Nice budget tripod with smooth pan and tilt, stable legs
593128
<div id="video-block-R2K7TPUF0WR8LA" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/D1Snjp76WhS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81vpbMmP3tS.png" class="video-slate-img-url">&nbsp;I was provided with a complimentary sample of this product for my evaluation.

I own 5 tripods of varying degrees of quality. This tripod is definitely on the lower end of the scale but I have to admit that for the low price, it's a pretty nice tripod. The most important thing I want from a tripod is stability. If a tripod's legs wobble or have play in them, it's not going to be worth it at any price. This tripod is pretty much rock solid. It doesn't wiggle a bit when the legs are fully extended.

Many professional tripods are designed so you can select your own head to put on it. This does not have that flexibility but it has a head that provides surprisingly smooth pans and tilts. This is important especially when used for videography. It will accommodate up to 5.5 pound cameras.

The tripod has a maximum height of 54" when the center post is fully extended. That's not quite as high as I'd like but it's still quite useable.

The feet are rubber and very grippy on floors so the tripod doesn't slip at all.

My only area of concern are the leg lock levers that seems a little flimsy to me. But keeping in mine the price of this tripod, it's about what you'd expect.

Overall I'm quite pleased with how this functions given its low price.
769232
The Q-POD is surprisingly useful. The legs are constructed
of metal. They extend an addition 4 inches, for a total
camera height of 7 inches.
You can spread the legs to position the camera at 4 inches.
I've had my mini tripod for some time and use it with a Canon film camera
with a remote. I take pictures of people's pets, mostly
around eye level with small dogs and cat's.

The Head tilts easily and locks securely.
The tripod folds into a small package that could fit in the
shirt pocket, but it is a little heavy for that.
It dwells in a corner of my camera bag.
There is nothing else quite like it, I've looked.
The price is not objectionable considering it's utility.
I recommend it.
3278322
I have (4) of these tripods.  Nice fluid turning of the head, both vertical and horizontal.  Legs lock decently.  Legs also hyper extend horizontally to get your camera or video into the angle you need.
541131
I bought this tripod for video tapping an upcomming family wedding and have tried it a couple of times to get used to it.  I like the the smooth operation of the controls on the handle.  The panning operation is likewise acceptable.  The telescopic locking legs work well, but are light weight and can rock a little during panning.  The lightness is also a plus because it collapses into a small over the shoulder bag for easy toteing. One hand on the tripod for stabilization and one on the control handle during panning works well.
3550381
First impressions...wow this is a nice little tripod head package. The build quality is nice and it is very light and provides plenty of height, over my head even at 6ft tall despite the specs suggesting otherwise (perhaps the legs are supposed to be spread more than I had them set at, the first position). It fits in a carry on suitcase in the case it comes in, which is a very important convenience for travel. I bought it to take with me to the Grand Canyon instead of having to stow away my very heavy (10 lbs) $2k Gitzo GT5561SGT tripod + Arca Swiss Z2 head, which I'd be worried about stowing away for obvious reasons.

I would give it 5 stars, but j haven't yet tested it with my camera, only by my feelings of sturdiness. It is at least as good as other small tripod's I've looked at in store and I think provides decent sturdiness. The build quality does feel nice.

Other drawbacks,

1. The panning of the head about the base is a bit stiff, perhaps it will get better with use.

2. As expected, I can't see the spike feet as being useful as they're very short. I will have to see if longer spike feet can be screwed in.

3. I don't see the levels on the head as being that useful unless you get a panning adapter to screw on top of it. Most people level by eye for single shots, and for leveling the head for panos this won't help as the base won't be leveled.

4. The tripod itself doesn't have a level on it. It would be great to be able to level the tripod, as then you could use the head for panning.

There was a other zomei tripod with a pano adapter on top and larger spike feet that would be useful and were uncapped. However, it was aluminum, not carbon fiber, and about 2 lbs heavier. They have no carbon fiber version of that one; if they did, I would have gotten it for those reasons.

The leg angle lock push tabs to set the tripod leg angles will have to endure the test of time... hopefully they hold up as they seem like the minor weak link in build quality.

This tripod has 4 leg sections and thus 4 leg kicks. I can easily loosen all at once with one hand, which is very convenient.

While this tripod of course can't provide the dock solid rigidity of Gitzo's largest and heaviest tripod and the smoothness of an Arca Swiss Z2, they are far lighter and cost 1/10th as much, less actually. Overall, coming from the highest end support equipment you can get, I'm very impressed with this tripod and head.

There are certain products you open up and are immediately satisfied: they're exactly what you were hoping for. The feeling, smoothness, light weight and light weight of this tripod and head is exactly what i was hoping for.

The alternative heavier aluminum Zomei I was considering was the Z988. If this one had a pan top with a visible way to level it and the longer capped spike feet, it would be an absolute home run...but maybe I can make a few aftermarket adjustments on this one to hit it out of the park.

Follow-up 2017, 02-23:
I'm very pleased with the tripod and head after a trip to the Grand Canyon and a descent into the canyon. The head does tend to slip a bit when in portrait mode with a Sony a77 and 18-270mm Tamron lens. For the price, I have no complaints and did not expect a heavy-duty head. However, I think it would be great if the manufacturer could separate out the legs and head, and offer a few different levels of rigidity/quality for the head. If you use a lightweight mirrorless camera and only a pancake lens or standard zoom, this head would be fine. With a DSLR and even a semi-light superzoom like the Tamron 18-270, it slips.
3468329
This tripod is stable enough to hold my Rebel XT, but not tremendously stable.  The movement of the legs is semi-fluid and the quick release latch gets stuck sometimes.  But hey, it was $20.

This will be a good starter tripod to let me know whether or not I want a more expensive unit.
1809976
Love the low price and very smooth movement of this head.  I am using it on a small tabletop wheeled camera dolly platform.  While the handle can get in the way a bit when tilting the camera up, it still makes a very solid and smooth platform for mild pans while on the dolly.

When the lock knob is set for easy panning, the pan motion is a little loose... but smooooth, which is the key thing in my book.  Same with the tilt control.  If left a little tight to add some drag, it will be a little less smooth and may be grabby in spots.  I don't know if that will go away with use, but I don't see it as much of a problem, as long as you control the head yourself and don't let it get away to do what it wants.

Quick release plate is very sturdy and stable.

Very pleased.
323213
When you remove the tripod from the shipping box, you can see immediately it is more of a tripod than you might expect for the price.  The fact it weighs 4 pounds indicates that it is more substantial than the thin-leg lower priced tripods generally offered in this price range.  Of course, the weight means you are not likely to want to carry it  on a long hike, especially if you have a SLR with a couple of lenses and other gear that must also be carried, but for other than that, this is an excellent choice.

This is my first experience with a pistol grip and ball head and I do not think I would want to be without this in the future.  Especially for making videos this is the type of head to use because you can smoothly move the head 360 degrees as well as  up, down, and on an angle.

When the legs are spread so that tripod stands alone, but are not extended, the height of the quick release plate that the camera attaches to is approximately 26" from the floor.  When the legs are fully extended, the plate is approximately 66" from the floor.

Both these measurements are with the center column in the closed position.  Using it gives you up to 12" additional.  In other words, if the legs are not extended but the center column is fully extended, the height of the quick release plate is 38"  from the floor (26" + 12").  This center column is raised by means of a crank handle, which is nice because it means that very precise settings are possible.

The legs are well braced for rigidity, and there is a means of locking everything that is movable so that camera will not move from where you have positioned it once the moving sections are locked in position.

The tripod has two bubble levels; it doesn't come with a carrying case.

If I used a tripod a lot, and especially if I wanted to carry it distances frequently, I would probably invest in one of the carbon fibre tripods that cost several times more than this one.  However, for my purposes, this is a great tripod and it is sure to hold up and last much longer than the budget tripods that I owned previously.

I have no trouble giving this tripod 5 stars.
221862
overall this is a decent tripod, seems sturdy enough but I wouldn't trust it with an expensive setup, unfortunately, one of the legs on mine is a bit looser than the other two, has a good quick release mount on top. its a nice color in person besides the legs feeling a bit cheap its a good tripod overall.
2415545
This tripod is without a doubt one of the finer tripods I've ever had the pleasure of using.  Although its not suited for large format photography: I'd say any camera under 3 lbs and most lenses that aren't either really long or really heavy, will work perfectly.  Unless I am trekking across rough terrain or long distances, I love the weight. If I need to climb a mountain to take a picture, I would consider taking another tripod. But the weight adds an insane amount of stability for HDR photography. You can search youtube for a video I've posted with a D200 and a 500mm lens (search "D200 penny test"); in the video, I place a penny on the barrel of the lens and snap a few pictures.  The tripod is so heavy, the penny does not fall with multiple slaps of the mirror.  Albeit its not a medium format camera, this does attest to the stability of the platform.  The feet on the tripod are ball-joint hinged feet, with a bit of rubber grip.  I shot in sand, and the tripod held well enough.  I've shot on tile floor, and saw no slip.  The legs extend to what I would say is "too far", but that's not a complaint.  You simply don't have to extend the legs all of the way.  I haven't used the tripod for shooting on a steep slope yet, but I am sure the excessively long legs will serve well.  The head can pan, tilt, and shoot in portrait/landscape with incredible ease.  The locking of the movements is quite sturdy, but in landscape I have seen some downward drift with a heavy lens.  I've seen complaints with other tripods that screws are missing or loose, none of that applies with this item.  The build is incredibly solid; most of the parts are aluminum, cast, stainless, or tough feeling plastic.  The only part not of the previous materials is the foam padding at the top of the legs.  This is nice, as cold weather and aluminum can be uncomfortable to handle.  Included instructions say not to carry a camera on the tripod (like a hobo), but I feel completely comfortable doing so.  The ONLY complain I have: it is a bit of a hassle to remove the pan head and invert the apparatus to the bottom of the tripod.  I have yet to need to do so, but may in the future.  This complaint is a two-sided coin: the extra effort required to remove the head also shows the solid build.

If this tripod is ever lost or stolen, I will replace it with the exact same model.

*update, 5 years in*

This is still an amazing heavy duty tool.  Nothing has worn out, it's still doing all I need.  My only complaint:  The carrying case is not easy to carry.  A single adjustable strap would be much better so it could be worn across the chest.  It's heavy, but heavier when you can't "wear it".
4698089
I mostly demanded a tripod for night photography, timelapse and long exposure shots. I am just getting into the game and was will to break the budget.
Great value for the quality of the tripod. I haven't used any expensive ones before but this is a great upgrade from the cheap aluminum one that I have been use too. Feels very solid and well build, yet lightweight. Doesn't seem like it is going to be break anytime soon. Comes with a nice carrying case. The grip and the level is a nice addition and I like that the legs are independent. The ball mount is pretty useful, not the best but gets the job done. There are a lot nice features which includes the spiked feet, level, hook for additional weight, compass, flip to remove tripod plate and the ball head works great. Ball heads are usually pretty expensive themselves, so this set is a bargain

PRO:
- Cheap price for great build quality
- Plenty of nifty features
- Solid ball head

UPDATE:
The tripod is still holding up great after 6 months of use. I took it to the beach and into the water, unfortunately a lot of sand got in between the legs. I had to take it into the pool to rinse out all of the sand.
1671178
Fantastic tripod for it's price point. Very sturdy and compact. Lightweight and attractive. Also, you can unscrew on of the legs and attach the head and you have a mono-pod. Nice and convenient.
31961
I purchased this tripod for my Nikon D5000 D-SLR and Panasonic HDC-SD90.

PROS:

Price. This same quality tripod with the same height and features retails at big box stores somewhere between $40-$100.

Sturdy and solidly built. This tripod is not flimsy compared to a same priced Targus tripod.

Comes with rubber adjustable feet that is well suited for scratch sensitive wood floors when shooting pictures or movies indoors.

Comes with a zipper-type carry bag

CONS:

I wish it would fold a tad shorter. It's size will still fit a standard size travel luggage but not a carry on.
3185528
It took awhile to decide between this tripod and Manfrotto's updated PIXI EVO 2, which provides better articulation, lower positioning, and a 90 degree slot for portraits/macros. I really wanted all that extra adjustment, but tough reviews on the EVO's stability promoted me to go with this PIXI Mini. Everyone is right, this is a sturdy, reliable, and well-designed tripod. My 4-star rating means it's just not a perfect fit for my needs.

The Mini does have realistic weight limitations; you can assume unbalanced loads will cause tipping or head slippage. My lighter (mirrorless) head/lens combinations were pretty solid, and I like that the push-lock head was free from wobble. Don't expect this little guy to defy the laws of gravity and you should be very pleased.
1757556
Received two of these tripods today. There are two reasons for only four stars in my review.
1. I received both of these tripods with extremely loose screws. In fact two of them fell out upon removing them from the internal plastic in which they were packed in. One of the leg locks was so loose that the leg would collapse upon standing it up. But after tightening all the screws they are very solid tripods.
2. My second complaint comes with the fluid heads. I have had the Ravelli AVTP professional 75mm for a couple of years now and after a few minor adjustments to a few of the screws, the head is crazy smooth, both in panning and tilting. But these on the other hand, will have to be disassembled and greased for smooth operation.

All and all this tripod, for the price point is exceptional. I would highly recommend this to individuals on a tight budget.
216311
I looked around for a basic tripod. I didn't need anything complex of fancy, just something that was sturdy and would allow me to set my camera up for fixed shots or remote shots.

This tripod delivers that and much more! It has adjustable legs, which allows you to place it on an incline and still keep the camera level. Additionally it has an adjustable neck, which lets you make minute adjustments to the height of the camera for getting the perfect angle. You can also flip the camera 90 degrees so you can take landscape and portrait photos. It has an integrated level on the mounting plate and the tripod itself. It also comes with 2 mounting plates so you can use more than on device without switching plates. One other feature I like is that it has retractable spikes in each leg, allowing you to set it outside and secure it on an incline.

For the price I am very impressed with how sturdy and versatile this tripod is.
1886038
I put off buying a replacement for my expensive, heavy Bogen Manfrotto tripod. It had been damaged beyond repair.
After 24 hours with it I cannot find anything to complain about.
Other reviews sold me on it and I am happy.
This tripod has lots of nice features.
The leg locks are easy to set or release.
The included ball head is easy to position and most surpringly holds its position with 28 to 300mm lens on my heavy Nikon D3s DSLR.
Panning action is smooth. There is a rotation scale but the numbers are too small for my old eyes to read. Rotation is smooth.
The legs can be made totally horizontal.
One leg can be quickly removed and set up as a monopod.
Nothing about this tripod has a cheap feel.  It's a winner for the price. There is a very nice compact case included that would would have been extra with the Italian made Manfrotto.
It's too soon to tell about durability after such a short time.
I wanted but could not justify a carbon fiber type. But this one so light and compact the size and weight makes me glad that I didn't spend the extra $$$'s for Carbon Fiber.