This is the most versatile tripod I've ever owned. You can shoot from so many different angles and heights and this thing is sturdy. It comes with a nice carrying case and I have taken it on several hiking trips. Once you get familiar with all of the features it sets up easily.

Not as light as inferred, but not bad. More than made up for by versatility...

Great tripod. Easy to set up and use. Great price !!

In searching through my past orders, I came across my purchase of this tripod and thought I'd share my experience. I've had the Alta Pro 263AB with SBH-100 ball head for almost 3 years!Photography is my favorite hobby and I want to do it all: macro, landscape, wildlife, portrait, and especially the night sky so having a sturdy tripod is very important. However, spending money on a tripod just isn't as glamorous as buying a new lens, so I wasn't about to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on one. I spent a lot of time reading reviews about the Vanguard on Amazon and decided to give this one a try.I belong so several photography groups, so go on outings almost every weekend. The tripod gets a lot of use! I guess it might be heavier than some of the top brand models, but I'm used to packing it on hikes. (I'll inject that I'm a short, little old lady!) This poor tripod has been abused by sand, salt water, snow, mud, dust, etc. I have not treated it gentle or kind, but it hasn't let me down. Literally. My tripod doubles as a walking stick through creeks and rocky trails.The ball head still moves smoothly. In the past year, the little orange release button has been hard to push so releasing the camera has become challenging. I don't think it's a defect, it happened after a trip to the beach so it's probably sand. It groans a little when I put my full-frame w/150-600mm on it. I use the 2 second delay or the remote to keep shake at a minimum, if the subject demands it. Mostly, when using the 150-600mm, I'm panning and the tripod just helps support the weight.So, after 3 years of heavy use and abuse, it's still doing it's job. I'm sure I'll have to replace it eventually and unless I win the lottery I will replace it with the same model.

I love this tripod!! It’s fairly light,super stable and durable. I’ve alrdy taken it on multiple shoots hav no shakes . It’s built very sturdy and looks great!! Perfect for my use...

Ok so I ordered this initially as a travel tripod without watching a youtube review to get a idea of the actual size(It's a full sized tripod) of it. Once I saw the packaging I knew I wasn't going to be able to take it to Iceland with me, But I decided to open it anyway. And I am glad I did! this thing is awesome. EVERY ANGLE IS COVERED!

I bought it for macro photography... then we went into lockdown, so haven't been able to really use it in the field yet. But at home it's very good for most things I do. The only downside - getting the central column to move up or down or invert it is a very fiddly process as it's not really well designed - the wedged plastic inset often gets stuck and is hard to handle. Definitely needs a redesign there.

i like shooting nighttime landscapes, this unit is very solid i had never used a ball head before once you get the tension set you can turn the camera any angle you could want and it stays there. i like the index marks around the base at night trying to get a panorama of the night sky they are very helpful.the only con i can think of is the lock down on the ball head tends to tilt the camera as you tighten it down