By T Patricio from Ventura, VA on 5/16/2008

First of all, the 4 star rating i gave this tripod is for its best uses, which i have stated below... for anything more, i would rate this tripod lower.

I have used this tripod in conjunction with 2 cameras, one is my old Canon A-1 35mm SLR and one is my new Nikon D300 DSLR.

First of all, the tripod has a little circular bubble level on it, so that was a nice little added feature.

With my canon, it worked really well for all purposes.... i even got some great shots at night using a cable shutter release with some exposures for a few minutes long and the tripod didn't stayed stable the whole time (even with the center column extended up all the way)
With my Nikon (which is probably 3+ pounds heavier with my 18-200mm VR lens) the quick release plate and pan clamps have to be cranked down pretty tight to prevent the camera from moving or coming loose during long exposures...

The main reason for this "shakiness" when the center column is fully extended is because the center column is made of plastic... not aluminum like the legs.

Another drawback is the "geared center column" the column goes up and down by rotating a little crank, this is kind of annoying to have to crank up and down, i wish it would have been just a free moving column with a ring lock. Also... if your camera is heavier... maybe 4 pounds or more, it is kinda weak, and the column will start falling by itself.

All in all, if you're using a point and shoot or another fairly lightweight camera of camcorder, and you don't need precision or strong stability, and you're on a budget, then this tripod will work great. Do not buy this tripod if you plan on doing any of the following: Macro Photography, Long exposures, night time photography, or low light photography.

My review says "Yes, I would recommend this to a friend".... but keep in mind that is only if my friend owns a point and shoot or any other really lightweight camera.