NEEWER Upgraded 80.7" Carbon Fiber Camera Tripod Monopod with Telescopic 2 Section Center Axes, 360° Panorama Ballhead, 1/4" Arca Type QR Plate, Travel Tripod with ø28mm Column, Max Load 26.5lb, N55CR

This review is for the Carbon fiber version of this tripod/monopod combination.I decided that I would take a chance on this one since I was needing a second tripod.I paid $99.99 for this item but typical prices for a name brand carbon fiber tripod without any kind of head can be more than $600 dollars like this Gitzo mondel: http://www.amazon.com/Gitzo-GT1542T-Traveler-Section-Cameras/dp/B004K6L3CE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423446177&sr=8-1&keywords=carbon+fiber+tripodConclusion first :)This tripod is an outstanding value. The fit and finish is good to excellent. The mechanics of movement of all the moving pieces is smooth and easy to operate. And although I could not say that it is as good as for example a Gitzo in build quality or sturdiness, it certainly approximates about 80% of both quality and stability of the Gitzo and does some things that the Gitzo will not do.Review:I uploaded quite few pictures of my unboxing and then different closeups of the tripod. I had never owned a combo tripod/monopod and was curious about how that worked. If there is a negative to be pointed out it would be here in that there was no documentation at all included in the package. A small quick setup guide would have been nice even though the process was fairly easy to figure out and did not take me very long to do at all.First of all was the included carry bag which was of excellent quality. It was well padded and had a sturdy zipper that seemed rugged and I feel will provide years of service.There was also included a small allen wrench if you need to adjust the tension of the silver connectors that are located at the pivot points of the tripod legs.When removed from the bag the tripod was shipped in a clear plastic baggy which was also a nice touch by Neewer. I was struck by the fact that there was also a draw string bag of some crush material very nicely textured to protect the ball head.The tripod was packaged inside out. The legs are designed to fold all the way around backwards for storage in the bag with the ball head inside of them and positioned in a way that takes up the minimum of room. I measured the outside length of the tripod bag and it was only 21 inches long.Folding the legs into position, you will experience 3 positive clicks of the spring loaded latch that retains the legs at one of three angles you can set them to. The settings are near 90 degrees, 45 degrees and approximately 30 degrees. The Gitzo tripods have a similar mechanism although the hardware on the Gitzo is much more robust and sturdy.The length of the legs are adjusted by a quick twist of the rubber covered adjustment screws which means you can get this tripod unloaded and deployed in seconds as you can untwist all the locks at the same time once you get used to doing this. I have used this same system of tripod locking mechanisms on the Gitzo tripods and much prefer it to the lever catch type of retainment seen on other brands of tripods. Those latches seem to fail at the most inconvenient times, but the screw type that tightens with a quick twist I have never had fail on me.And they take much less pressure to retain tripod height than you might think. My biggest problem when I first got my Gitzo was a tendency to overtighten those things. It just takes a slightly snug fit to get the job done. The Neewer model under review is about the same as my high dollar Gitzo in feel and retainment.This seems to be a good place to comment on how sturdy this tripod is. The stated weight retention is 26.5 lbs. I am not really sure why makers of quality tripods like this one always under estimate what the tripod will hold. I think if I could mount a stool I could sit on my Gitzo while it was setup. I extended the legs as far as they would go on the Neewer and leaned into it with approximately half my body weight until the legs started to flex. I estimate that I was putting in excess of 90 lbs of pressure on the tripod at this point. So it will definitely handle the stated weight of 26.5 lbs.As you look at the pictures you will notice a couple of the leg tips which are heavy duty metal points surrounded by a thick rubber foot that is threaded to the bottom of the tripod leg.At first I did not think I liked these as I always want my tripods to only have rubber at the bottom, but I discovered that all you have to do is unscrew the rubber foot which will cover the metal tip. And as the rubber presses out against the side of the metal, it needs to do so under tension so that it will not just wind itself back down. This was a nice design touch. So if you prefer the metal tips leave the rubber screwed all the way in or you can adjust it the way you want without having to keep up with seperate metal and rubber tips. Perfect!As to using this as either a monopod or tripod all you need to do is unscrew the leg which is covered with substantial foam rubber material at the top. You unscrew this from the frame of the tripod which as you can see from the pictures reveals a sturdy aluminum head with a large threaded hole and a smaller threaded hole further inside the leg. I puzzled over this for a bit until I decided to take the ball head off the top of the tripod. (This is where a small how to sard of instructions would have been nice).In the picutes you will see a threaded shaft which can be taken out of the tripod body and then threaded into the top of the single monopod leg you took off of the tripod, along with a collar device which is placed over the threaded shaft and then the hex nut threaded down until it rests in a slot made for it in the collar. I think looking at the pictures will make this clearer than my explaination.This is what locks the threaded shaft in place and then thread the ball head on top and voila! You have a nice monopod topped with an equally nice ball head.As to the ball head look at the picures and you will see what looks like a well made ball head designed to handle light to moderate loads. I tested the ball head retention by mounting a Nikon D300 with a battery grip mounted on the bottom with an Arca style plate on the bottom. It had no trouble locking this heavy camera in place when the ball had screw was tightened. And again, I think it could handle much more than the stated 26.5 lbs of pressure. The fit and finish of the ball head was very smooth and professional and indeed was virtually as good as the Really Right Stuff BH-25 Pro. Yes I would put it in the same general class as the RRS ball head here: http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/Shop/BH-25-Ultra-Light-Ballhead/BH-25-Pro-Ultra-light-ballhead-with-B2-mAS-clamp.htmlAnd considering that this ball head at the time of this writing was about 1.5 times more expensive by itself than the entire kit from Neewer you begin to see the value in this combination. And the ball head included in the Neewer kit has features the RRS ball head which is arguably one of the most well recognized manufacturers of fine ballheads and custom camera Arca plates and brackets in the business, does not have. The missing features are the drag adjustment screw that locks limits the rotation of the ball head and also the degree marks around the bottom of the ball head giving the photographer an idea how far the camera is rotating.Another feature of the Neewer design is the inclusion of a level bubble which comes in very handy for those wishing to do panorama work and need to make sure the camera is level before panning the shot.One other nice touch is the inclusion of an Arca Swiss plate for attachment to you camera. Usually in tripods of this quality the arca swiss plate for the camera is a seperate purchase this is a nice touch that certainly adds value to this package.So in conclusion I would not hesitate to recommend this to any level of photographer whether a seasoned professional who needs a light weight backup to his/her more sturdy gear or someone just getting started in photography that needs a good value in a tripod.

I've just upgraded all of my camera equipment. I'm an avid amateur photographer and I photograph landscapes, astrophotography, and super macros. I use a bridge camera. I replaced my old Canon SX40HS with a Panasonic Lumix FZ2500, with a full 1" sensor. I have a 30+ year old Manfrotto Bogen Tripod with ball mount, which is a great tripod, but extremely heavy. I wanted something much lighter, something that I could pack with the rest of the equipment. I chose the Neewer tripod because of brand reputation, the carbon fiber build, and transportability.I have to admit that I wasn't sure of the tripod stability when I first set it up. The Manfrotto's legs were more than 60°. However, I found the weight hook on the bottom of the vertical pole, so I know it'll be stable if a stiff breeze comes around a mountain.The tripod comes stock with a ball mount. I decided that I wanted a fluid pan/tilt head, but since I sometimes do still sky shots, it was important to me to find one with a tilt of +/- 90°, something that'd not easy to find. I also wanted one that wouldn't interfere with the Neewer transportability. I found what I needed with a Innorel F20 fluid pan/tilt head. As you can see from the photos, it indeed has the +/- 90° angles and it only weighs 1 ounce more than the ball head I took off of the Neewer tripod. It doesn't interfere with folding the Neewer since it's roughly the same size as the ball. If you look at the Innorel F20 mount, you'll find my full review of this fantastic mount.The Neewer ball mount was adequate, but I found it initially a bit stiff and not as smooth as I would have liked. To be fair though, I didn't test it much since I was replacing it with the Innorel head. The Neewer tripod is very lightweight, and folding to 18", is very easy to transport. I took the new equipment to a local park after dark to test everything. I found the tripod very easy to set up in the dark. I'm still waiting for delivery of the photography sandbags, so I used the tripod without counterweight. I only had it set up to about 4 feet. I found it to be stable and steady. I wouldn't bring it much higher without using weight on the hook. I would feel the same way about any lightweight tripod, no matter the make or price point. It's simply too easy to trip on a leg in the dark.I found the leg locks to be good and stable, locking the leg angles firmly. The leg sections extend with by unscrewing the retainers, which are large enough wrapped in rubber grips so they're easy to grip. You don't have to go crazy tightening them down. They firmly hold the legs at your chosen length by lightly tightening. One leg of the tripod has a textured grip on the upper leg so you can easily grap it to move the tripod.The included bag is nicely made with a 2 pull zipper. The tripod easily folds up to fit in the bag. The entire outfit only weighs around 3.5 pounds. The tripod folds small enough and is so lightweight that I can strap it to my camera bag. My camera bag is the large Amazon Basics camera bag, a shockingly great bag. I have also reviewed the camera bag.After taking the tripod out at night and doing some photography, I've found it's a definite keeper. It's lightened my load by a good 10 pounds. It's a very good value.

Great value tripod. I picked this up as I was heading for a trip out west and needed something easier to travel with. The ball head works well and easily comes off to pack away for the travel. It is lightweight and packs into a travel bag that I easily attached to my backpack. One design feature I really like is that one leg is removable to function as a monopod. One of the best photography purchases I've made.Overall: great value, sturdy, and versatile.

lightweight and compact enough to be very portable. also the height of the tripod is great. just wish the head adjustment isn't so sensitive.

A few things—it’s tall (675 cm/205 cm) and a bit pricey for a beginner, but the stability and versatility make it worth it. Great for hikes, vlogging trips, or anywhere you need a reliable, travel‑friendly support that does more than just stand there.

It will meet my needs, lighter than all my other tripos.

Good solid tripod at a reasonable price.