As the saying goes, “one isn’t rich enough to buy cheap things.” But is a dirt-cheap piece of gear worth buying after all? Adam Harig wanted to find out, and he found the cheapest tripod money could buy. I’m taking $8.50 cheap, folks; we spend more on takeout. So, is an $8.50 tripod indeed such a bad choice? Let’s see it in Adam’s “cheap tripod review.”

Before we go on, a disclaimer: Adam found this tripod on sale, but its regular price is still ridiculously low. At the moment of writing this, it costs $21. With the tripod, you get a Bluetooth remote and a phone clip. These two cost $15 in total, at a discount. So I think this tripod has already paid for itself for Adam.

The tripod goes from 20″ to 67″ (50 – 170cm), and it’s made from aluminum. It can hold your phone, but it’s sturdy enough to hold a mirrorless or DSLR camera (although probably with a smaller, lighter lens). There’s also a GoPro attachment, so you can use your action camera with this tripod as well.

On the minus side, the tripod head doesn’t rotate in all directions. You can only move your phone or camera up and down. If you want to move it left or right, you must move the entire tripod, which is totally inconvenient.

Still, Adam finds this tripod “passable,” and I’d agree, especially if you’re a beginner on a really tight budget. Or perhaps you need a backup tripod or one just for steady shots where you won’t move your camera… Like Adam does in this video. You can also use it as a tripod that doubles as a selfie stick. It’s of great use for YouTubers, not so much for photographers, but it still has its uses.

[How Bad Is The CHEAPEST Tripod You Can Buy? via FStoppers]