For most needs I think that this will be great. The legs are easy to extend and retract, it is more than sturdy enough for my mirrorless camera, and the ball mount is easier to use than the older type.

Just a couple of drawbacks.

First, the connection between the ball mount and the center column is poor. Without the set screws (which I didn't see at first) the friction at the rotational joint is high enough to risk unscrewing the ball mount, more so in cold weather (see item 2). Tightening the set screws revealed a new problem. Even tightened to the point that the top of the center column was visibly bending, the joint was not really secure. I would suggest that the top of the column be made of metal and/or the mount should have detents for the set screws to rest in.

Second, in extreme cold everything gets very stiff. I could not rotate the camera at the ball or at the intended location where degrees are marked without unscrewing the whole ball mount from the tripod. I could not remove the camera from the tripod because that screw would not turn. A traditional lever would be better there. Even the leg extension levers got so stiff that I was afraid of breaking them.

We saw temperatures as low as -40 (fun fact - that is the same in Celsius and Fahrenheit). Even at -10 F things were getting difficult to use. I left the rating at 5 stars only because this probably won't affect most photographers.