Really nice general-purpose tripod, well-engineered, excellent value.
I'm impressed with the quality and utility of this tripod considering its under-$50 price. Clearly someone put a lot of thought into its design. It's light and reasonably sturdy. Construction is almost entirely plastic and aluminum. (All the tubular parts, such as leg sections, monopod sections, and center post, are aluminum.) As advertised, it can be set up to be quite tall. I'm over 6'-2", and it easily sets up at a comfortable height for me, whether in tripod or monopod mode. Speaking of which, it's got a fast-to-deploy monopod, which should be handy for outdoor photography. It seems to me this tripod should really shine for indoor use, although the center hook allows weight to be added to make it more stable outdoors. It can also be made more stable by not fully extending the legs. (I'm actually planning to use this tripod mostly outdoors, so it'll be interesting to see how it performs and holds up under those conditions.) Also as advertised, the pan and tilt functions provide a degree of "image stabilization" when moving the camera. With a little practice and careful adjustment of knob tension, I'm able to pan and tilt my video camera quite smoothly. The included bluetooth remote paired quickly with my smartphone and works great. That brings me to my one complaint about this tripod, and it's minor: the instruction pamphlet that accompanies the remote has comically tiny print. Unless your vision is incredible, you'll need magnification to read the 1.5-mm high font they used. Some reviewers have commented that the storage bag is a bit small. Maybe the manufacturer has addressed this in the meantime, but I found the bag to fit perfectly when everything is properly collapsed, with room to spare for instructions and accessories. I wouldn't want it to be any larger because then the contents would slide around. So, is this tripod suitable for professional-grade use with heavy telephoto lenses, or in very windy conditions? Probably not. But for general-purpose use, tight budgets, or where light weight is desirable, it's a hands-down winner. I'm glad I bought it. Read more









