Customer Ratings & Reviews

This has been a great tripod. Simple to use and very handy. It works perfectly with our new sony mirrorless camera.

Very easy to set up and use, my kid loves it. Also has a nice phone holder that also attaches to top mount.

Flimsy, doesnt stay stable. Not for heavy dSLR camera. ALsmot destroyed my 5000 dollar camera. NOt easy to maneauver also. They are trying to re-invent the wheel.

Works well with my joby tablet holder. Has different stages of heights and has a level as well.

Worked great! My fiancé used it for work recently and had 0 issues with it. Great purchase!

Excellent, easy to use and very strong. I use it with my camera and my cell phone as well.

Probably one of the best tripods I've ever used for the price. Highly recommend

Great tripod. It has all the functions necessary for a great tripod!

Very stable and easy to adjust tripod. Light but very sturdy.

Works perfectly with my iPhone. I highly recommend!

I got sent a used one with missing phone stand, even though I paid for a BRAND NEW ONE.

You need to be rocket scientist to use this product. Attaching a camera on top of tripod has a serious design problem as after some time the screw gets loose and your camera will fall down

For the price it was not good. Flimsy and does not adjust easily or stay in place once adjusted.

I bought this for my GoPro and it’s prefect for me

Not sturdy at all. I light breeze would send this thing to the ground.

the product is delivered broken please check and help me return this item

Wobbly and unstable, Feels cheap. I gave it one star for having a well padded carry bag.

With two kids in high school orchestra and theatre, we do a lot of recording throughout the year. Throw in the family gatherings where we seem to always do a group picture, and there is a good reason to have a tripod that is versatile, yet easy to carry around. That, and the fact that the kids have pretty much taken over our other older tripod for making recordings for school, I was int the market to get an additional tripod to handle everything else, and easier to get set up in place for recording and picture taking. The Joby Compact Action Tripod Kit has the qualities and capabilities I was looking for! This tripod is definitely very lightweight and with having 4 sections on the legs, it collapses down decently small (about 3 " shorter that our other tripod). Having the padded storage/carry bag is a nice touch. Now, being lightweight, along with some of the overall design, has some trade-offs. It is designed to handle up to 3.3lbs of equipment, so be careful of what is being mounted. For us, It does handle our older, non-professional DSLR camera (Canon T1i) with standard 18-55mm lens as well as our 55-250mm zoom lens. While working with it, I feel the tripod can also be used as a monopod, either with all 3 legs extended, then closed together, or with just a single leg extended. The design isn't quite typical for a full-size tripod, which is mostly good, but has drawbacks. I like the single quick set/release rubber dial on the smaller sized pistol grip along with a pivot BallHead 3K for getting the camera set in the desired position. Our previous, 20-year-old tripod had the normal 3 different axis adjustment points, each with its own locking knob. But with the single locking mechanism, keep that in mind if needing to keep one or more axis locked in as that will not be possible with this tripod. There are two modes available on the pivot head: photo and video. In Video mode, it locks the side-tilt out, but leave the side-to-side turning and front to back tilt. In Photo mode, it also adds in the side-to-side tilt (which take a little maneuvering of the head pieces to get to it), but each side is a little different. Tiling to the right goes the full 90º, but to the left, it seems to go only about 60º from the top. Now, one thing I noticed is the texture of the pivot ball head. Because it isn't smooth (guessing to give more grip with the locking dial, it can make a decent amount of friction noise when moving that the mic on the phone/camera does pick up if it is very quiet where recording. It probably would be an issue in most cases where there is enough noise in the shot. I do like having a slide adjustment for the top center column compared to having to use a "roll-up/down" handle on our other tripod. It comes with their QR plate that is also compatible with their GorillaPod 3K Kit. The plate is nice and smaller compared to most quick release plates. The only thing I had and issue with the QR place is the mount screw requires a coin (nickel, quarter, or even a penny) to tighten/loosen. It would have been nice to have at least a flip-up knob to tighten, but there isn't a whole lot of extra room with the small design. If you plan to use multiple devices with this tripod, it may be better to order extra QR plates(s). Other than that, I like the smaller design and built-in bubble level. And to me, the overall quick release system seems to be easier to get the camera/phone off and back on the tripod. The phone mount that is included has a very nice, sturdy design, with auto-locking rotation adjustments, and a strong tension-only bracket for holding the phone (overall, much better than the other two phone mounts we have). It expands enough to hold probably about any size phone (mine is a 6.8" screen and it has a little more expansion room for a little bigger phone - up to 3.5" in width according to their specs). It also has two cold-shoe mounts for a mic and light or any other accessories you want to use. Overall, this is a nicely designed tripod, easy to setup and get set for the right shot. I feel is a great choice for any level of photography and video recording.

If you’re a photographer, you need a tripod. Inevitably, there comes a time when it’s just not practical to hand hold a particular shot, whether it’s because there’s not enough light, or because you want to be in the shot, but you need a tripod. There are lots of tripods on the market, so I’ll tell you why I chose this one, and what I think of it. Since you might not know in advance when you’ll need a tripod, you want one that isn’t a burden to carry with you. If you’re a professional photographer who does portrait photography and has lots of gear, like lighting, shades, and reflectors, you’ve probably already got a heavy-duty tripod (or several) for those types of sessions. The Joby Action Tripod isn’t for that kind of application. The Compact Action Tripod is just what its name implies. It’s small and light, and easy to take with you wherever you go. It comes in a very nice, padded bag with a drawstring that allows you to sling it over your shoulder and go. At just 2.5 pounds, it’s not a burden to carry. It features black aluminum legs for lightweight and stability. Each leg has 4 sections, and it can extend to 61 inches at its tallest. The legs are not connected to each other, so you can adjust them to accommodate uneven terrain, if necessary. The tripod can handle up to 3.3 pounds, so even a DSLR with lens will work well, unless you’ve got a heavy lens. This tripod is clearly designed for the lighter end of the spectrum, so don’t expect more than it promises. Let’s get to the most important part: the head. The Compact Action Tripod features a quick release plate like most tripods do, but this one is the same as that used in the GorillaPod 3K Kit. I have not used that one, but I’m impressed with this plate. It sticks out the back of the camera because it includes a bubble level, which is a nice touch. The plate is small, so you need to screw it securely into the camera. If you have a larger camera, this is important. The plate releases from the tripod using a button on the front of the head, so it’s very easy to swap out different cameras, if you have multiple quick release plates. The head is made of plastic with a matte finish. At first, I wasn’t too impressed with it. It felt cheap and I didn’t think it would be strong enough. It features a solid aluminum ball inside, and after using it for a while, I was impressed with it. It utilizes a “pistol” grip, but instead of a trigger mechanism, Joby created a unique wheel that you push forward to lock, backward to release. The wheel is rubberized and works well, but it feels like it could wear out and weaken over time, but only time will tell. When locked, the head stays firmly in place, and I didn’t worry that my camera would fall forward. The head features two “modes”: one for still images, and one for video. Selecting the mode is done using a wheel on the side. In still mode, the head moves in all directions, including left and right to allow you to turn the camera sideways for vertical shots. In video mode, the head only moves up and down and side to side for panning, but not left and right. This is one of those small touches that you don’t appreciate until it saves you from ruining a smooth pan. Probably my biggest gripe with this tripod is how they implemented the ability to turn the camera into position for a vertical shot. Like most ball heads, there is a slot in the housing that allows you to turn the camera on its end. Unfortunately, the mode selector wheel prevents you from being able to turn the camera up on the left side. This is my preferred way to take vertical shots since it puts the shutter button on the top instead of the bottom. This tripod forces me to take vertical shots on the right side. I’m not a design expert, but it seems like there could have been a simple solution. There are two slots that allow left/right motion. One is a full slot, which allows the camera to go fully vertical on the right side, as I’ve mentioned. The other side has a half slot, which allows you turn to the side, but stops halfway. There’s probably a reason for this, and pros could probably tell me what it is, but it seems to me that if Joby had simply put two full-sized slots on the head, this whole problem would be solved. The center post on which the head is attached can be raised or lowered as well. This can give you those last few inches of height when needed. You can also completely remove the head and post and hold the post in your hand, if that’s something you need. Again, a nice touch. Joby is the same company that makes Manfrotto tripods, and you can see the family resemblance. I’ve had my eye on a Manfrotto for quite a while, but this one is nearly identical to the Manfrotto version, differing only by the quick release plate used. Joby also includes a phone mount which allows you to use the tripod with your camera phone. This is a nice addition to get at no extra cost. If you’re looking for a lightweight tripod to take with you on your travels, consider this one. I’m very pleased so far and look forward to many years of solid support for my camera.

This review is written based on using a Cannon Rebel T7 on this tripod for the past week. While my preference is a DSLR camera, I can confirm that the tripod also comes with a mount for cell phone and has the flexibility to securely hold my bulky Samsung Galaxy S8 Active (with thick bumper case on) as well as my husband's Note20 Ultra. The cell phone mount locks at 45 degree angles so you can take portrait as well as landscape and angles in between. In the box is the tripod, carrying bag, phone mount and removable base plate. Setup is simple, unlock up to all 4 of the clips on the tripod leg to reach desired height, use the level that is attached to baseplate to set the camera position, rotate the base plate as desired, and then use the hand grip roller to lock the tripod mount securely into place. As far as attaching the camera, the baseplate is a standard screw mount and can be left on the camera during storage. There is a spring tensioned clip on the front of the tripod that securely locks the baseplate into the tripod platform. To release, push the small button at front of the tripod. Starting at the top of the mount is the baseplate, then the handle grip with thumb roller that locks in the pan / tilt / level position. There is a knob on the left of the tripod that you can toggle between video and camera. In video it removes the ability to tilt only allowing vertical and horizontal movement for steady video capture. In photo mode the base plate has 360 horizontal rotation, full horizontal tilt at any angle, and I estimate between 60 to 120 degrees vertical travel. Below this is the locking knob for the tripod legs and then the legs with 4 sliding extensions that end with small rubber feet. Folded for travel, the tripod total length is 18 inches, and at full extension the camera eye cup is just above eye level for me at 5'5". What I love about this tripod is that it is highly portable at under 3 lbs and 18", I put it in the included travel bag, along with phone mount, slung it over my shoulder and went on a hike with my family. The bag is thick and I did not have any noise from the tripod moving in the bag as I hiked the 3 mile trail up to a waterfall. For setup, I appreciate the flexibility afforded by having multiple adjustments within 4 separate extensions. I was able to securely set up the tripod on uneven terrain by making quick adjustments to the extension lengths. My only concern was at full height extension on uneven terrain, I felt the tripod wasn't sturdy enough to hold the DSLR without risk of tipping. Overall a solid recommendation for a quick, easy travel tripod for beginner to advanced users shooting anything from portraits to high motion sports using a camera / lens combo under 3 lbs.