 - Lightweight and compact, offers support necessary for high-quality imaging
- Built-in aluminum ball head with a single "ratchet" locking lever, with micro "dovetail" quick release plate
- Quick-action leg locks for fast set-up and breakdown
- Four section tripod legs permit a folded length just over 18 inches
- 64.6-inch maximum height, 7.7-pound maximum load
List Price: $128.00 
Product Description: New and improved quick release equipped compact tripod designed / Adds the professional range 3157N rapid connect plate to the ball head Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-06-18
I love this tripod
I love this tripod, its quality and features, and using it, because:
1. The dove tail plate is permanently attached (screwed) to my Canon 40D camera. The camera, with its attached dove tail plate, is easily attached to, and removed from, the tripod's ball head. I am pleased with the ease and swiftness of this attaching and removing process. I was pleasantly surprised to see the pin that prevents me from accidentally opening the latch with my camera on the tripod. Nice feature; nice quality.
2. The ball head rotates in a complete circle when the lever is loosened. The camera can move to any orientation. Changing from horizontal to vertical shots or vice versa is easy. My Canon 40D has "live view", so it is easy to set up the correct orientation for horizontal and vertical shots.
3. The light weight and nice carrying bag make it easy to carry this tripod while walking.
4. The flip-style latch mechanisms on the legs are easy to use, and enable quick extending and collapsing of the legs.
5. Some people like tripods with three sections in each leg. I like this tripod because it has four sections in each leg. This enables the tripod to collapse into a short length, making it easy to carry and transport. This shorter length also enables the camera to be positioned closer to the ground when all leg sections are collapsed.
6. I agree with other reviews stating that this tripod is easy to set up and use.
7. The amazon price is good and the shipping is free.
Rating:
Date: 2008-06-10
Fantastic Tripod!
I purchased this tripod to use with a Canon Rebel XT.
At first I was concerned that it wouldn't be sturdy enough.
WRONG! I was pleasantly surprised! This is a fantastic tripod, with ease of set-up,lightweight, the tripod Ball head and quick release that came with it you can't beat the quality or the price!
Dennis Rating:
Date: 2008-06-09
By far, a true steal for a GREAT item!
This item was recommended by my FLICKR group and it was well worth it. The cost is minimal yet the advantages are huge!
It also arrived very quickly and packed very well. Rating:
Date: 2008-06-08
Would definitely recommend this one
I got this tripod for my nephew-in-law graduation. he really liked it. It has adjustable to different lenghts legs and very easy attach camera port.
When it is folded it is relatively not big in size and comes with a nice carry-in bag.
I would buy it again! Rating:
Date: 2008-06-07
My search finally ends
I've been looking for the perfect portable (read: lightweight) travel tripod for over a year. When I travel, I typically spend 12-16 hours a day roaming around with a heavy camera backpack including a bulky DSLR, several lenses and accessories. (I once weighed my pack at 17 pounds, haha.)
Have returned previous online tripod purchases as they just weren't very compact when folded, and they just weren't very tall (full-sized) when expanded. I am thrilled to have happened upon this model. Folds small enough to shove into my pack, but I was amazed to fully expand it and have it go way, way over my head (I'm 5'9").
The ball head is sturdy enough to support a Nikon D300 + a fully extended 18-200mm lens. Although lightweight, the legs are steady and feel well-constructed. The carry bag is very convenient and nicely designed with the "Manfrotto" logo down the stripe. A very good value. I think I'll use this as my "real" tripod from now on.
Setup takes less than a minute, from out of the bag to fully in place with the camera mounted and pointed. I was frequently able to stop on the street when I found something I wanted to shoot, set up, shoot and move on quickly. My "real" tripod is extremely heavy, slow to set up, and NOT compact when folded - only use I can see for it from now on might be in high winds.
For the price, this is an excellent tripod. I bought the version with the ball head, which allows for many interesting configurations (including shooting vertically). As someone else mentioned, this head doesn't allow you to pan to the side without loosening, so you may lose your vertical position, but this is easily solved by just rotating the lightweight tripod. There's no bubble level, but you can use the grid lines in your viewfinder to find the horizon if you can't eyeball it. The only other possible improvement would be two leg stays per leg instead of three, which is more time-consuming to operate.
For the money, I can't complain. This is the perfect combo of durability (you get high-quality Manfrotto design), ease of setup, weight, and compactness (when folded) with expandable height. Would recommend. |
