SIRUI Professional Heavy Duty Carbon Fiber Tripod 68 9 Waterproof Camera Tripod with Triangular Center Column Large Tube

What a great tripod! If you are looking to invest in a great (and tall) travel-ish tripod I highly recommend this one! In the past, I've invested $$$ in well-made Manfrottos, only to find out they were too short. I'm 6'3", and this goes up tall enough for me (with 2-3 inches to spare). It's light for its height; it's not exactly compact, but it's just the right size and weight to justify how tall it stands. I really like the twist mechanics—it feels like quality, and there's a tactile resistance change when tightening and untightening that tells you it's locked in place or loose. Great lockability. It's rugged enough for everyday use and stable enough too. It's a well-made tripod; I have no complaints. Read more

I have a couple of the Sirui tripods. I’m a tripod novice, just use them for heavy spotting scopes and they work great. Read more

The ST-224 from Sirui is pretty awesome! It's light, even with my head attached (Colorado Tripods Aspen ballhead). My main goal is size. I carry my camera equipment in a bag on the back of my motorcycle, and it all needs to fit. This tripod collapses down to 23 1/4 inches, which does fit in my side bag or sissy bar bag. This is replacing a Manfrotto 055 3-section tripod; the 4-section model of that is simply too expensive at $599. The ST-224 is comparable in stiffness and in capacity. Usability is good, the leg locks are easy to twist out and in to place. The angle locks pop out so you don't have to hold them while you're adjusting the angle of the legs. One thing I don't understand is that the first angle of the legs is so 'steep '. I'd prefer if the legs were locked into place at a couple degrees wider stance, to help the tripod feel more stable. This seems to be a trend in newer models of tripods of many brands. The center tube, triangular and not round like most tripods, can be removed and flipped upside down in order to place your camera at very low angles including just touching the ground (but watch out when you do this, it's easy to pinch your finger on the latch inside the hook). The 7th photo shows that with my camera. I honestly prefer to have no center tube, so I purchased a short tube (last photo, this part DOES NOT come with the tripod) from B&H (Amazon doesn't carry it). I carry the longer tube in my backpack when I'm in the field, just in case. All in all, this has been a good purchase. Highly recommended! Read more