Phtrssl Small Travel Kit Tripod - Silver

I love this for a travel tripod. It is small and light and comes in a great package that includes a better than expected, padded carry bag, allen keys for adjustments if needed and metal foot spikes to swap out for the rubber feet if the surface requires it. The tripod is made from Aluminium and the folding mechanisms all feel confident and lock in place securely. Some people have the preference for flip locks over the twist locks used here but I'm a fan of these as they are quick to unlock and lock again and tighten up securely. The centre post is fixed but also has an extending inner post for increased height if needed. I typically do not use this since my cameras have flip up screens so I don't need to get the camera to eye level and while this extended post feels pretty solid when tightened, I'm conscious of unnecessary height may rob a tripod of some stability. The ball head is better quality than expected for the price and I'm happily using this instead of a third party option. It locks up tight, is smooth to manipulate and offers good adjustments. The spring loaded hook underneath is a great benefit if you want to add extra weight to aid stability and will easily hold a camera bag for convenience. While not advertised as a feature, the fixed centre post can actually be removed from the tripod by unscrewing it. If you also remove the hook mount on the underside in a similar fashion and unscrew the ball head, you can mount the head directly to the tripod. This will let you put the head on the top and spread the legs for a very low height but you can also attach the head to the underside instead of the hook mount and this will let you use your camera inverted for doing macro work or for product overhead shots. It takes about a minute or so to do this so not convenient for changing between shots but it's great to know it is possible and just adds to the practicality of this tripod. While these travel tripods are popular for lighter kit such as mirror-less cameras, this securely held my Nikon D7200 and Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 lens combination and was rock solid. It's not the heaviest kit but certainly a lot heavier than my mirror-less cameras and a good indication of what the tripod is capable of. I took this tripod on a recent trip to Iceland along with my Sony RX10 for some ad-hoc photography and it allowed me to get 30 second exposures of the Northern Lights in a slight breeze with a perfectly steady image - distant buildings were perfectly sharp as were the stars save for some trails starting to appear due to the longer exposure. In sensible conditions, this is a great tripod. I see it regularly priced > £100 but I paid £49 and it frankly is a steal at that price.

Quality tripod ,easy to set up and compact