Digital Concepts 52" 3 Section Lightweight Photo & Video Tripod

Bought 3 of these for use with binoculars (bird watching, sports, hunting). Every design is a trade-off between robustness and light weight. This one is very light weight, so the cameras, binoculars, scopes, etc. should weigh less than 4 pounds - good for all but HUGE equipment. Light weight and small size when folded also means you are more likely to carry it along.

Weight saving makes this tripod somewhat fragile, but it is still very stable, lightning quick to set up and easy to level on rough, uneven ground. Because it is based on grooved aluminum tubes sliding into one another, the first time that someone crashes into this tripod may be its last use. Any twisting, bending or warping force would wreck it. But, with reasonable care, it will last as long as any other tripod which is below "professional grade" and at 10% of the cost of a pro tripod.