The Manfrotto Component MII tripod is a light-weight tripod designed for hobbyist and entry-level photographers who want one thing secure however budget-friendly.
The seek for the ‘good tripod’ appears to be a endless quest for photographers, and though the Manfrotto Component MII is not good, it nonetheless ticks a number of our containers. For the worth you pay, it has many nice options and would make an excellent addition to any photographer’s arsenal, whether or not you are a newbie or knowledgeable.
Each kind of pictures has totally different tripod necessities, making it troublesome to search out one that matches everybody. The Best travel tripods must be extraordinarily light-weight and transportable, whereas the Best tripods for astrophotography are designed with stability and ease of use on the forefront of their design. However in order for you some recommendation on pairing it with a digital camera we even have guides to the Best cameras for photos and videos and the Best cameras for astrophotography.
We put the Manfrotto Component MII to the check and it appears to offer a really completely happy medium because of its skill to carry out effectively in all areas. There are solely a few small disadvantages, so we predict this might be a superb and reasonably priced tripod so as to add to your package.
Manfrotto Component MII: Design
- Aluminum or carbon fiber building
- Rubber twist locks are thick, robust, and comfy to make use of
- No 90 diploma central column
The Manfrotto Component MII tripod that we examined is constructed with an aluminum building and options an eye catching design on two of the legs, which makes this tripod stand out from the group. On the highest part of the third leg, there is a rubber grip, making it straightforward and comfy to maneuver the tripod round when it is in use and even when carrying it between areas. At full peak, it measures 160 cm with 4 totally different leg sections, which appears to be tall sufficient for many conditions and taller than many different journey tripods on the market, though not too tall for a smaller photographer.
It options easy-to-operate rubber twist lock legs versus clips, which makes this tripod very fast and straightforward to arrange, significantly if you happen to’re utilizing it out within the chilly and are sporting gloves. It is also very streamlined and compact when folded, so you do not have to combat with any fiddly protruding clips while you’re making an attempt to place it again within the padded carry bag or within the aspect pocket of your digital camera bag. The truth that they’re constituted of rubber additionally makes it simpler on the fingers than in the event that they had been plastic, so it actually appears that Manfrotto constructed this tripod with comfortability and ease of use in thoughts from high to backside.
This tripod has been so effectively constructed and thought via that, truthfully, it was exhausting to search out something we did not like about it. There’s one characteristic we might discover that this tripod would not have, nevertheless — that being the dearth of a 90-degrees rotating central column. It would not make the tripod any much less nice to make use of, however we predict that including this characteristic might make this tripod go from nice to wonderful. For us, it is not a total dealbreaker, however we predict it could simply take this tripod to the subsequent degree.
Manfrotto Component MII: Efficiency
- Quick & straightforward operation
- Sturdy but light-weight
- In a position to maintain as much as 8kg
When it got here to sensible use, this tripod carried out excellently. It is extremely straightforward and fast to setup and function, largely because of the twist locks and the speedy leg opening system this tripod has. It is not the lightest tripod within the bunch, but it surely appears to strike the right steadiness between sturdy and light-weight, making it best for journey and mountaineering as a result of it is mild sufficient to hold round with out breaking your again and secure sufficient to resist quite a lot of situations (and so that you can really feel assured placing costly gear on it). It weighs 1.55 kg and has a payload of 8 kg, which is greater than sufficient for a heavy DSLR and an extended zoom lens.
We examined it out with a lightweight mirrorless digital camera in very windy UK coastal situations, and it completely held its personal and did not budge… in some way! It does even have a removable hook that screws into the underside of the central column to assist weigh it down when wanted (and even simply to maintain your bag off the bottom). Having this further weight is useful while you’re taking pictures in robust winds or opposed climate, significantly as extra photographers are switching to lighter mirrorless cameras now and wish all the load they will get.
One factor we did discover is that when the legs had been totally prolonged at their widest, they did bend ever so barely within the center when weight was utilized, even when the legs had been locked. You’ll be able to overcome this by pulling the legs again in a bit or shortening the tripod in order that the thinner backside part of legs aren’t in use. However realistically, you are not going to have the tripod low to the bottom with the legs totally prolonged anyway, so we won’t see this as a serious concern, extra one thing to be aware of to increase the lifetime of your tripod.
Manfrotto Component MII: Performance
- Ergonomic twist locks to maintain legs in place
- Ball head mechanism for panorama and portrait orientation
- 360-degree impartial panning
One other helpful characteristic of this tripod is the ergonomic twist locks to maintain the legs in place, with three separate lock settings to select from. There are two locked leg positions: a reasonably customary width and a wider place, plus an all-flexible legs-in-the-air place that lets you have the legs in no matter place you would like. This setting would even be good for flipping the tripod the wrong way up so the middle column is beneath, with the digital camera tremendous low to the bottom. This characteristic is nice for versatility, as you might not wish to spend time preventing with the legs to attempt to get them even, so having a setting that does this for you is admittedly helpful. To not point out, it makes the setup even faster if you happen to’ve noticed an ideal shot however haven’t got the time to degree the legs by eye.
The ball head mechanism can also be surprisingly straightforward to navigate as a result of spirit ranges for each panorama and portrait orientations, which eliminates the necessity for any faffing. Nevertheless, you do have to be sure to degree the tripod with the spirit degree first, as as soon as the digital camera is on the tripod you may’t really see the spirit degree as a result of it is lined by the digital camera.
One other actually cool characteristic of this tripod is its 360-degree panning skill. This can be a tremendous helpful characteristic to have as a result of it is nice for each photographers and videographers alike. This makes video footage look silky clean, because it simply spins round on itself with out you having to pan the digital camera round in your fingers and risking digital camera shake. This characteristic may also profit photographers, as not solely might or not it’s good for a simple change of composition, however it could additionally lend itself to taking correct photographs for a panoramic picture. To not point out that it permits tripods for use in conditions the place they’d not usually be used, akin to sports activities motion or wildlife pictures. Now you can effortlessly pan the tripod head round to trace a topic whereas it is transferring, eliminating the necessity to maintain the load of the digital camera in your fingers for an prolonged time period.
Ought to I purchase the Manfrotto Component MII?
No matter your model of pictures, we predict the Manfrotto Component MII can be an ideal, secure base for almost all of digital camera and lens mixtures. It is sturdy, light-weight, and has a bunch of very helpful options that make it a very strong tripod, each virtually and metaphorically.
With the power to shoot 360-degree panning, it could even be an ideal tripod if you happen to’re moving into videography, which is one thing that not many tripods can provide. We examined the aluminum mannequin; nevertheless, there’s additionally a carbon fiber mannequin, which weighs round 1.35 kg, so if you happen to’re on the lookout for one thing even lighter then this might positively be an ideal choice. There’s additionally a model that comes with a cell phone clamp and a Bluetooth distant management, making this a superb tripod for content material creators who aren’t essentially photographers.
Additionally, for all the pieces this tripod is able to, it is really actually reasonably priced. If not being able to shoot at 90 levels is not a dealbreaker for you, then we predict this tripod can be an ideal selection and would final you a very long time. With correct care, you would not want one other tripod till you had been prepared to speculate more cash in one of many costlier manufacturers.
If the Manfrotto Component MII tripod is not for you
In case you have the price range to go huge and your largest precedence is portability and small dimension, then you may’t go mistaken with the Peak Design Travel Tripod. It is just about the identical weight because the Manfrotto Component MII, but it’s smaller in folded size. Peak Design tripods are among the many greatest on the market, so if you wish to make investments some money right into a tripod that is going to final you a really very long time, that is positively one to contemplate.
If the Manfrotto Component MII is not fairly tall sufficient on your pictures wants, take a look at the 3 Legged Thing Punks Brian Tripod. It extends to round 188 cm, which is 28 cm taller than the Manfrotto, and it will possibly fold down to only over 40 cm, so it is not any much less transportable both. It might probably additionally bear as much as round 14 kg, making it higher for heavier setups. Though dear, it is a tripod you’d hold for a really very long time.
For an additional extra reasonably priced tripod, check out the Manfrotto BeFree Advanced Travel Tripod. It is not fairly as tall because the Component MII, however that does imply it is also barely smaller when folded, so it might presumably be a greater choice for journey.
