SIRUI AM-254 Carbon Fiber Camera Tripod, 47" Lightweight Compact Travel Tripod, 4-Section Legs, Twist Locks, Steel Spikes, Loads up to 26.5lbs/12kg

The tripod is what you would expect for the price, well built, light, and functional.The ball head is surprisingly good for the price, fluid movement and good lockup for heavier gear.

This (AM-223) is a very short tripod, not a full sized tripod, not something you will use to take family pictures, not something you will use to sit on the ground and take pictures of fireworks, or pics of the sunset. Well ... unless you want to bend over a lot.However, I'm SOOOOOO glad someone finally made a ROCK SOLID small tripod!!! I like to hike, backpack, and shoot nature - flowers, animals, waterfalls, etc.. My full sized tripods (Benro, Manfrotto, etc) have great stability ... total pain to heft those guys some of the places I go. So I don't. I've got a several Al and carbon travel tripods from similar level manufacturers. They are good, but still a bit bulky/long and really, I never extend the legs beyond maybe one segment as extending more they cross that line of adequate stability IMHO. And I have to rework them and/or remove the center column so they can go low. Then there are those table-top versions that are compact and light but are flimsy even from decent brands. And the heads on those ... can we even call those "heads"...?? Makes me want to cry. That's where this guy comes in. Even though it's far more compact than my travel tripods, it's more stable d/t larger leg diameter and overall beefier construction. Finally, a short/small/compact tripod that is rock solid.It holds a FF DSLR (ie Nikon D750) with a decent sized lens (ie 70-200F2.8 using the collar mount of course, 105F2.8 micro, even my 135mmF2DF... etc.) without any problem. For mirrorless, I shoot SONY and use MFT when I'm going light; for those it's more than solid, no problem with anything I've got for those including fast telephotos.Works with my dozens of different brands (some cheap-o no-names) Arca plates - locks them all down tight. Ball head is solid and smooth (not RRS or Kirk, or such, but on par with similar brands/price). No creep, even with heavier setup and in vertical. Legs flatten out so goes as low as any other tripod I have, and is very stable with legs 'flat.'I've used it for 4-5 months (I typically wait to write reviews until I've really put an item through it's paces...) and it's holding up and functioning great. No concerns about quality, durability, or function.Fantastic compact tripod. If you need elevation to sitting/standing position, then go with the typical carbon or Al travel tripod - there are lots of those, including larger models in this line. If you don't need much elevation AND you want compact BUY THIS ONE! I've been looking for/ waiting for this guy for 30 years!!

I [urchased the AM-225 over the holidays and have been satisfied for now. I had previously owned the Sirui T-005x which is Sirui's cheaper entry level aluminum tripod. Despite serving its purpose, the stability on that tripod left me looking towards a different option.My setup consists of two Fujifilm cameras (X-T2 & X-H1) with an assortment of their lenses (10-24, 18-55, 50-140, 23 1.4), so I only reach 4.12lbs at the heaviest combination: X-H1 + 50-140mm + B-00k ballhead. With a max load of 13.2lbs, the AM-225 keeps me right at 1/3rd of load capacity. I am considering the AM-254 for additional stability (26.5lb load capacity), but my primary concern is weight savings because I use my gear while backpacking/hiking over long distances. For weight comparison purposes, the AM-225 + B00K ballhead comes in at 31.5oz on my scale which beats out my T-005x that comes in at 36.5oz.Between the T-005x vs AM-225, I've noticed an improvement in vibration dampening and overall stability, despite its lightweight. This of course is hard to quantify, but based on the sharpness my recent tripod stabilized photos, there's nothing to complain about.Another positive is how compact the tripod folds up. Because there isn't a center column extension built in, the legs of the tripod fold together in a much more compact position. The trade-off is a slightly lower max height (47in) and a slightly longer retracted height (~16in). Personally, I don't mind the slightly longer retracted length as the compactness allows easier stowage in the side pockets on my backpack.That being said, I haven't fully put the AM-225 through it's paces and I haven't used it during harsh or inclement weather. TBD on how it holds up, but so far so good.