Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My new point and shoot camera may be cheap but it can take Full HD videos and wide-angle hi-res still shots. I plan to annoy my friends, family, and fishing buddies by taking Full HD videos of them. For that I need a tripod. Nobody likes shaky videos. I was surprised to learn how affordable such a useful accessory can be so before spent my 27 bucks I watched some utoob videos on how to select and use a tripod (I think I might need a monopod too!). And, of course I read the Amazon user reviews. Only SEVEN one-star reviews, as I write this, against 246 5-star reviews. The few bad reviews seemed to concern the tripod being shaky when the center tube extension was cranked up and/or the total lack of instructions.I think the two issues are related and Amazon could eliminate 5 of the 7 bad reviews by including instructions. The center tube IS shaky, even when it's all the way down, until you tighten the collar. I had never touched a tripod before this one. It's not hard to figure out but don't clip your new camera into the quick release mount until you are sure you know how to remove and replace the mounting plate and FULLY lock the cam lever. That may be why one of the 7 reviewers that gave one star was unhappy. I have uploaded some photos to the gallery that might help locate all the locks and to tell when the quick release is seated. Since I'm not going to be recording combat or Kardashians this Amazon Basic unit will do just fine. It's light,well made, sets up or takes down easily, and, when all the locks are tightened, very steady. The professionals recommend hanging some weight from the center hook because it keeps the wind from wiggling everything and makes the whole assemble more resistant being knocked over by fishing buddies, especially on uneven ground. The professionals recommend using your camera bag but I plan on trying a bucket of ice and a six-pack. With the center tube cranked all the way up the lens of my camera is 63 1/2 inches high. The quick release feature will be handy for swapping to a small telescope. It's not really quick at all if you don't have a second mounting plate and need to unscrew the plate from the camera and screw it onto the scope. The Velbon QB-4W Quick Release Platform fits the base and is nearly identical to the original plate. I bought this tripod for my second digital camera, which is about half the size of my first one. I know there are brackets available that let you use the camera in your cell phone or tablet. You can mount spotter scopes or binoculars too. Who knows what cameras will look like 5 years from now, but I bet they will have a screw mount in the bottom and a tripod will still be a good idea.