From the moment you open the box, everything about this tripod reflects quality.The carry bag is padded and made of ripstop nylon and has both a carry handle and strap. Opening the zipper reveals black tripod legs with gold accents and a velvet bag covered ball head.Taking the tripod out of the bag you immediately get a sense of opulence, whether you're a beginner or a pro, this tripod makes you feel like a professional.The legs of the tripod fold backward onto the center stem and ball head. This allows the tripod to fold down to to a compact size under 19 inches (48cm) yet expand to almost 60 inches when fully extended.Each leg on the tripod ratchets into position and has three locking points allowing your to articulate and adjust the legs to balance on almost any terrain. There are three (3) telescopic sections on each leg and they have a twist lock to secure each section in place.The ball head that comes with the the tripod is all metal construction and very well built, Ball heads are best suited for still photography but can be used for video also. If you do want to change the ball head on this tripod you can, the tripod has a standard 3/8' screw on the center stem which will allow you to attach any professional tripod head you want, although for most users the factory ball head will be all you need.The factory K&F ball head that comes with this tripod comes with a sliding quick release mounting plate which attaches to your camera and then slides onto the mount and is secured tightly in place by a side set screw. There is a small 360 degree ball level on the tripod head which is pretty accurate and showed level along with the onscreen horizon level on my Panasonic G6.The ball level has two adjustment screws. The lower smaller screw controls the pan or side to side horizontal movement of the head. The larger side screw controls the tightness of the ball which will tilt, swivel and also pan.The tension on the ball head is quite precise and can be adjusted to lock your camera head completely or just backed off a little to allow smooth movements up and down.With the top tilt/swivel adjusted to the angle or tension you want the lower pan screw allows you to lock or loosen the horizontal pan adjustment to your liking.One other feature of this tripod that you might find useful is the ability to remove the legs and covert the tripod into a monopod. Personally I have a dedicated monopod so I didn't use this feature however if you're only going to buy one tripod - this one is excellent since it will let you convert it back and forth from tripod to monopod.Overall K&F knocked it out of the park with this tripod. It's solid, well made and an exceptional value under $250.I received a sample product from the manufacturer for testing and unbiased evaluation. I always take the cost of the product into consideration when writing a review.