Althought I am not an experience photographer, but from my experience, the height of the tripod when fully extends does matters. This unit is only 1300mm high, which I don't think is sufficient unless you are really that short. I also had a free tripod from Minolta when I purchase my Z3. That unit is really too short for me. Trying to bent down and focus is a real headache.
In general, a camera on a tripod should let you focus when you stand straight.
