I have owned a large crutches style video tripod, I currently own 2 monopods and several other tripods. Through all this time this Ravelli tripod has been the best for overall use. I will goto Maui this Thursday to shoot my cousin's wedding and this is the only full size tripod I'm taking with me.It's not too heavy. It comes with a nice nylon storage bag to protect it. It feels sturdy. The setup takes a little longer than regular tripod because it's not conventional. You have to unscrew the dials and then pull the legs out. Then you have to invert each leg because they are upside down when in storage. Before you can invert the legs you have to press a grey button which isn't the easiest thing in the world to press. You have to move the leg down a bit to loosen up the button.The ball head is small, and if you are using it for larger cameras or a big video camera might not be the most stable thing in the world. You will want a bigger head for a bigger camera. The ball head does pan nicely from side to side, no handle is included however for ease of panning.This tripod's greatest asset in my opinion is the ability to convert into a monopod. Because the legs can be moved inward quickly and easily, all you have to do is raise up the tripod and push the legs in. Voila! Monopod! I've tried it and it works surprisingly well.If you want to make it back into a tripod just pull the legs out (the lock will prevent it from spreading too wide). If you are on the go like I am and shooting a wedding, the ability to move the tripod in and out of a crowd quickly and easily is a godsend. I don't know how many times I've stepped over my own tripod legs. With a monopod I can move quickly from one side of the room to the other and not worry about hitting other people (rooms can get pretty crowded).I also own the Manfrotto monopod with the tripod screw-in base. That unit will convert into a tripod with some work, but it's much less convenient than this Ravelli tripod. Also, the Manfrotto is not very stable in tripod mode as the legs are very flimsy. It does work very well however in monopod mode.The ability to take inverted shots for me is useless. I've never used the tripod for that purpose.