid head tripod systems on the market. Now, there are so many options available at various price points, so I am not going to list them all.
| WEIGHT | |
| TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head & Tripod Kit (Carbon Fiber) |
15.6 lb / 7.07 kg |
| Sachtler FSB 10 Mk II 100mm Touch & Go Head with ENG 2 Aluminum Tripod System (Ground Spreader) |
12.37 lb / 5.61 kg |
| Sachtler FSB 10 Mk II 100mm Touch & Go Head with ENG 2 Carbon Fiber Tripod System (Ground Spreader) |
11.27 lb / 5.11 kg |
| Miller Arrowx 3 2520 Solo-Q 100 3-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod System (100mm) 7-Step Pan & Tilt | 46.3 lb Capacity |
15.2 lb / 6.9 kg |
| Miller Arrowx 3 2520 Solo-Q 100 3-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod System (100mm) 5-Step Pan & Tilt | 41.9 lb Capacity |
15.2 lb / 6.9 kg |
| Miller CX10 Toggle 2-Stage Alloy Tripod System with Ground Spreader |
12.13 lb 5.5 kg |
| Camgear V25P EFP CF/MS Fluid Head and Carbon Fiber Tripod System (100mm) |
12.3 lb / 5.6 kg |
| CAME-TV 18T PRO Carbon Fiber 100mm Fluid Head Tripod |
NA |
| Cartoni Focus 12 Red Lock System (100mm Ball) |
14 lb / 6.35 kg |
| Sirui SQ100 Heavy-Duty Carbon Fiber Rapid-System Tripod with VHS18 Head and Mid-Level Spreader |
15.9 lb / 7.2 kg |
| Manfrotto 509HD Tripod System with Aluminum 645 Twin FAST Legs, 2-in-1 Spreader & Carry Bag |
17.2 lb / 7.8 kg |
| E-Image 3-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod System with MH22 Fluid Head and 100mm Leveling Ball |
13.89 lb / 6.3 kg |
| Libec GS-750QC Tripod System with GH75 Head, Ground Spreader & Case |
16.31 lb / 7.4 kg |
| Libec LX10 Two-Stage Aluminum Tripod System and H65B Head and Ground-Level Spreader |
23.3 lb / 10.6 kg |
| Acebil CS-780G(N) Professional Tripod System Kit |
15.43 lb / 7 kg |
Payload capacity
The TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head has a maximum payload of 33 lb /14.97 kglb. This is a decent payload capacity for an affordably priced 100mm bowl fluid head.
Below you can see how that payload capacity compares to some other 100mm bowl fluid heads.
| PAYLOAD CAPACITY | |
| TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head & Tripod Kit (Carbon Fiber) |
33 lb /14.97 kg |
| Sachtler FSB 10 Mk II 100mm Touch & Go Head with ENG 2 Aluminum Tripod System (Ground Spreader) |
26.5 lb / 12 kg |
| Sachtler FSB 10 Mk II 100mm Touch & Go Head with ENG 2 Carbon Fiber Tripod System (Ground Spreader) |
26.5 lb / 12 kg |
| Miller Arrowx 3 2520 Solo-Q 100 3-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod System (100mm) 7-Step Pan & Tilt | 46.3 lb Capacity |
46.3 lb / 21 kg |
| Miller Arrowx 3 2520 Solo-Q 100 3-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod System (100mm) 5-Step Pan & Tilt | 41.9 lb Capacity |
41.8 lb / 19 kg |
| Miller CX10 Toggle 2-Stage Alloy Tripod System with Ground Spreader |
26.4 lb / 12 kg |
| Camgear V25P EFP CF/MS Fluid Head and Carbon Fiber Tripod System (100mm) |
70.5 lb / 32 kg |
| CAME-TV 18T PRO Carbon Fiber 100mm Fluid Head Tripod |
44 lb / 20 kg |
| Cartoni Focus 12 Red Lock System (100mm Ball) |
26.46 lb / 12 kg |
| Sirui SQ100 Heavy-Duty Carbon Fiber Rapid-System Tripod with VHS18 Head and Mid-Level Spreader |
39.7 lb / 18 kg |
| Manfrotto 509HD Tripod System with Aluminum 645 Twin FAST Legs, 2-in-1 Spreader & Carry Bag |
28.66 lb / 13 kg |
| E-Image 3-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod System with MH22 Fluid Head and 100mm Leveling Ball |
48.5 lb / 22 kg |
| Libec GS-750QC Tripod System with GH75 Head, Ground Spreader & Case |
37.5 lb / 17 kg |
| Libec LX10 Two-Stage Aluminum Tripod System and H65B Head and Ground-Level Spreader |
35 lb / 15.88 kg |
| Acebil CS-780G(N) Professional Tripod System Kit |
33 lb / 14.97 kg |
The 33 lb /14.97 kg payload capacity allows you to use a wide array of options from digital cinema camera packages to mirrorless hybrids.
How high & low can it go?
Below you can see the maximum and minimum height of the tripod.
- 27.2″ / 69.09 cm (Minimum Height)
- 70″ / 177.8 cm (Maximum Height)
The tripod offers a decent height operating range that will suit most people’s needs.
2-Stage Carbon Fiber Legs
The 2-Stage carbon fiber legs allow you to make adjustments quickly. As there is only one latch on each leg, making changes is easy, and you don’t need to bend over too much, which is better for your back.
The legs are very sturdy, even at their maximum height.
Bubble Level
There is a single bubble level on the tripod head. There is also a button to illuminate it in low-light environments.
Incremental 7-step counterbalance & 5 levels of pan/ 5 levels of tilt drag
The head provides smooth movements with 7-step dynamic counterbalance, 5 levels of pan/ and 5 levels of tilt drag, +90° to -75° tilt, and 360° panning.
The counterbalance and dampening system controls are tactile and easy to use. The only slight issue some potential buyers may have is that they do make a clicking noise when you change settings. This could potentially be an issue if you are making adjustments during the middle of a shot where critical audio is being recorded close to the camera.
Drop In Wedge Plate
The tripod head comes with a drop-in wedge plate, which is the same type that you would find on some of the Sachtler FSB tripod heads. This is very easy to use and fast to attach and detach a camera.
You can simply attach the wedge plate to any tripod plate, and you are good to go.
I attached it to a VCT-14 plate and used it with a Sony FX6.
The tripod also allows you to adjust the top plate to obtain better balance when running front or back-heavy camera packages. There is a reasonably large range of adjustment.
Detachable Handle
The pan handle can be easily swapped to both the left or right side of the tripod. It is fairly long and can’t be adjusted.
Spreaders
The tripod kit comes with ground-spreaders, but you can’t remove them.
These are very easy to adjust and slide easily. The spreaders adjust out a reasonable amount to create a nice solid platform.
There is a round tab in the middle of the spreaders that you can use to help pull them together.
I personally prefer mid spreaders over ground spreaders for the work that I do. Ground spreaders can limit where you can place your tripod, especially on uneven terrain.
Carry Handle
The TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head comes with a carry handle, which is a nice addition. This is easy to grip and hold.
Is it comfortable to carry?
Well, no tripod really is, but the TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head was pretty easy to put on a shoulder, and nothing dug into me or caused any discomfort.
Operation
A tripod can have decent enough build quality and good features, but if it doesn’t actually perform well, then none of that really matters. I have personally found that most affordable 75mm and even some 100mm bowl fluid heads leave a lot to be desired, so I was interested to see how the TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head performed.
The overall operation of the tripod is very good considering its price point.
Above you can see a quick video showing how easy and quick it is to adjust.
How is it to use with a Digital Cinema Camera?
I tried the tripod out with a Sony FX6, a NiSi AUREUS 85mm T1.4 lens, and a Kinefinity shoulder mount to see how well it performed. This combination weighed 5.6kg / 12.35 lb. This was 9.3kg below the maximum payload capacity. At least in my opinion, you never want to run a fluid head at close to or at its maximum payload capacity. The TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head was able to handle this combination with ease.
To balance the tripod correctly, I had the counterbalance at just 2, the pan on 3, and the tilt set to 5.
I also tried the tripod out with a much heavier combination consisting of the ARRI Amira, TLS Morpheus 80-200mm T2.8, various accessories, and a bebob 150Wh battery.
For this heavier combination, I had the counterbalance set to its maximum of 7.
The tripod performed well with this combination, and there was still enough counterbalance that the camera wouldn’t move when the tilt axis was unlocked.
With a decent fluid head, you need to be able to pan and tilt smoothly, and you want as little backlash as possible. Backlash can occur if you have the drag settings too high. If you are not familiar with backlash, it is like a bouncy movement that the head will do when tilting. The TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head performed very well, and it didn’t have any backlash.
The nice thing about having a tripod head with a good payload capacity is that you can run a lot of camera rigs without having to reach the max. weight limit.
Counterbalance & Tilt Drag
The TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head had the same amount of resistance on the pan-axis as it did on the tilt-axis. On a really good fluid head tripod, you should be able to dial in the same amount of maximum resistance on both axes.
As the fluid head has a decent amount of counterbalance, dampening, and tension adjustments, you can adjust it depending on your camera payload. The counterbalance works really well, as you can see above.
What about panning and tilting at the same time?
Panning and tilting at the same time can be done smoothly once you have everything adjusted correctly.
Usually, with more affordable fluid heads, I would personally recommend that you hold the pan handle and the front of the camera at the same time if you are panning and tilting; however, you don’t have to do that with the TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head.
How is the stability?
At its minimum height, the tripod is extremely solid, and it doesn’t move around or flex.
Even at its maximum operating height (with the spreaders not extended), the stability was good. This somewhat surprised me, because with a lot of the ‘affordable’ tripod systems I have tried, stability when fully raised tends to be an issue.
What are the feet like?
The feet have a large uniform footprint so they sit evenly on flat surfaces.
On uneven surfaces, they still do a reasonable job; however, because of the ground spreaders, you aren’t going to be able to use it on very uneven terrain, or stairs, etc. Ground spreaders are only really useful if you are working indoors. Outdoors, there are too many compromises you ned to make.
The bottom of the feet features a hard rubber material, but they are physically attached to the ground spreader. I would have personally preferred to have seen separate feet and a spreader that could be removed. If you break or damage a foot, you would probably need to replace the whole spreader.
You can also remove the feet/spreader if you need to use the tripod on a dolly, etc.
It doesn’t appear that TERIS makes any tripods with a mid-spreader option, which is a pity. This is something they should look into.
Price & Availability
The TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head Tripod Kit retails for $1,399 USD.
Below you can see how that price compares to some of the other 100mm fluid head tripod systems on the market.
| PRICE | |
| TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head & Tripod Kit (Carbon Fiber) |
$1,399 USD |
| Sachtler FSB 10 Mk II 100mm Touch & Go Head with ENG 2 Aluminum Tripod System (Ground Spreader) |
$4,450.75 USD |
| Sachtler FSB 10 Mk II 100mm Touch & Go Head with ENG 2 Carbon Fiber Tripod System (Ground Spreader) |
$4,343.75 USD |
| Miller Arrowx 3 2520 Solo-Q 100 3-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod System (100mm) 7-Step Pan & Tilt | 46.3 lb Capacity |
$6,843.43 USD |
| Miller Arrowx 3 2520 Solo-Q 100 3-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod System (100mm) 5-Step Pan & Tilt | 41.9 lb Capacity |
$4,784.80 USD |
| Miller CX10 Toggle 2-Stage Alloy Tripod System with Ground Spreader |
$3,503.32 USD |
| Camgear V25P EFP CF/MS Fluid Head and Carbon Fiber Tripod System (100mm) |
$5,749 USD |
| CAME-TV 18T PRO Carbon Fiber 100mm Fluid Head Tripod |
$1,637 USD |
| Cartoni Focus 12 Red Lock System (100mm Ball) |
$2,516.80 USD |
| Sirui SQ100 Heavy-Duty Carbon Fiber Rapid-System Tripod with VHS18 Head and Mid-Level Spreader |
$849 USD |
| Manfrotto 509HD Tripod System with Aluminum 645 Twin FAST Legs, 2-in-1 Spreader & Carry Bag |
$1,899.95 USD |
| E-Image 3-Stage Carbon Fiber Tripod System with MH22 Fluid Head and 100mm Leveling Ball |
$4,799 USD |
| Libec GS-750QC Tripod System with GH75 Head, Ground Spreader & Case |
$4,319 USD |
| Libec LX10 Two-Stage Aluminum Tripod System and H65B Head and Ground-Level Spreader |
$1,279 USD |
| Acebil CS-780G(N) Professional Tripod System Kit |
$2,226 USD |
The price of $1,399 USD makes this a very compelling option given its performance, build quality, and payload capacity.
Specifications
Conclusion
You should never judge a book by its cover. I had never heard of TERIS until recently, but like any product that gets reviewed on Newsshooter, it receives the same unbiased and impartial treatment regardless of who it comes from or how much it costs.
If you are using a mid-sized digital cinema camera like a Sony FX6, RED KOMODO X, Canon C80, etc., then it will work really well, even with heavier lens setups. Because of the 33 lb /14.97 kg payload capacity, you could also use it with larger digital cinema cameras, and I had no issues using it with an ARRI Amira. Its weight of 15.6 lb / 7.07 kg also makes it pretty manageable, especially if you travel a lot.
The TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head & Tripod Kit (Carbon Fiber) surprised me. It is well made, offers good performance, and most importantly, it is affordable. Is it perfect? No. There are a few small things that could be improved, but overall it offers extremely good value for money.
Is it as good as a Sachtler, Miller, Cartoni, etc.? Not quite, but it’s pretty close!
You often pay for what you get when it comes to tripods, but the TERIS TS120CF-Q Fluid Head & Tripod Kit (Carbon Fiber) goes a long way towards bucking that trend.
Who are TERIS?
Established in 2009, the Turis brand, through its subsidiary Tianjin Pengsiji Film & Television Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research, development, manufacturing, and sales of support equipment for broadcasting, television, and film production. The company’s production base, located in Jinghai District, Tianjin, covers an area of over 8,000 square meters and boasts a modern, high-precision machining center with over 20 lathes and other equipment, employing more than 50 professional production and R&D personnel. The company has obtained over 50 national patents.