Vanguard Tourist 5 Ultra-Compact Full-Size Tripod with One-Handle Panhead

My fiance and I bought this little guy before our motorcycle road trip through California. We were both on my Harley, and so space was limited for 2 people on a week long road trip. This tripod folded up so small it hardly took up any room. Then when we pulled it out and expanded the legs, it stood about 4 feet or so. Really good for a small light tripod. I don't think I would put a DLR camera with a telephoto lens on it, but for my little 7 Megapixel camera and my HDD video camera, it worked GREAT!

There isn't much I can add to the top reviews, but there is one feature I'd like to discuss more - the tubular telescoping legs.

Many have complained that the legs will not lock unless they are fully extended. This is not 100% accurate. The legs / latch will lock anywhere along the top-most segment IF all the sections below it are fully extended. This gives you about a 6" tolerance, which is useful on uneven ground. However, you can't really use it at intermediate heights because you may run into problems with the legs slipping if all the lower sections aren't fully extended.

Unfortunately, the legs are not very rigid, but I didn't really expect them to be. But they are adequate for getting rid of some of the hand shake, or getting in the pictures via self-timer, and they seem heavy duty enough to support the larger dSLRs.

A big bonus of the telescoping legs is the extremely fast setup. I didn't fully appreciate this until going back to my old tripod, which has 3 latches for each leg.

Overall, I like this tripod for what it was designed for - travel. At 12.3" collapsed, it easily fits in my backpack, and at 49.6" extended, it's a pretty comfortable height.

Note: I'm not sure how many versions of this tripod are out there. Amazon changed the photo a few days after I reviewed it (now it looks like mine). However, mine doesn't have a bubble level, geared elevator, or spiked feet, as Amazon describes.

I have another tripod which is smaller and has a carrying case which has a large enough strap to go around your shoulder. The only set back is that it does not have a quick release but I rather have more portability. I have taken it to all my travels. It is so small and yet performs much like a full scale tripod. The tourist 5 did disappoint me because I thought it was going to be smaller and the carrying case you have to hold it with your hand instead putting in around your shoulders. But it is good firm quality and has a quick release.

This tripod was exactly as advertised: light weight, inexpensive and easy to carry.

Considering the price, it's a great little tripod. I bought it to take pictures in dimly lit churches and caves in Italy, where I won't have access to an appropriate surface to use a table-top tripod. The tripod serves the purpose for which it was designed - an inexpensive, compact piece of equipment that's good in a pinch. It's probably unsafe in windy conditions and certainly can't be used to hold a camera with a heavy lens, but it wasn't designed for this.

One complaint: it's tricky to get the legs extended all the way. Vanguard arguably could have paid more attention to this aspect. But for the price, I can't complain too much.