Conclusion: best tripod under $500.So a lil background. my main tripod is the Sachtler fsb8 with flowtech75, which cost me $4k. My run n gun tripod is the sachtler fsb8 with 75/2 cf l, which cost me $3k. I use this instead of the flowtech for lower profile and lighter legs. Camera wise all my setups (currently red, bmd and original Alexa) all weights around 25-30lbs.When purchasing this tripod, what I wanted is just a dirt cheap stand that I can rest my camera on instead of storing in cases at home, at the price point, I didn’t expect it to do anything besides holding my camera at the lowest position. Oh well was I wrong.The fluid head is very smooth to operate. They don’t have drag controls for different axles, but I found the resistance to be just at my sweet spot, most importantly, tilt and pan resistance are at the same level, resulting in a very smooth operation of the tripod which I’ve never seen at this price range.It’s not a side load plate, but could be used as one by loosing up enough.The tripod does not come with counterbalance, just like all other tripods at this price range, but what surprised me is that the fluid head actually would withhold my 26lbs setup once properly balanced using dovetail plate on camera. It won’t hold at any degrees but it will for around +-30.The legs are heavy duty, the locking point is very strong and I was able to put around 60lbs of force on it without any problem.Basically, to do an unfair comparison of this $100 tripod and the $4000 sachtler flowtech,You are spending that $3900 more for 1. Lighter 2. Easier up and down (it is good but not worth the extra $$$$) 3. Ability to go low. 4. Drag controlNothing more. To me, I would buy this for $200 without a blink. It’s just too good at this price.All that said, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a budget tripod, so dont expect it to last decades like sachtler or oconnor. But compare to other consumer brands like manfrotto I do think the quality is at least on par. (Manfrotto lasts around 3-8 years in my experience). If your tripod budget is below $500 and you need one that can hold big and heavy, I truly don’t think you can find a better choice than this.