Rangers 56” Compact Travel Tripod, Lightweight Aluminum Camera Tripod for DSLR Camera with 360° Panorama Ball Head and Carry Bag

Used this a long time ago. Worked great then and will work great now.

I've had this for about two months, now, so I can't speak to the long-term durability. In the short-term, it's been working very nicely. I like the compact size and light weight. It fits nicely into my photo backpack (I have an Amazons essentials photo back pack, which I will have to review elsewhere), and would fit into any other backpack, small duffle bag, or any rolling luggage. It also comes with a small over-the-shoulder bag of its own, if you want to carry it that way. There are multiple locking stops for how wide you want to splay the legs, and three folding locks for the tripod legs as you telescope them out. You can also slide the middle support up a bit, as well. I actually did full extend the legs and raise the center support to max, to shoot over a railing. Long, nighttime exposures, with a super wide angle lens. The results were quite nice, but, again, this was with a super wide angle lens.I don't know how they calculate the maximum payload weight. It might be that they know the leg supports would telescope back in if you over load it? I haven't come anywhere close to that point. The legs are definitely spindly if fully extended. The heaviest load I shot with was with a Sigma 100-400mm C lens, which is only supposed to weigh about 2.5 pounds (though it seems heavier!). I shot a Nikon D3400, so that's also pretty light. However, because there is no collar mount for the Sigma lens, you've got the 2.5 pounds of lens leaning out in front of the camera. That's enough torque to make adjusting the tripod a little tricky. You need to tighten the ball head lock with the lens pointing a bit above target, as it will still sag a bit after tightening. Especially noticeable when you're shooting telephoto. On the other hand, when I was shooting super wide angle, everything moved smoothly and locked down tightly. If you can keep your payload balanced, that's how things should be. In other words, I think the camera movement upon tightening is more a function of the lens design than the tripod design.On a more general note, these ball head mounts are just wonderful for shooting dslr. In contrast to the old pan-and-tilt mounts, these are much quicker and easier to get level for either panorama or portrait mode, especially for lighter and well-balanced loads. As noted above, with the long and unbalanced telephoto lens, it was a little tougher, but still easier than with a pan-and-tilt. However, if you do want to pan, there is the built-in bubble level. I may add a few shots taken while using the tripod, just to demonstrate the stability.

This was a gift to me and I could not be MORE HAPPY with this TRIPOD !! Not only does it allow you to , in a fast second you can go from shooting photos right in front of you and then just as fast as you can more your hands that thing moves with you, it's amazing , I use this to shoot photos of birds and flowers and dogs, I have a group on Facebook that this Tripod has truly shown its worth by the fantastic shots I get now . I did have a very good one before but NOTHING THIS GOOD, I love how the legs can flip up like they do and how small you can make the tripod, I love the ball on it so you can really flow with whatever action you are shooting with your camera. I have nothing but Great things to say about this. So durable, I am in a wheelchair and I drop things a lot, well I have broken my prior tripod just by it hitting the ground this WON'T BREAK Unless you really try hard, and as hard as I am on my equipment due to my disability , this gets an A+ FOR EVERYTHING .......You won't regret buying this at all, you will love this and fyi the colors are wonderful the rose gold ish color with the black , looks great as well as the monopod , the monopod is fantastic too, I can hold my tripod on my foot plates on my wheelchair and just ride as I take video or when I see a bird flying up high, I have even shot stars really and they came out wonderful , with out this tripod my photos were just ok now they are wonderful . I hope you enjoy this as much as I am I LOVE MY TRIPODI just added a few photos of the tripod , it is amazing I use it every day, It is fantastic , It let's me shoot the sky then right away go right to the ground , all with a flawless move... A wonderful addition to anyone's camera and photography if you are new or experienced either way you will truly enjoy this. It is the best money I have spent aside for the money we paid for my Canon Camera I have that I bought second hand and found out later it was a five hundred dollar camera I paid only sixty dollars for.. Good luck and have fun with this ya'll it is a great tool for on the go