Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Bought this tripod to replace a kit tripod that came with my first camera. I do a lot of landscape photography and am often hiking into places, so I wanting something that would be a solid, light tripod and not be too heavily priced. After doing some research, I went with this model. For the most part, I am very happy with this tripod from Rangers. It meets with just about everything I was looking for. That being said, there are a couple of things that I am slightly disappointed with with this tripod. Pros: Very Light: The tripod is made of carbon fiber, so the weight is minimal. At full extension I hardly noticed the weight when I was moving it from shot to shot. Even folded up it doesn't feel at all heavy. Hiked with it attached to my pack and I never noticed it. Solid: The twist adjusters on the legs are, in my opinion, very good keeping the legs secure. I put it through a couple of tests when I got it and it never slipped. Also, I recently used it in some rather gusty winds and, while I kept an I on it, it didn't fall. Compact-able: It folds up really small, which, on top of being light, makes it a great travel tripod. Cons: Quick Release: The plate for this tripod's release doesn't slide on and off very smoothly, I have to giggle it a little to get the plate back in. There are two screws on the bottom of the plate that stick out a little farther than the grooves, so if you aren't paying attention you won't get the plate to slide in right. I wouldn't call it a quick release if you have to loosen a knob to get the plate and camera off. That being said, I work in Videography and am use to having a lever pull to release my camera, so that's minor. Vertical Framing Slippage: If you're framing your photo vertically (or in other words Portrait), your shot with slowly tilt down if you are using a bigger lens. I was trying to shoot some long exposures while the ball head was tilted vertically. My shots were coming out blurry. After reviewing the source images, I noticed that they were all tilting down a little bit in each frame. This leads me to suspect that if you are using a heavier lens, the screw that attaches the camera to the plate either isn't going in enough to secure the camera or it can't handled the weight of the lens. I use an 18-135mm as my general use lens, and apparently that's heavy enough to cause the camera to tilt downwards while shooting vertically. I don't think the camera is in any danger of coming off the quick releases, since it tightens down quite well, but this slippage is very annoying because I like to shoot vertically to give my shots some character. So to summarize, this is a good tripod to use if you are looking for something light and compact but still durable. Because of the issues I've found with the quick release and the slippage while shooting vertically, I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars.