I recently started looking for a tripod and I found the Ravelli APGL13.

Here is my review that I posted on Amazon.com.

I purchased this off of the previous and only review. I was a bit concerned at doing this, but I took a chance.

This is my first tripod and I am very pleased so far. I have a Canon Rebel XSi with a Canon EF-S 55-250mm lens, so I was concerned with sturdiness. I really did not want to spend 100s of dollars on a name brand tripod, because it just was not feasible for me, but again I wanted something that I felt could hold the gear that I have.

With shipping the price was $55 and some change and for the price I think it is very good. It definitely has some weight to it, it is not what you get for $20 at BestBuy or Wal-Mart this appears solid.

The carrying case is nice to have, there is nothing overly appealing about it looks wise, but it does hold the tripod and the 3 grips.

It is roughly 30 inches long and 5 inches wide when it is in store mode. It stands 56 inches tall when all the legs are extended out (note; this is when the legs are locked at their first lock position, you can spread the legs out farther, but this is the setting that is lock position 1). It will extend all the way up to 67 inches. One thing I especially like is the that tabs to extend the legs are metal and not plastic.

Even at full extension and with the gear mentioned above this tripod seem sturdy on solid ground. With that, I probably would not test using it at full extension all the time. I have not had the opportunity to test this out on un-even surfaces, but when I do, I will update this review.

All in all, I am very satisfied with tripod. I think it will do well for what I use and the gear I have, and I would not hesitate to put a bit heavier gear on it either. For $55 and some change shipped to my door, I think it is well bought.

If you are a budget DSLR photographer like myself and cannot shell out $100s of dollars on a tripod, give this one a shot. I would have given it 5 stars, but there were no instructions included (which probably is not a big deal) but would have helped me getting the grips set up and how to move all the pan heads, otherwise I would have given it 5 stars.

More images on the Amazon page if you go to customer images. Once the rest of my gear gets in, I will do a blog post on that.

Thanks

-DH