I am very happy with the smoothness and sturdiness of this fluid head tripod! The tilt and pan are both very smooth as advertized! My zoom lens is very heavy so I needed the tri pod to be able to carry the load well. The bag it came seems sturdy as well. I'll be putting this equipment to the test for sure!

This very lightweight carbon fiber tripod comes in cylindrical bag that is only a little over 20 inches long and 5 inches in diameter. To fit into the bag with the pan and ball head mounted, the center column is extended full length and the telescoping legs are then collapsed, unlatched and then folded upward and parallel to the center column. I think this is going to be the tripod of choice for traveling because it is so much more substantial than our other compact tripods but the bag is only slightly larger in diameter.I'm still coming to grips with twist-locks for the telescoping legs (I find levers to be quicker), but I'll get used to them. I find that I prefer using this tripod with the last section of the legs left unextended, putting the top of the camera plate at about belly-button height for me. This provides the best stability, and I can still extend the center column to raise it if need be.Thankfully the ball and pan head on this tripod are nearly perfect. I have had bad experiences with other compact tripods with swivels that wobble unless locked down. For photography this is rarely a problem anyway because I'm usually locked when in position, and I don't really use a tripod like this for panning video. But I do appreciate the smooth, wobble-free motion of the K&F head.The ball head is equally perfect. With the notch in the ball head socket positioned straight forward to allow the camera to aim downward, the locking lever/knobs for the ball head and pan are conveniently located at equal angles left (for the ball lock) and right (for the pan lock). The ball lock is a lever instead of a knob, which gives a little better grip for tightening, and it has the common spring-loaded coarse repositioning mechanism that allows you to pull it out and reposition it to the optimum angle. The Arca-Swiss saddle lock and the pan lock are both fluted knobs.The locks for setting the leg angle are spring loaded. To widen the legs you pull the latch fully out, but when collapsing the legs to steepen the angle the latches pull in on their own and don't need to be pushed in as with some tripods.There are three 1/4-20 tapped holes for storing camera plate screws located between leg attach points. One spare screw is included.I think this is probably going to be my most commonly used tripod. It's compact for travel and yet stable enough for day to day use.Highly recommended.

This very lightweight carbon fiber tripod comes in cylindrical bag that is only a little over 20 inches long and 5 inches in diameter. To fit into the bag with the pan and ball head mounted, the center column is extended full length and the telescoping legs are then collapsed, unlatched and then folded upward and parallel to the center column. I think this is going to be the tripod of choice for traveling because it is so much more substantial than our other compact tripods but the bag is only slightly larger in diameter.

I'm still coming to grips with twist-locks for the telescoping legs (I find levers to be quicker), but I'll get used to them. I find that I prefer using this tripod with the last section of the legs left unextended, putting the top of the camera plate at about belly-button height for me. This provides the best stability, and I can still extend the center column to raise it if need be.

Thankfully the ball and pan head on this tripod are nearly perfect. I have had bad experiences with other compact tripods with swivels that wobble unless locked down. For photography this is rarely a problem anyway because I'm usually locked when in position, and I don't really use a tripod like this for panning video. But I do appreciate the smooth, wobble-free motion of the K&F head.

The ball head is equally perfect. With the notch in the ball head socket positioned straight forward to allow the camera to aim downward, the locking lever/knobs for the ball head and pan are conveniently located at equal angles left (for the ball lock) and right (for the pan lock). The ball lock is a lever instead of a knob, which gives a little better grip for tightening, and it has the common spring-loaded coarse repositioning mechanism that allows you to pull it out and reposition it to the optimum angle. The Arca-Swiss saddle lock and the pan lock are both fluted knobs.

The locks for setting the leg angle are spring loaded. To widen the legs you pull the latch fully out, but when collapsing the legs to steepen the angle the latches pull in on their own and don't need to be pushed in as with some tripods.

There are three 1/4-20 tapped holes for storing camera plate screws located between leg attach points. One spare screw is included.

I think this is probably going to be my most commonly used tripod. It's compact for travel and yet stable enough for day to day use.

Highly recommended.

The tripod is two pounds lighter than the one I had been using and much shorter when collapsed. I really like that! However, when I tilt the camera head towards the locking nut, there can be interference with the base of the quick release plate. I've discovered that you can pull out the spring loaded handle to reset its location but there are two issues with doing that. 1. Its tedious and with my big hands, hard to get in there, and; 2. I'm right handed and it seems like the handle was placed on the wrong side. I have to work it with my left hand. Turning the camera around to swing the handle to the right puts it ahead of the camera where it's difficult to see, not to mention that the ball slot (used to clear the ball stem and tilt the camera forward) is now at the back of the camera. Pretty much useless there unless you take photos of the sky. I considered swapping out the Manfrotto ball head from my other tripod as it has the tightening handle at the rear, easily accessible but I felt like I would lose the weight advantage. So, I probably wouldn't have bought this if I had know how inconveniently placed all the control/tightening handles were, but again, I do like the weight savings.WEEKS LATER: After using this tripod for awhile I’m getting used to avoiding the design issues that caused the interference. However as a product designer myself I recognize that “workaround” should not be in a design engineers vocabulary. K&F contacted me and told me they have discussed the design issues with the team. As a result I’ve added a star to the rating.

Great tripod camera, wanted something compact so I could take around with me and it's light enough. Has swivel pan-tilt which works well. Would recommend .

I have a lot of K&F Concept surveillance camera optical filters that I regularly use and I have been very satisfied with the quality so I have a good experience with the brand.

The camera uses the CloudEdge app, which is a platform used by many different manufacturers of security cameras. Pairing the camera with the app is made super easy, and viewing recordings or a live feed from a remote location is easy and reliable. You have the option of paying CloudEdge for a monthly cloud plan and having the videos stored on the cloud, but this is not mandatory. The advantage of this service is that if the camera is stolen, you'll have access to the videos it recorded, otherwise you're out of luck because you won't be able to connect to it to see the recordings. You can get a free 7 day trial of the service to test it out.

The video quality is reasonably good for a security camera, though it doesn't compare to the quality of a smartphone. Having the option to remotely pan and tilt is a great feature so you can remotely check on different areas of your property. You can pinch to zoom on the video in the CloudEdge app but be aware this is only digital zoom, the camera doesn't have a physical zoom lens. Technically this is not a PTZ (pan tilt zoom) lens but just a pan/tilt lens.

The camera comes with a solar panel, which is awesome because it means you never have to worry about charging the battery.

Audio quality is comparable with other security cameras I've used, which is to say it's not great but it's adequate. The audio has a little bit of a muffled, underwater sound to it.

A 64GB K&F Concept branded micro SD card is included, which is a nice touch.

The price is reasonable for this good quality, wire-free, solar powered security camera with pan and tilt functionality so I would definitely recommend this.

The tripod is two pounds lighter than the one I had been using and much shorter when collapsed. I really like that! However, when I tilt the camera head towards the locking nut, there can be interference with the base of the quick release plate. I've discovered that you can pull out the spring loaded handle to reset its location but there are two issues with doing that. 1. Its tedious and with my big hands, hard to get in there, and; 2. I'm right handed and it seems like the handle was placed on the wrong side. I have to work it with my left hand. Turning the camera around to swing the handle to the right puts it ahead of the camera where it's difficult to see, not to mention that the ball slot (used to clear the ball stem and tilt the camera forward) is now at the back of the camera. Pretty much useless there unless you take photos of the sky. I considered swapping out the Manfrotto ball head from my other tripod as it has the tightening handle at the rear, easily accessible but I felt like I would lose the weight advantage. So, I probably wouldn't have bought this if I had know how inconveniently placed all the control/tightening handles were, but again, I do like the weight savings.

WEEKS LATER: After using this tripod for awhile I’m getting used to avoiding the design issues that caused the interference. However as a product designer myself I recognize that “workaround” should not be in a design engineers vocabulary. K&F contacted me and told me they have discussed the design issues with the team. As a result I’ve added a star to the rating.

Best Tripod out there.