Bought this for my friend who is a professional online personality. He explains: "So the tripod stands about 3 1/2 foot tall. But it also comes with the handheld monopod which can be attached to the top to extend the height to about 6 feet. The brightness is pretty on par for a regular light bulb and has about 6 settings for dimming and shading. Works really easy." We would both recommend it to our friends.