Manfrotto Tripod

One Problem I have every year when going on holiday is, deciding which of my two tripods I should take. If I’m in the car it’s no problem at all I just take them both but, if I’m on a train weight becomes an issue. To clarify my position, I have two Vanguard tripods (amongst other that have fallen out of favour) to choose from. The first weighs 2.5kg and although my favourite of the two is just too heavy to carry around all day. The second weighs in a just 1.2kg and was bought as a response to the weight of the first; it’s a great tripod with good height and sturdy enough to do what I want. However, I wondered if I could get the weight down further so started looking at the options available.

The first option that came to mind was a Joby GorillaPod, a friend has one, and it seemed to be a great all-rounder, fit anywhere do anything solution but, after reading a load of comments, plus some from friends about the joints not holding up and eventually cracking causing the legs to collapse, I had second thoughts. Another problem was price, I would have had to buy the Pod and a ballhead separately, coming to more than I was prepared pay. Another option was the Platypod, lots of great reviews (I also saw one in action with a big Canon 70-200mm lens, it was rock solid!) but again price was the issue. So, after looking at more options I came across the Manfrotto PIXI EVO 2-Section Mini Tripod.

The Manfrotto seemed to fit the bill, it was the right price, the weight was 260g, the payload maximum was 2.5kg (I needed something that would support around 1.7kg) and it was only 20cm when closed so. I took the plunge and bought one. As you may have guessed I was considering table top type tripods from the outset and never looking at smaller and lighter travel tripods.

My first impressions where generally good, the tripod is well built with part aluminium legs and ballhead, with the rest of the construction of a good quality plastic, it’s everything you would expect from Manfrotto at this price range. A quick overview of its features; the legs extend in 5 increments taking the height from 15cm up to 20cm, there’s also a sliding button on the side allowing the tripod to drop to just 10cm. The ballhead is solid when tightened and is not going to move at all, it also has a side notch allowing cameras to be positioned in portrait mode. The top plate is attached directly to the ballhead and has a rotating dial to make attaching the camera easy work. The top plate is my only real gripe on this tripod, it works well enough but it’s the way its attached to the ball that I don’t like, the plastic to metal seems solid enough but there does appear to be a little more flexibility in the plastic part.

_DSC0851

_DSC0831

_DSC0842

_DSC0839

I’ve used this a lot over a week or so in London, taking mostly long exposures at night and some bracketed shots and it hasn’t let me down. After setting up the shot and pressing the shutter the tripod is rock solid even with some wind buffeting it. In fact, it was the only tripod I took out at night leaving my bigger one back at the hotel after a while. The footprint is around 24-30cm and I had no trouble finding walls or the odd occasional bin to place it on. Ok, it’s not as flexible as a GorillaPod you can’t tie it around a lamp post and it doesn’t have the height of a full tripod but, I still found plenty of places to stand it and had to think a bit more creatively when using it. If you’re thinking of a small table top tripod for your kit I would say you can’t really go wrong with it, it’s an option to consider.