Sirui ET-1004 Aluminum Tripod with E-10 Ball Head

Excellent model. To me the best in class of the Sirui line putting it just above the other travel models in weight, but with the added benefit of sturdiness, without too much penalty. Love the flip leg locks, and that sold me, plus decent height, short shaft, adjustable leg angles etc. Only minor gripe, which is common with all the Sirui short shaft accessories, is that you lose the bag handle underneath when attached. However, for about 70grams penalty, I added a screw adaptor to the protruding thread, and attached a lightwieght carabena hook/latch. Problem solved. I reckon you could almost replace heavier models in the field, for long exposure, astro work, espcially if you attach a bag to the hook. Mine comes in at just over 1.6kg with the short shaft, Manfrotto head (320g) and custom bag hook on the short shaft thread. For only a few grams more you could leave the longer centre column attached, and have more height, but you'd lose the ability to go super flat, however, the long shaft would give adequate low angles for most shots. I just like a bit less weight, plus the ability to go lower, and I don't mind using my flip out screen on the LCD. It's high enough for me with the short shaft. Long shaft pretty much gives me eye height. Looks to me like it will stand up to fairly decent use.