Probably the most common thing that I see whilst running workshops are cheap tripods that are not up for the job at hand. I can totally appreciate that after buying a camera, lenses, filters, cards and bag, a cheap tripod may sound like a good idea, trust me its not. I fell into this trap and over the last few years I have probably bought 4 or 5 tripods, none of which has lasted or have been capable of doing the job I wanted them too. Had I invested from the start, I would have probably saved myself money, not to mention the stress of 2 cameras falling off them and the disappointment of images being soft because the tripod has wobbled or vibrated. So if you are serious about your photography, buy the best you can afford. I guarantee it will be worth it. Have a look on line for a second one. Sure there may be a few scapes of the paint may be chipped in places, but this doesn't make the slightest difference to how it performs.