This tripod includes a tripod head with measure scale for rotation and also able to tilt your camera on every direction as every tripod ball head, the 3 way geared is a different poison, allowing you to have an specific tilt degree on 3 axes with dials on every edge. if the question is about how enough is a ball head for tripod based photography like portraiture or landscape the answer is: it more than enough, you don't need to buy an additional tripod specialized head. you are ready to go with this tripod. 

Kind of, yes. It does not have clickable clamps but rather screw in locks but it works fine. 

no handle 

The central post does not pivot, so the answer is pretty much no. That said, the ball head does have a slot to allow for portrait orientation. You can turn the camera downwards and achieve a straight down shot, but the legs of the tripod may not work well for this and you may get some of the post. 

Purchased this tripod last year since my Arch-Style plates work well with it. The Universal plate included works with cameras, lenses and even converts to a smart-phone clamp. 

Yes, it can be flipped for low pics, but the process is a bit slow and odd. Feels a little like disassembly and reassembly rather than just repositioning. 

it is 16.5" when folded up and out of the bag. I have it latched to one side of my backpack, and it doesn't stick up past the top of the backpack. It is 4" in diameter. I think you'll need to decide if it fits your backpack. 

Only from spreading further. Made to be easy to collapse and move.