SmallRig Camera Tripod, 71" Foldable Aluminum Tripod/Monopod, 360°Ball Head Detachable, Payload 33lb, Adjustable Height from 16" to 71" for Camera, Phone

The SmallRig CT-20 tripod is a great all-rounder for both beginners and content creators. It feels solid thanks to the aluminum build, yet still lightweight and easy to carry. With a max height of 78.7", it’s perfect for a wide range of shooting setups. The 360° ball head is smooth and easy to adjust, and the ability to convert it into a monopod is a really useful bonus. Overall, it’s a reliable, flexible tripod that delivers excellent value for the price.

Really happy with this tripod. It feels sturdy without being too heavy, and it’s easy to adjust for different angles and heights. Great for photos or video, and folds down nicely for travel. Solid quality overall.

The value is unbelievable. $60 ('sale price')for a tripod with this much functionality and sturdiness is superb. Build quality is good where it matters - like the tripod legs and metal components. Other items have a cheaper plastic feel, like the knobs that adjust the ball head. I love the cleverness of the three 1/4-20 connections built into screws where the legs fold. What a great surprise for me to uncover. For the price, SmallRig has clearly prioritized putting money into the right areas. One con is that as delivered, the ball head did not have smooth range of motion. It would get stuck while moving or rotating it instead of having a fluid motion. This worried me a lot, as that's one of the most important factors of a good ball head tripod. I moved it through all positions to troubleshoot and found extra material on the very bottom of the ball, it looked like dried superglue :/. I was able to scrape off ~2/3s of the material and the ball head started moving much better. I would have returned it if this quality issue persisted.

Pros: Nicely made with metal aluminum legs and with extras like the rubber or spike ends for different terrain locations. Very nice Swiss Arca plates! Thick and well made. The ability to flip the legs in the opposite direction for extra low shots (Upside down) under and in the middle of the lower leg extension's are genius! Pros: Ball head is nice. Smooth and locks well. Cons: The lower legs in my opinion are too thin. I would not trust this tripod with my $3k lens and my $3k body at full extension. I have other small cameras which will be perfect with this tripod. It also shakes a bit on a windy day - the weight I use locks it down better and prevents wiggle. Overall it's "decent" in my opinion. I'll use it, but my heavy duty tripod will still be used during times I use my larger camera.

This is a very good tripod at any price, and an outstanding one at THIS price. I've been using it for 6 mos and nothing has loosened up. If you are looking for a quality tripod, start here. Super light strapped to my camera bag!

I received my tripod today. It sat in my cart for a while because I was not sure how, based on cost, it would hold my camera with the big lens on it. There was no need to worry. This tripod is very sturdy and the quality is fantastic. The tripod is a little heavy at just over 3 pounds. But it will also hold a camera up to 33 pounds. When it comes time to put the tripod back in the bag, remember that it has to fold up almost in half to fit in the bag. It took me too long to remember that. Also watch out for the little red levers that open and close the legs. The corners are a bit sharp. I am so happy with this tripod. I can’t wait to get out and use it.

SmallRig VT-20 vs VT-20 Pro – Quick Comparison Both of these are excellent quality ball heads from SmallRig, and honestly you can’t go wrong with either one. The build feels solid, the movement is smooth, and they both handle a phone or small camera really well. The main difference comes down to adjustability: VT-20 Pro (V220) – Has a wider range of adjustment and is much quicker and easier to fine-tune. If you’re moving between angles often, the Pro just feels better and faster to work with. VT-20 – Slightly more robust, simpler design with fewer adjustment options. It also includes a helpful bag hook, which is a nice touch for stabilizing a tripod outdoors. If I had to pick one, I’d choose the VT-20 Pro, mainly because the adjustability is smoother, easier, and gives you more flexibility when setting up shots. Both are great, but the Pro simply makes the whole process quicker.

Alright, where do I begin. I've had this product since November 2023. And it's not until today that I've decided to give the most comprehensive review possible: Let's start with the good aspects: It lives up to what the ad says. It's an ideal tripod for travel. I've only ever loaded a Sony a7iii with a Tamron 28-200 on it during these almost two years of testing. Overall, it has performed quite well. The legs can be easily adjusted with an Allen key when they start losing tension at the joint. This is important as it allows for more precise positioning of the tripod. If you don't tighten the joints connecting the legs to the main body, they will be wobbly and it will be a pain to place them in a specific position. In general, its aluminum body and paint are of good quality. I've put it through a lot of work, and the paint still holds up. The red details are a nice aesthetic touch. The strap on the tripod body is a welcome addition for carrying it with you. I've carried my camera mounted on the tripod and the tripod over my shoulders, and the clamping system has never failed. Overall, it has been a good tripod for the price. Now, the negative aspects. The plastic clamps were the first things to start failing. They began to crack with use. Opening and closing it gently can increase its lifespan, but being a product intended for travel, and thus subject to somewhat rough handling, they should be built from a much, much more resistant material. The tripod head tends to loosen. This is a real headache. You have to constantly adjust it. It's very easy to lose the rubber tips on the end of the legs. In fact, I lost one because it would always rub against a part of my travel backpack and unscrew itself. That's how I lost it. The shape of these leg tips doesn't make it very good for indoor use, as it can slip easily at times. In short, for the price, it has been a great product. Would I buy it again? I don't know, I want to give other tripods a chance, some of which are even more affordable and seem to offer the same. But in the end, and I'll say it again, it's a good product and maintains a fair quality-price ratio. Current status of the product: It works, but one of the legs is glued with silicone because of what I mentioned—one of the clamping systems fractured, which makes that first height level useless for me. Speaking of which: I rarely used it at its highest level, meaning fully extended, but in general, it feels stable as long as you use a weight on the hook at the center of the tripod's body to counteract wind movements. I'm sharing some photos I took using the tripod and how it looks currently. By the way, I'm still using it and I'm actually heading out on a trip with it right now.