I’ve had this tripod for just over a year now and it hasn’t seen a great deal of use – other than in my home ‘studio’ and the garden. It is very heavy and while 30 years ago I used to carry a heavier Benbo everywhere, those days are long gone. I’ve bought the appropriate Manfrotto carry case and that makes it easier to carry quiver-style on my back, but that then means I can’t use a backpack for camera gear.This tripod has three section legs, two of which have a thick rubber grip at the top. This makes it much more comfortable to carry by one of these legs, particularly in cold weather. I’m 5’ 11” and, with legs fully extended, I only need to lift the centre column a couple of inches to bring the camera to eye level.Leg extension is restricted by click stops. There are three of these and then the leg moves out to horizontal. To move past these to allow the tripod to be lowered, or used on uneven ground, means pushing back a little on the leg and simultaneously pressing down on the silver lock button. With the legs fully extended this is simple enough. With legs at their shortest,the camera in place, and the legs splayed wide, I found it very awkward to move the legs past the stops. I found I had to lift the tripod, guessing where I wanted the legs and then trying to position it again. I have fond memories of using the Benbo to do the same thing – slacken the bolt slightly, re-arrange the legs and re-tighten the bolt. It was dead simple. The Manfrotto is not, and my major use of it is for flower photography so easy manoeuvrability at low levels is important to me. This tripod does not get my recommendation for ease of use for low-level photography.The centre column comes up and out and tllts to horizontal. To get it out of its housing you have to press a little red button at the bottom of the column while at the same time pulling on the column. I strongly advise not to do this with the camera on the tripod. Getting it back down again afterwards is a struggle. You can’t get at the button, which seems to block the column’s downward progress. I’ve found that jiggling and pushing with a little force applied eventually pops the centre column back down again. Also you need to get at that red button to move the column from horizontal to vertical before pushing it back down. The trouble is bits of tripod get in the way of my fingers, so again it’s awkward/clumsy. It works, but it’s far from the elegance I would expect from Manfrotto.With everything tightened up this tripod is rock solid. I have no complaints on that score. It does however have a slight flex if you push on the fully extended legs. No problem with steadiness with hands off and a cable release.The leg extension clips are big and easy to use. My only problem with them is the deisgn makes them look as if they open the opposite way, so I’m forever grabbing the wrong end of the lever and wondering why nothing is happening.I bought a Manfrotto video head for use with this and that fits and works perfectly. But for stills it doesn’t do portrait orientation so I have to resort to my Manfrotto small ball head for that. The tripod’s head mounting plate is a bit big for it and the tripod’s built-in spirit level gets in the way of the locking lever on the ball head. The spirit level rotates so it can be moved out of the way. Because the locking lever on the head hangs below the level of the mounting plate it has to be positioned horizontally in order to screw the ball head into place. These are minor niggles, but I would have expected a manufacturer of Manfrotto’s reputation to make all their bits and pieces fully compatible.It’s an ok tripod, and solid enough for me. The centre column mechanism for shifting from vertical to horizontal (which you need to do if you have the legs fully splayed) is far from slick – but the whole thing is solid enough when finally adjusted. One other thing the centre column is not cylindrical so it doesn’t rotate to ease positioning of the camera when used horizontally.I like its height, and although its heaviness is a problem for portability, it’s a bonus for solidity. I like that the legs splay horizontally. I don’t like the mechanism for rotating the centre column through 90 degrees. I like the rubber grips for carrying. I don’t like that the size of the base plate interferes with a Manfrotto head.

An excellent tripod for small / medium astronomy telescopes/mounts. Would be really nice if they can provide 10mm and 12mm center bolts adapters.

Left column is bent inward. Had to pry some of the plugs in but it works

I purchased this after reading the reviews, but I was disappointed with it. I’m not tall (only 5’9”) and I found it too short to use, without having the centre column extended all the way up. Which then increases the risk of unwanted movement.I ended up selling it and upgrading to a more stable tripod.

I enjoyed using this tripod quite a bit. I have had it for almost 1 year. Its versatile and sturdy enough, even for astrophotography. However the inter column locking mechanism is no longer functional. Could be an easy fix with one replacement part. I emailed vanguard several days ago and have had no reply. May have to purchase another tripod ):

This review is for the CT62 tripod. (Not sure why half the questions and reviews appear to be for a GoPro Hero mount, but this review is not for that).I received this tripod as a gift from my son in 2020. Since then I have used it for use with my DSLR camera with no issues, but what I got it for, and what I mostly use it for if for mounting my telescope. I have a Meade ETX90 telescope, which weighs around 20 pounds. This tripod holds it rock solid and pans extremely smoothly with the weight on it. The leg clamps and the center tube lock have a solid lock with zero slip. After having a different tripod years ago for use with a camcorder (remember those) that shuddered under the weight, I was skeptical that this would be able to handle the advertised weight of 33 pounds. Although I have not loaded that much on it, I am no longer skeptical.A couple of issues that are minor, but are something to keep in mind. 1. The large scalloped knob that holds the head mounting plate on appears to be adjustable so that one might set the pan scale to a zero. This does not work well as the threads on the center column need to be tightened all the way to prevent the thread play from inducing wobble. Thus the indicator scale baselined at whatever it points to when the head and head plate and center column are tightened down. Don't get me wrong, the pan still works fabulous, only the indicator is not able to be set at a zero. 2. There is a tilt locking knob and a red knob that both appear to do the same thing. I'm assuming that the red knob is a secondary lock for the tilt knob, but the tilt knob appears to do just fine on its own. I do lock them both when using the telescope, but they appear to be redundant. Nothing in the instruction manual even mentions the tilt knob, so I may be missing something. 3. User issue more than item problem, but the quick release shoe comes with two screws installed which keeps the shoe from being able to slide off the head. I found it annoying to have to loosen the whole mount to the point that I could lift it off. The eureka moment of course was realizing that I could remove one of the screws and thus slide the shoe on and off very easily. Mactrem supplies allen wrenches for these screws in the package.Definitely would recommend this tripod for anyone looking for a lightweight and yet incredibly sturdy tripod.

Love this little speaker. Sounds great, column can go loud and charge lasts a long time.

One thing I must say right off the bat is that this model, the FP 2450, does NOT have a leveling head. When I looked at the diagram in the instructions that called out an integrated leveling ball, I was happy. A method of rapid leveling is necessary whenever you work with video cameras. When I looked at the tripod, I found that there is NO leveling ball. So I went to the part of the instructions where it gives more detail on the leveling ball. Only then does it say in parentheses, "if available". The instructions do not refer to a specific model number, so it must cover those with the ball as well as this one, which comes without one. What a disappointment.I have another gripe. The description of the product on Amazon's website shows the leveling ball as a feature of this model. I'm sure that is an unintentional mistake, but it's serious. There will be people who purchase this model because they think it has a leveling ball, and then they'll have to go through the hassle of returning it.The reason it almost lost another star is that it takes more force than it should to hold the fluid head handle in place, the fluid head's spring counterbalance is a tad on the weak side, and there is no dampening on the center column. The lack of dampening on the center column means that if you release the tension to lower the center column, and you are not mindful, it will come crashing down. There is nothing to slow it down. That could damage your equipment and/or take a chunk out of your hand or finger(s) if they are in the wrong place.Other than those things, the build quality is good but falls short of great. Latches work as they should, leg extensions slide in and out properly, and the rubber feet are interchangeable with included spikes. Fully extended, the tripod can accommodate very tall people, or shorter people standing on something to get a high vantage point.The fluid motion of the head is good in both tilt and pan motions. No complaints there.The bag/case is pretty good. It's tough, well-padded, and has a nice outer zippered pocket.I reluctantly give it four stars instead of three. The material and overall functions are as expected, but the shortcomings I mentioned leave things to be desired.