ULANZI MT-24 Camera Tripod (MT-24)

This is a first impressions review, not based on long term experience yet. The Ulanzi MT-24 is actually the Ulanzi MT-22. Is there a difference? Nobody knows. Amazon sells it as the MT-24, but you receive an MT-22. It is a decent desktop or travel tripod, but the price of now $66 is simply not justified in the slightest! Compared to the pricing of other such Ulanzi tripods, it is in the $30 range. But for some unknown reason you can hardly find it anymore, and then only totally overpriced. Why? Nobody knows. It is made entirely of aluminium - except for the lever to fix the ball head, and for the locks securing the leg extensions (all plastic), the latter of which therefore have a tendency to screech and jam... Planned obsolescence? Nobody knows. But that looks like a problem that will make many of these tripods fail over time, because these plastic locks are the opposite of smoothness and of terrible quality. Another flaw for most users might be the baseplate system used by Ulanzi here, which is incompatible with other mounts like the Arca Swiss system and its clones to some extent. While it is possible to use Arca Swiss baseplates on the Ulanzi-mount of the MT-22, the opposite is only possible, when you remove the locking/position screws from the Ulanzi baseplate because they are in the way on an Arca Swiss mount and would make it impossible to close the locking clamp. Personally I find handling so much more secure and comfortable with locking screws in place that I do not want to go without. The Ulanzi baseplate certainly is a lot smaller than a standard plate, maybe only one third of the normal size. Some users might find that convenient. To me though the disadvantages outweigh the benefits, because on a standard baseplate many cameras can still stand quite well, even with lock-pins in place. But with the Ulanzi baseplate most cameras are going to tip over in some direction, and all cameras are going to tip over when the position screws are not removed. Personally I would not want to be forced to always put the camera on its side when setting it down, so the Ulanzi baseplate is not for me, and I'd rather go with the bulkier standard plates which are also more universally compatible. The folding mechanism of the tripod has 3 positions: Selfie-stick, tripod high position, tripod low position. None of the positions actually lock in place, the middle position has a one-way safety, that is all. This is especially unpleasant in the selfie-stick mode. Hopefully Ulanzi will address this issue in future versions, because just adding three notches in the center of the tripod would have provided three lockable positions. The aluminium safety buttons on the legs for the middle position (not the plastic locks for the leg extensions) sometimes jam... The ball head has no separate pan head function, unfortunately. Look and feel of the Ulanzi MT-22 are great! Very classy and ergonomic. But the legs would have benefitted from a rubberized outer layer, because in winter your hands are going to freeze off holding that metal stick. The length and girth of the selfie-stick are perfect for me. The tripod has some flex in it, especially when using the leg extensions. For a $20 tripod that might be expected, but for a $66 tripod this is unacceptable. I also do not like that the leg extensions only lock in the pulled-out position, but not in the pushed-in position. Over time friction might become too low to hold them in anymore when using the selfie-stick configuration, and they would slip out when you don't want them to. Officially the weight capacity of the MT-22 is 5 kg. I do not have equipment heavy enough to test that, but 5kg seems a little bit of a stretch here... especially when using the leg extensions. All (3) screws of the tripod need tools to be turned, and all of them different ones... That is a big design flaw. For the baseplate (which is probably too small for thumbscrews) you need a coin, for the base of the tripod itself you need an allen wrench, and for the cold-shoe mount on the side you need a smaller allen wrench. The allen wrenches are provided, but honestly, who would want to carry 3 different tools with themselves for a tripod, especially for one which is designed to be highly portable... NOBODY KNOWS!

I needed a mini tabletop tripod to support my Sony A7IV camera, mainly when I am taking product photography photos for reviews. I did a lot of research and watched other reviews on many different tabletop tripods. I decided to purchase the Ulanzi MT-22 over the other competitors. I am a fan of Ulanzi products from other Ulanzi products I have used. They are very much a quality producer of products in the camera world and the MT-22 is no different. I appreciate the metal construction of the tripod frame and legs. It feels like a heavy duty tripod without a large amount of added weight. I also appreciate the audible click when the legs are fully folded out to let you know they are all fully expanded. One of the main deciding factors on me purchasing this tripod over the others is the ability to both extend the legs to a greater height as well as extend the legs out further which lowers the tripod all the way to the bottom of the surface the tripod is located on. This provides great flexibility for getting higher or lower shots. The mount is fantastic. It's a very compact, yet easy to use arca swiss mount that holds my camera securely without issue. It includes a ball style head that also has a good amount of hold when the adjustment knob is fully tightened. I will say that this tripod does have some issues with the size of my preferred lens which is the large and heavy Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8. This lens by itself weighs 1165g. Included with the A7IV camera, the total weight comes out to around 1824g. This tripod will handle it but I have to be careful about how I configure the camera on the tripod itself to make sure it has adequate support across all of the legs. But I shoot with my 35-150mm lens all the time on this tripod. It works well. Smaller lenses of course have no issues at all. There is also a hot shoe attachment on the side of this tripod which is really nice if you want to mount a microphone or light as well. The only thing I dislike about this tripod is it doesn't have a dedicated pan adjustment on the head. So to pan, I have to loosen the ball head itself and manually adjust the pan angle to what I need. It's not a huge problem, I just feel having a dedicated pan adjustment would further benefit this particular tripod. All things considered, I’m very happy with my choice in the vast world of tabletop tripods. It suits my requirements greatly and I use it on a regular basis. I'm satisfied with the functionality as well as the quality and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a portable tabletop tripod solution.

my vortex spotting scope is heavy but this supports it very well, easy to operate

While built appears to be sturdy, but it's unable to rotate its head without loosening the ballhead.

nice product