Nice little tripod. Very sturdy construction. Solid locking mech on the legs. No ball head included. This would be suitable for even heavy DSLR's and for macro work with a focusing rail. Not the best choice for casual use or for travelling, imo, as it's a bit heavy and the leg locks are clunky and slow to use. (They're very solid though.) The carry bag is nothing special, but it's still nice that they included it. You'll probably need to budget for some kind of ball head. Recommended.

Very compact, VERY sturdy, built like a tank. It's a little on the heavy side, but that isn't a concern for me. I needed STURDY and ROCK SOLID. This tripod is all of that and more. I use it with a LabRadar chronograph and to function correctly the radar emitter must remain totally unmoving. I'm very pleased.

Strong, smooth, well made, and pretty good value.

I like this little tripod enough that I'm giving it five stars. However, there are a couple of things that aren't perfect. My biggest complaint is that because it doesn't have a separate mounting plate you must spin the entire tripod to screw it into the camera (or whatever you're attaching it to). This works best if you fold the legs in, but it's still tricky to screw it in straight. It wouldn't be hard to crossthread it and ruin the tripod socket on the camera. That would make me VERY unhappy. :( My second gripe is with the (orange) locking tabs that hold the legs in position when they are folded out. They are not spring-loaded. They automatically engage the first notch (tallest legs), but not the second and third notches. You must manually pull them out and then push them back in again. Not a big deal, except that you must do this AFTER you've attached the camera (see my first complaint), which can become a juggling act if your camera has a big lens. You'll wish you had three hands to do this. :(

On the plus side, the ball socket is nicely done. Just the right amount of friction and easy to control and lock. Bravo! And I like the color scheme and the heft and the build quality. So, in spite of its shortcomings, I'm still giving it five stars. Thanks!

I have my leupold spotting scope with a Longshot camera attached (approx 6lbs) to this and it holds very steady. I got this because I needed a low profile stand for the shooing benches at the range. This works perfectly. It's built solid, the folding legs help to keep
It in place. My only issue is with the tensioning brakes. Both are solid aluminum and well build, but almost too lose in the threads. So you end up torquing them more than you should need to. The lower one that rest against the base is easy to over tighten and then need something to break free. I added small o rings between the surfaces so on top against the scope and tensioner and on bottom between the the tensioner and base. It seems to tighten enough to prevent movement but still have a breakaway gap. Still 5 stars.

Handles heavy spotting scope just fine.