PICTRONPortable Desktop Mini Tripod MT-24 Compact Camera Tripod Aluminum Alloy with 360° Ball Head,1/4 inches Quick Release Plate for DSLR Camera Video Camcorder, Load up to 11lbs/5kg

my vortex spotting scope is heavy but this supports it very well, easy to operate

This is a first impressions review, not based on long term experience yet.The Ulanzi MT-24 is actually the Ulanzi MT-22. Is there a difference? Nobody knows. Amazon sells it as the MT-24, but you receive an MT-22.It is a decent desktop or travel tripod, but the price of now $66 is simply not justified in the slightest! Compared to the pricing of other such Ulanzi tripods, it is in the $30 range. But for some unknown reason you can hardly find it anymore, and then only totally overpriced. Why? Nobody knows.It is made entirely of aluminium - except for the lever to fix the ball head, and for the locks securing the leg extensions (all plastic), the latter of which therefore have a tendency to screech and jam... Planned obsolescence? Nobody knows. But that looks like a problem that will make many of these tripods fail over time, because these plastic locks are the opposite of smoothness and of terrible quality.Another flaw for most users might be the baseplate system used by Ulanzi here, which is incompatible with other mounts like the Arca Swiss system and its clones to some extent. While it is possible to use Arca Swiss baseplates on the Ulanzi-mount of the MT-22, the opposite is only possible, when you remove the locking/position screws from the Ulanzi baseplate because they are in the way on an Arca Swiss mount and would make it impossible to close the locking clamp. Personally I find handling so much more secure and comfortable with locking screws in place that I do not want to go without.The Ulanzi baseplate certainly is a lot smaller than a standard plate, maybe only one third of the normal size. Some users might find that convenient. To me though the disadvantages outweigh the benefits, because on a standard baseplate many cameras can still stand quite well, even with lock-pins in place. But with the Ulanzi baseplate most cameras are going to tip over in some direction, and all cameras are going to tip over when the position screws are not removed. Personally I would not want to be forced to always put the camera on its side when setting it down, so the Ulanzi baseplate is not for me, and I'd rather go with the bulkier standard plates which are also more universally compatible.The folding mechanism of the tripod has 3 positions: Selfie-stick, tripod high position, tripod low position. None of the positions actually lock in place, the middle position has a one-way safety, that is all. This is especially unpleasant in the selfie-stick mode. Hopefully Ulanzi will address this issue in future versions, because just adding three notches in the center of the tripod would have provided three lockable positions. The aluminium safety buttons on the legs for the middle position (not the plastic locks for the leg extensions) sometimes jam...The ball head has no separate pan head function, unfortunately.Look and feel of the Ulanzi MT-22 are great! Very classy and ergonomic. But the legs would have benefitted from a rubberized outer layer, because in winter your hands are going to freeze off holding that metal stick. The length and girth of the selfie-stick are perfect for me.The tripod has some flex in it, especially when using the leg extensions. For a $20 tripod that might be expected, but for a $66 tripod this is unacceptable. I also do not like that the leg extensions only lock in the pulled-out position, but not in the pushed-in position. Over time friction might become too low to hold them in anymore when using the selfie-stick configuration, and they would slip out when you don't want them to.Officially the weight capacity of the MT-22 is 5 kg. I do not have equipment heavy enough to test that, but 5kg seems a little bit of a stretch here... especially when using the leg extensions.All (3) screws of the tripod need tools to be turned, and all of them different ones... That is a big design flaw.For the baseplate (which is probably too small for thumbscrews) you need a coin, for the base of the tripod itself you need an allen wrench, and for the cold-shoe mount on the side you need a smaller allen wrench. The allen wrenches are provided, but honestly, who would want to carry 3 different tools with themselves for a tripod, especially for one which is designed to be highly portable... NOBODY KNOWS!

An excellent mini tripod. It is light, strong and very functional. The ball head is smooth and holds well. The legs extend easily and stay in position until the release tabs are squeezed. The legs lock in two different angles from under the ball head allowing for a low profile stance or a taller higher clearance position. The locks only engage in one direction, allowing for the tripod to be quickly collapsed back to a single handle configuration without any manipulation of the lock mechanism, yet maintains strength and stability when set up as a tripod. Extending the legs gives even more stability and makes it nearly impossible to tip even with a camera with a long and heavy lens. When collapsed to a handle, it has a very solid and comfortable feel and the extended legs give just enough added length to make it useful as a vlogging stick (I angle mine a bit and it helps to keep my hand out of the video while giving me the few extra inches I need to frame myself in reasonable proportion. I use zoom lenses with a 16mm or 18mm minimum focal length on a crop sensor camera, the effective full frame equivalents are 24mm or 27mm. The result is still a bit tight, but with the extra extension this gives, it is usable for vlogging. I plan to get a zoom lens with a 10mm to 16mm range (15mm to 24 mm equivalent) in the future, this will work even better. There are vlogging sticks that are longer, but for a mirrorless camera, lens and cage any more length would magnify any hand shake, decrease stability and increase the pressure on the hand to painful levels when holding it out for any lengthy period of time. The ball head has cutouts on both sides allowing the handle to be used up to 90 degrees and I have found this useful when I don't have my top handle on my rig. I just set it at a right angle, flip the camera upside down, use it as a top handle for getting smooth low shots and flip the video vertically in post. Another nice feature of this is the very small Swiss Arca clamp, it securely fastens directly to the base of my cage so I don't need a plate mounted. One more plus, is that it has a cold shoe mount on the side that can be smoothly rotated or tightened down (using an allan wrench) to give a convenient mounting point for a microphone, light or other accessory. This mini tripod is perfect for my needs, it allows me to set my camera down without danger of it falling over, provides lock down stablization, allows me to pan more smoothly with the support of a table or wall and works a a vlogging stick. This is the most versatile mini tripod that I have found and has by far the best build quality. Worth every penny.

This is probably one of the nicest tripods I have ever owned. It's heavy, solid, made from very good materials, and it holds my heavy DSLR camera very well without feeling like it's gonna tip over. The legs fold almost flat as well, so if you film stuff underneath the car like I do, it's nice to be able to get the camera so low.I mean, I'm not even kidding, look at my picture of the packaging: it says you can use it as a self defense weapon, which I would agree, it would probably do the job very well if needed!

I like the adjustability of this. And it holds my camera nicely, even with a decent sized lens. Wish I could spread the legs out at more different angles, but this is still perfectly fine.I basically use this for those cases when I know I do not need a big tripod as Im not doing photography. But, for those moments when Im like damn, I wish I had it for that one shot I didn't expect, I have this. And it usually works as I can just put it up on a rock or something and it severs me well