Having only an old and kind of heavy tripod—but using lighter mirrorless cameras these days—I needed to find a lighter tripod. I checked out several brands. The Vanguard gets my vote.>> LegsOut of the box, they are neither too stiff nor too lose. They feel just right. In the event they need tightening, the company supplies a tool for that purpose.When the tripod is set up and everything is tightened down, it feels super solid.>> BallheadThis looks like a high-quality item to me, but it uses a proprietary attachment system—it isn't Arca-Swiss-compatible. Newer Vanguard tripod/ballhead kits all seem to have Arca-Swiss-compatible heads. I don't want to discard my camera's great hand grip with its Arca-Swiss base plate. Fortunately I have a good replacement ballhead that I can use instead.Too few manufacturers pay enough attention to the feel of their tightening knobs. The ones on the Vanguard ballhead are comfortable to hold and turn.>> Proprietary ballhead attachment systemI might not be able to use it myself, but that aside it's clearly well made. The supplied camera plate has a sensible design for the attachment screw, so you aren't out of luck if you need to attach it but don't have a flat-head screwdriver or coin handy. The plate slides into place and locks there. Press a small button at the open end of the clamp to release it—the mounting plate slides right out. This seems like a very solid design, surely capable of holding a fairly heavy DSLR with the ballhead remaining locked down nice and tight.>> Center columnThe column is hexagonal, not round. It feels solid when it's tightened. It can't be turned within its housing, but when you have it upright, you can use the swivel adjustment elsewhere on the tripod.>> Release levers for changing leg anglesI'm used to seeing levers that stick out at the tops of tripods' legs—you push them inward or pull them downward to change the legs' angles. Some have a pretty flimsy feel to them. The Vanguard tripod has wide push-levers instead, mounted flush to the sides of the legs rather than projecting out from them. This arrangement works very well, and there's no metal gizmo sticking out the sides of the tripod to snag on anything. Thumbs up for this feature. (If it matters: the legs move silently as you change angles—no loud CLICKs.)>> Tilting center column designSome reviews I've seen complain a bit about the steps needed to move the center column from vertical into tilt "mode". Judging by video reviews, Vanguard's later models seem easier to tilt.But it isn't _that_ much more work. Set the column at the desired angle, then lock it by tightening a lever. With the lever down, the column locks securely and without any "slop". To unlock it, slide a small plastic slider a short distance. This frees the tightening lever, which you then lift to change the angle.Moving the column from vertical to "tilt"—or removing it entirely when you want to reverse it—does not require removing the spring-mounted hook at the end of the column. Thanks for that, Vanguard.When the column is in tilt "mode," you can swing it around until it's parallel to the vertical axis of the tripod. Then, adjust the distance from head to ground via a single tightening knob. Thus for reversing the column you don't have to pull it all the way out of its housing and then re-insert it upside down.>> Flip-lock levers for extending the legsI have one tripod with inexpensive-looking and -feeling levers, and they worry me. But the Vanguard's levers seem very well made. The tool supplied with the tripod enables you to tighten them if need be.This model has only two flip-locks per leg to get to its rated maximum height. That's great.>> Monopod capabilityIt's all the rage in recent tripod designs and it sure is handy. The Vanguard does not have such a feature. The legs can't be removed. But I knew that when I bought it. Nice to have, but not a deal-breaker.>> Carrying it aroundVanguard doesn't make the tripod to be folded back onto itself after the fashion of Three Legged Thing tripods. But, you can shorten it a lot by moving the center column to tilt "mode", extending it all the way, turning it parallel to the legs, and locking the tilt angle. This shortens it quite a bit. (If you fold it up this way, you probably shouldn't pick it up by holding only the center column. Hold the legs instead.)>> Nice touchGood deal: All three legs have foam wraps.>> Carrying bag? Nope.Nice to have, but not a deal-breaker.>> Nit-pick: DocumentationThe documentation is almost entirely pictorial and the diagrams are not the easiest to read. You do, so to speak, get the picture after a while, but the documentation could stand improving. (And hello, Vanguard: The PDF version of the documentation needs to be output again at higher resolution!)>> Nit-pick: Set screws to hold the ballhead in placeWhile this is a good idea to keep the ballhead from becoming unscrewed accidentally, it's a bit of a pain to loosen and tighten those set-screws within the mounting plate. But ok—it isn't as difficult as landing a rover on Mars. You won't have to do it often. The "multi-tool" supplied with the tripod comes with an Allen key of the necessary size.>> Overall impression

First of all, let me start to talk about the delivery/amazon.com service for this purchase of mine.About the delivery/service: (skip this part if you are only interest in the lens review :) )Usually I am very content with amazon's service. They respond fast and if something goes wrong, they compensate one.Unfortunately this time, things weren't as great. And to be honest I was just disappointed of the service.I have an Amazon-Prime account and therefore 2days delivery was 'guaranteed' (cite) since I have purchased this item from amazon. If it was not amazon prime and if it was just delayed for a day, I wouldn't bother mentioning it. Yet this time, the delivery was all confusing. I received daily messages that the item was out for delivery and a couple hours later that the item has to be sent back because of a wrong location. The lens ended up coming late about one week. All wouldn't be as but if I didn't have work to do and a travel for the weekend, for which I both bought this lens for. It is not the fact that it came late which disappoints me so much, it was the fact that amazon guaranteedtwo day shipping and as they were usually reliable, I sold my other lens, expecting this one to come on time (It should have come on Wednesday, so I did calculate a possible two day delay...). It is moreover the opportunity costs I had to pay because I did not have a lens in this range neither for work, nor for my journey.Amazon did offer me some kind of compensation on the first day of delay, a $15 certificate for the next purchase from amazon.com. To be honest with you, this was not worth even a tiny bit of what I missed due to the delay. And until now, I haven't received any information about the further process yet. In this case they should have kept better contact with their delivery/supply chain.Now we come to the hot part :DAs you can see I still gave the lens 5 stars, because the lens itself is a great piece of glass. I got the lens while it was still on a very good deal!I just got my copy of this lens today and tried it out right away and I am already happy with this lens! And as you can see I wasn't able to wait to share my excitement (which was quite dampened by the delay though)Just look at the pictures which were uploaded. This thing is just great!1) Overall first impression and optical quality:I am currently using a Canon 7D. My other lenses are: Canon 70-200mm f/4 L, Canon 50mm f/1.8 and Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 fisheye.The Canon 17-40mm f/4 L just completes my kit.I haven't had the opportunity to fully tet the lens yet. What I can say is that in good to decent light conditioning this lens is performing at its best! The details, the saturation and the contrast are great with this lens. Moreover you can get really really close to the object. I have the feeling that you could use this one even as a macro lens. I might be one of the lucky person who got a very good copy of this lens, but I am very pleased with Canon so far and think, that their Quality control is really good.And yes - this thing is BOKEHLICOUS :) Nice, smooth Bokeh!2) The build qualityThose who had the pleasure to use L lenses before can tell that the build quality and ergonomic of these or second to none.And the 17-40mm f/4 L is no exception. In fact, this lens is one of the lightest Canon L lenses. But lighter does not mean cheaper. In opposite! The build quality is great. A very sturdy piece of glass, good weight to carry it around all day, attached to a big camera such as the 7D or 5D MarkII without getting tired.One also has to mention that this lens is weather sealed. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The weather sealing is only complete when you mount a 77mm UV Filter onto it (I decided to buy Hoya . very good quality, reasonable price. No flare at all.)3) The priceThis is in fact of the most affordable lenses by Canon. And yes, call it: BANG FOR THE BUCK. Of course, everything has to be regarded in relative terms. Whoever can really call around $700 to be cheap probably doesn't have quite a tight wallet as most of us.But in terms of L lenses, yes, this one is one of the most inexpensive glasses you can get. And don't be fooled by the price, this has nothing to do with the quality!4) What's great about it?a) It is an L lensb) Resale price does not drop significantly over timec) comes with leather lens-bag and hood (for ASP-C DSLRs one has to be another hood though, since this is actually a FF lens)4) looks sexy because of the red ring ;)5) Compatible with FF DLSRs (for the future)!And lastly, yes this lens does not have IS. But at this wide angle one usually does not need one.And yes, this lens only has an aperture of f4. But as always, ask yourself what you really need and if you really need the extra stop to f2.8 which costs you almost $1000 more. For me, this lens is all fine. Shooting in really poor light conditions might be a little tough, but that's when you should use a flash and/or a monopod/tripod. But even handheld I did not have a huge problem with this lens, most of all because of the ability of the newer cameras such as the Canon 7D to perform quite well in low light in terms of dealing with high ISO.An update will be coming soon, which will include more about the performance in normal and also in low light!

I bought this because I wanted an inexpensive accessory kit. My thought was, I could try the accessories and figure out which ones I most used and then buy better ones if I felt the need. This product delivered as I expected. It's a great product that is allowing me to try out different accessories. It's giving me many options. Overall, it is sturdy and works very well.Pros:* All of the GoPro Mount connectors easily fit the GoPro case connector. They are well made. There is no wiggling or trying to make it fit. They just fit.* The adhesives for the mounts you can permanently adhere to something are 3M* There are a lot of mounts and connectors and they all fit well and feel sturdy.* The mounting buckles fit easily into the mounts with no more effort than the GoPro brand accessories.* The float handle is well sized and feels comfortable in the hand. It feels sturdy and good.* Most accessories feel like they will last a good long while and keep your GoPro safe.The Cons:* The foam in the case gets squished due to the sheer volume of accessories packed inside. It wasn't an issue for me, but if you plan to store your GoPro in the case, it may be an issue for you. It's also precut so there isn't really any customization for storage.* The tripod broke on me the first time I pulled it out of the package and tried to set it up. The top portion which holds the camera and can be positioned at different angles just sort of popped and got very loose. It will not hold the camera upright and straight like it should. I had another small tripod (although not this type), so it wasn't a big issue to me.* The monopod feels pretty flimsy and I wouldn't trust it if you plan to be active with it. I think it will crack in half or bend if used extended for too long or if you are too active. It would be fine if you are just trying to use it unextended to film around your house or something not active. Either way, if you do extend it, you are likely to get a lot of shake in your video if you don't have image stabilization just because it is pretty flimsy.* The helmet mount strap doesn't seem to look or behave anything like the GoPro mount. I would not trust it to hold your GoPro to your helmet as you bike along. It is not a single strap that wraps around creating a closed loop with a nice secure buckly. It is only being held on by the buckle things (that have no secure lock type device) which hold 2 open pieces of webbing together.. I was able to easily pull them apart with one finger pulling the buckle very gently. But, I'm sure this mount could be used in other creative ways with good success.

As a videographer and photographer, I have chronicled my outdoor adventures for the past 20 years. I am an urban musher, which means I harness my team of Huskies to a cart and travel on trails and streets. I don’t use a snow sled for mushing in Alaska; instead, I use modified bicycles and mush with my pack from Baltimore to California.They call me the WooFDriver. And while I might be an expert on all things Husky, I am equally an expert on the equipment that I use to record our epic adventures. I’m usually the first one to buy a new kind of camera to test it out so that I can be an early adopter of any kind of technology that pushes the boundaries further, since I myself push boundaries. I will pioneer news ways of using equipment to get the best shot possible and with enough trial and error I’ll make sure I get that shot. There are links to all the shots I talk about in this review: Just search the internet for “WooFDriver Reviews” and you’ll find the page.When Nikon released their KeyMission 360, I was very excited because I’d been using virtual reality cameras for better than two years already, perfecting my skill with them and learning their bugs. Nikon is one of the largest and most respected camera manufacturers, so when it got involved in the GoPro-type camera market I jumped on board to see how they’d taken videography and photography to the next level. Competition and availability of any technology is always a plus for consumers, and the KeyMission seemed like it was going to add to the virtual reality game. I ordered it as soon as it was released, took it out of its box, connected it to my mobile phone, and I was off to the races — literally. The Huskies were raring to run and I experimented with ways to capture spherical, 360-degree images of our trek as we headed outside.The camera had a learning curve, as they all do, but I loved it. As I began to plan my review of the KeyMission, I checked Amazon and was shocked to see so many negative comments and reviews. This camera is NOT worth all of the negative attention it’s receiving; in my opinion, the camera earns nearly 4 stars out of 5. It has plenty of pros, a few cons, and compares favorably to the other two cameras I’ve used the most: the Kodak SP360 models and the Ricoh Theta. I had started my VR journey with the Kodak, then jumped into the Ricoh and was pleasantly surprised with its simplicity and the results it yielded. The Ricoh Theta is an excellent camera, and when I then moved into the Nikon market, I found the KeyMission held its own against the Theta. I actually travel with both of them now, using them interchangeably as I record my adventures with my dog team.The KeyMission has the advantage of endless memory. Instead of containing non-removable (and therefore limited) interior storage, it takes memory cards. My storage is limited only by how many memory cards I pack with me on a trek. This is a huge advantage over the Theta which has 8 GB, something I can burn through very quickly. I do not want my shooting capabilities to be hampered, especially when I’m 20 miles deep into the C&O Canal path with four Huskies who don’t want to stop. I can shoot and collect footage without visiting my computer for days.Another huge advantage of the KeyMission is its ability to let the photographer view his own content without downloading it first. This means I can review my footage at a campsite at night without having to wait until I am back home from my journey. I don’t have to download my footage on a computer and convert it to 360-degree format in order to see it; that process is painstaking and time-intensive. For this reason, Nikon has vastly improved the process over Ricoh.Some of the negative reviews of the KeyMission focus on its connectivity, so I’ll share my experience with that. The connection requires a two-step process of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for full functionality. It will have limited functionality with a Bluetooth-only connection. In my extensive use of both Android and Apple mobile phone platforms, I discovered I had fewer inconsistencies connecting the KeyMission to an Android than an iPhone. In a second note about connectivity, I further discovered when the battery level neared depletion, connectivity suffered on any platform. I recommend carrying spare batteries to avoid this problem.Because Wi-Fi connectivity can be problematic, I always like to have a backup. For when the connection to a mobile phone fails, Nikon offers a remote control which I really like. I am all about the failsafe solutions – driving my dogs outside and sometimes mushing miles from anything, I always look for failsafes and backups. And usually a remote control that is dedicated to a particular brand, in this case Nikon, is a pretty failsafe solution. With that being said, people have commented about not being able to see what they’re videoing or taking a picture of – the remote doesn’t frame the shot for you like your phone does – but my solution is to try to frame the content you’re trying to film with a quick connect to your phone, adjust the position of the camera, then proceed on using the remote. Plus, as you get a feel for 360-degree photography and videography, you eventually won’t need the visual aid as you will be able to anticipate the shot you’ll get.As far as picture quality, it’s excellent. The KeyMission offers a higher resolution than the Theta, but I wouldn’t say the pictures are necessarily any sharper. That’s not a complaint – the pictures and videos are beautiful with both devices. Some of the negative reviews have been about Nikon’s stitching; photographers report that they can see the seams when the KeyMission creates the sphere, but for me that’s not a valid complaint. Folks, that’s called “missing the forest for the trees,” as they say. Sure, a seam may not be 100% perfect but it’s dang near close enough, and LOOK AT WHAT YOU’RE GETTING. You’re getting a limitless virtual reality experience in a 360-degree sphere of awesomeness, and all of your friends, family, and fans can experience the video you’ve captured as though they were sitting on the dog cart next to you while you were flying through an old railroad trail! Wait… that’s just me! What’s YOUR passion? Remember, this is new technology, and it’s improving constantly. When this technology was nascent, I was stitching the images myself on the Kodak, so I have zero complaints about Nikon doing it for me.Another huge improvement Nikon made over Ricoh is the KeyMission’s weatherproof and waterproof capabilities. The Theta can’t compete. The Theta takes a waterproof case, which works, but the case distorts the scene and the stitching, bringing the imagery down to a just- acceptable view. I filmed fish entirely underwater using the Theta in its waterproof case so you can check out that video and its quality on my website (remember, just search for “WooFDriver Reviews”) whereas the KeyMission is waterproof without a case so there will be no distortion.So if the KeyMission is so amazing, then what’s the downside?Well, here’s one. The Theta’s stitching is better, if that’s the hill you must die on. I encourage you not to focus on the stitching with any camera because you’re missing the incredible immersive experience of virtual reality, which is 99% of the experience (the stitching being about 1%, in my opinion) but if stitching is your thing, then stitching is your thing. The Theta’s is better.Also, the shape of the KeyMission doesn’t lend itself well to handheld shots without using a monopod or selfie stick, which I would consider a negative over the Theta. The Theta has a built-in handle, more or less – it’s designed with a long narrow shape that fits in your hand and is definitely superior for handheld use.Finally, the biggest problem with the KeyMission is the same as with all virtual reality photos: There’s no real place to catalog photos, and any video cataloging is limited to YouTube. YouTube allows a video gallery but for photos, there’s no easy photo album or gallery that can be created. Why do we use 360-degree cameras? Why do we capture the entire height and breadth of our adventure? To share, of course. And with no easy sharing platform, we’re often without a good way to upload our spherical stories. Facebook will usually exhibit the VR style, but depending on your device’s capabilities, you may not always see the full experience if the computer you’re on (or tablet, or mobile phone, etc.) doesn’t support it. Personally, I’ve found the best way to display these images on a website in any kind gallery fashion is to use a plugin on the WordPress platform which seems to work well (you can see examples on my website). You might ask yourself what this has to do with a review, but I think sharing the videography and photography that chronicles our lives, jobs, and passions is a window that’s now open to us. We can keep in touch with friends and with distant family; we can build a fan base; we can create documentaries of our travels; we can transmit our experiences for business purposes. The applications are endless. But websites on the Internet need to catch up. Sharing an entire scene of what we’re seeing on social media outlets like Facebook works for a moment, but users will find it hard to scroll backwards through memories, going through old posts to try to find a really cool photo or video. Hopefully Facebook someday will offer an album feature – an organization where VR photos can be catalogued. As of now, Flickr offers some VR display capabilities, but not as adequately as I would like.The most desirable way to display these photographs and videos are in a format that automatically spins and auto-displays the entire view, but also allows you to interact with it to look higher, lower, or back the other way. This technology is unbelievable, but you have to ask yourself what you want to do with it. With any of the cameras I’ve used, I am truly wowed by their capabilities at being able to capture an entire scene, but my options for sharing it with the world are different. For example, after the journey and back at home, the Nikon is actually the easiest to use when sitting at a desktop or laptop computer. I can insert all of the storage cards straight into my computer to review and edit anything I need to, then post all my footage online. This process is best for a guy like me, who is a heavy photographer and videographer adventuring out all the time who is really into the Nikon for the endless storage. My uploads at the end of an adventure can be massive. However, for posting on the fly, during an adventure, the Theta is best. It connects to a tablet or smart phone for quick posts and sharing from the field. I love, and use, my Ricoh, but as for the Nikon, I wouldn’t take a trip without it.Thanks for reading! Good luck with your decision, and have a wonderful journey! If you’re still comparing the Nikon to the Ricoh to the Kodak, please check my WooFDriver website to see all the different images and videos taken in the past two years on all three cameras, ever since I entered the world of virtual reality. If you want to know more about me, just use Google and Facebook! I am the only WooFDriver!

When you first open the package your first thought maybe that this is a heavy selfie stick, and it maybe for some. Second thought maybe that at the base it is kind of big for one handed use due to the tripod (5 3/8" in somewhat triangular). I personally wear extra large gloves so it is not an issue and I find it not only comfortable but it gives me greater control over the stick. I have a Galaxy S9+ and the stick holds it very secure, and I did test it by spinning it, swinging it and making some other motions, figured do it now rather than find out over some river or cliff if there is an issue. Just make sure everything is screwed on tight, the part that holds the phone on can come off so you can attach a regular camera to it if you wish, I didn't try it though. Doing the testing I also found the grooves built into the telescoping section hold it very steady side to side. It holds the phone where you want it without the weight of the phone twisting it to one side. The length is great and fully adjustable, so you can either have a close up or more background. The bluetooth was easy to pair, but with my phone I cannot use the focus buttons, but supposedly you can get an app that does that, I am not worried about it. The remote being detachable and bluetooth is a plus as you are not trying to control stick and click on the button with one hand at the same time. Tripod holds the phone from approx 18" off the ground to 49", not bad. For this type of tripod it is pretty sturdy, but that will also depend on the weight of your phone. Tripod legs are not individually adjustable so be careful on uneven ground. Little feature I like is the oval "mirror" under where the phone attaches, so you can see if you are in picture with regular phone camera. Overall I like this stick, but the real test comes up in over a month when we we go hiking in the Poconos, doing the waterfalls and cliffs during the fall leaf season. It should help me get some interesting angles, and maybe even try my camera with it, either with bluetooth or just as a tripod/monopod.

I just got the newer 50-in-1 accessory today, so far the product looks good, the plastic looks hard enough ,I have to say that am not a extreme sport guy (skiing, water skiing) or anything like that, for what I will be using it I think will be just fine, birthday party or my RC car or going to the swimming pool.couple of things that I have to say is, the case is good and hard enough, the inside foam altought has this cuts (I think to put the stuff in) I couldn't figer it out, but o well most of the stuff I might not use, the yellow float it comes with the string to put on your wrist but... I don't know how to attach it to the float, I have one from gopro that am going to use instead, the monopod I have to say is very long but I don't think will be strong enough to take it to skiing or some extreme sport,(that's just me), I just use the winshield suction pieze and works perfect you have to work I little bit to stick it to the windshield but once in place It will stay, the head band, chest pieze they look good.the tripod I have to say is good but I think the part that swibel might be the first thing to break it feels weak if by any reasonyou try totwist it fast or hard it will fall apart or probably after couple of uses might get loose.like everyone said here, if you want good stuf you have to pay the price, but this kit for this price is not bad I like it, is a very good deal if you compare to the price of the gopro accessories.other thing that I like is that comes with the 3M stick pads they are very strong, only if you clean the surface reall good, I clean it with alcohol let it dry then stick the pad to it on my RC car and haven't had any problem with it.I will keep updatedif anything wrong with this kit,but I don't think it will be any more udates, am not going to beusing ti for extreme sporting or anything like that, it just for parties and at home or to the swimming pool.6/3/2017 update- I use the mount for the bike, first time I use was last week, altoguth the plastic looks hard and strong I didn't tight it really hard just enoght so did move and it work just fine I took the bike for a ride with my son, for an hour ride I didn't have a problem, yesterday I went bike riding again, I didn't use the mount instead I use a helmet mount, as we where riding I stop to take a break and by mistakei lean against the mount I hear a crack next thing I saw the mount falled, I guess you getting for what you paying for, I can said that this is a good kit for a beginners or to try out , I mean for the price well... what do you spec I haven't try anything else but I thing I will more careful since now I know the plastic is not that strong.

I've been into photography for about 35 years, the last 5 of which in a semi-professional capacity. I've gone through a LOT of tripods of various levels, but never one to spend $500+ on a tripod. Photographers today have a lot more economical options, and this one is at or near the top of that pyramid.Wow, where to start... I read some of the other positive reviews and it seems like they're pretty much covered it, so I'll just throw in my agreement: you'd have to spend a LOT more to get a better tripod than this.It's at an awkward position in the tripod range - pricey for the beginner, and too inexpensive for the seasoned pro who wants only the best. If this is perhaps more than you wanted to spend, but CAN afford this - don't go through the pain of constantly moving up every few years like I did, jump ahead and buy this one. When I was starting out, to get a tripod anywhere near this quality, you'd have to spend MANY hundreds of dollars (in 1990's money).The quality and materials are all Good/Excellent. I recently reviewed a similar tripod that was a bit cheaper, but not nearly as flexible as this one and it had a few cheaper-feeling pieces. I felt it deserved 5 stars for value, so this one definitely qualifies for a 5.First off - this is the TALLEST tripod I have ever seen!!! In addition to having one more leg segment than most, the vertical extension tube in the center has TWO telescoping segments as well! (With two ball-head joints) This can stretch higher than I could even reach. Crazy!And, as you can see in the description, the center tube can be made to swivel and tilt. I tried it in the (almost) worst-case scenario - my heavy Canon with a mid-size lens in the fully-extended horizontal position with the camera aimed in a "normal" horizontal position. Admittedly, it struggled to hold this position, but it did. It might not have been able to do it with one of my heavy telephoto (100-400) but that would be an odd scenario anyway.) WIth the tube only halfway extended, it should be able to hold just about anything you can throw at it.The ball head works really well. Smooth and no free play, and no matter what angle you have your camera at when you lock it down, it will stay without any drift. (Okay, maybe a millimeter or 2 of drift, but that's probably just from releasing the upward pressure your own hand was exerting on the whole rig - not the ball head itself that's moving.)You can flip the center stack so that you can mount your camera on the bottom for a low perspective. I did not actually test this feature yet so I'm not sure how difficult it is to flip the mechanism. Suffice to say, this tripod can probably do any oddball position that you've ever seen any tripod do.All the legs and latches that matter are aluminum. The plastic and rubberized parts are well above the average.Being aluminum, it's surprisingly light for its size. That said, it's not hard to get a quality, lighter tripod, even in this price range, but it will be a smaller tripod. When you consider the size and flexibility of this one, it seems pretty light.Most photographers have multiple tripods, and this one makes a good case for that as well. This is a wonderful "does everything" tripod, but it might be a bit bulky and overkill for long-distance hiking. (However, one of the legs can be detached and combined with parts from the center stack to be used as a monopod - so with some effort, this could truly be an all-purpose tool.) Personally, I would have a quality, low-frills, light tripod for travel or hiking, and this one for all staged, commercial, or studio work. It's a great studio tripod - the flexibility lends itself well to product photography.OK, I feel like I'm rambling without adding a whole lot of new info. EXCELLENT product, excellent quality especially for the price, can go ridiculously tall, lightweight for the size. No hesitation in recommending it.Hope this helps!

I like so many aspects of this Tripod. I am a YouTube Creator constantly looking for better filming equipment solutions. I create videos related to radio controlled cars and trucks, among others. One of my equipment challenges is filming the building process, illustrating repairs, and reviews. The challenge is of course lighting, but also getting the correct angle to really get in close with the shot so my viewers can really visually see what I am doing. This product is perfect for this application. I really had not seen this product before or knew about it prior to Amazon’s recommendation email.I immediately recognized this Amazon suggestion as valuable to me. More often than not the suggestions I receive from Amazon are items closely related to my recent searches and purchases. In fact, most often products are exactly the same with similar prices.In this case, the Tripod was different and a great different, and at a great price. I shop value, and often photography equipment is with very expensive, or relatively inexpensive. The problem with the inexpensive photo equipment is usually the quality. Functional yes, but typically not long lasting particularly if set up and broken down often and taken to location. The expensive equipment is most often great quality and long lasting; however, not a great value because of the huge markup.This tripod is a larger mid priced product with exciting functional features requiring correct weighting to stabilize, particularly the excellent tilting feature. There is always a trade off between stability and desire for light weight products. Trade offs are most apparent in lesser expensive photography equipment. Retailers offer many inexpensive products with same or similar top features unfortunately quality, testing, and design suffer. The manufacturer of this product absolutely got it right.So what exactly is right about this Trasposition/Tilt/Pivot/Tripod/Monopod? Value! Listed below are the features, aspects, and factors creating value.1. Shipping was quick (actually 2 days)2. Saved $20 off listed price using offer presented directly below product listing from page.3. Tripod came with everything stated, ball head, tripod, and a carrying bag.3. Compact design fits nicely in carrying bag, and most importantly I was able to easily fit back into carrying bag after setup and tear down.4. Intial quality is great, aluminum expandable legs/poles use twist locking and unlocking, poles dropped to position correctly needing only gravity. Poles lock securely. Removable Rubber feet consistant between all legs. Monopole convertable.5 Nice collapsible design, adjustable leg positons, center lock, 360 ball swivel head with level, 25” collapsed 75” max height, center column rotates 360 degrees.6 Transverse center column, locks, can be extended varying length, AWSM.In sum, the invovative design coupled with quality at reasonable price create great value, highly recomend!