Price – 59.99 (I would get it here. This is the best price I have seen brand new.)
I hate tripods. I try to use them as little as possible, but every serious photographer knows they need one for certain situations. They are just so bulky and obnoxious that nobody wants to carry them around, or they try to make due with the little tiny ones which really don’t do you much good. It is because of this that I did a TON of research, reading forums, talking to guys in the shops etc, and I found what I think is the best tripod out there if you are like me and need something that is sturdy, but portable. The Manfrotto 785B.
Mine came in a really cool box, with a translucent plastic shell, all totally made from recycled materials. Opening it up you see the tripod inside with a little instruction book. Pulling it out of the box the first thing you notice is that it feels nice and solid. Heavy but not TOO heavy.
Key Features
- Hybrid photo/video ball head
- Quick locking / unlocking of head with one touch button on handle
- Legs can be set at three different spread angles
- Threaded 2-section detachable center column for easy low angle shooting
- Quick action leg locks for fast expansion and collapsing.
- Quick release mounting.
Fully extended this thing gets to just under 5 Feet at 59.25 inches. Fully collapsed it gets down to a very portable 17.13″ inches. And actually with a little dis assembly, it gets even smaller. It weighs about 2 lbs and can hold about 2 lbs (although I suspect it can hold much more than that, this is just the factory spec. Regardless, its perfect for ANY digital SLR and even some smaller video cameras.) The feet are a nice durable rubber and the latches that release and clamp the leg extensions are very tight and have an extremely durable feel.
As far as settings, there is a selector for three different “stances” that basically let you choose how far out you want the legs to spread, and you can get them near flat to get the camera really close to the ground, there is a medium selection which doesn’t get you the maximum height but is extremely stable, or you can go with the default that would be what you expect from most tripods. Read the instructions here, you don’t want to have the legs fully extended in the two wider stances.
The handle features a really neat trigger style clamp, with a push button release on the top, and the center column unscrews and shortens to get the camera close to the ground, or to remove the head all-together for even MORE portability.
Bottom Line
This tripod is an absolute dream to use, its fast, sturdy has great features and above all is portable enough that I actually have it with me when I need it. In fact it fits nicely onto my Lowepro Slingshot bag.
The handle clamp could be a tiny bit stronger but its nothing to get worked up over and I really like the nature of the trigger clamping, its really fast and friendly to use although the camera does tend to move a bit as you clamp it down. Once you get used to that though, making the adjustment is not hard.
I highly recommend this tripod to anyone who wants a great general use rig with the best portability to found in a full sized, feature packed tripod.
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I also like the Slik Sprint Pro 3-way GM. Light enough to go hiking with. Great review and I like that you showed it with a kit back!
*** kit bag *** sorry ’bout the typo!
I will have to check out the Slik Sprint Pro, thanks!
so how are you going about getting even lower ground shots?
you wrote: “with a little dis assembly, it gets even smaller. “
Actually, my comment about “getting even smaller” refers to the collapsed size for carrying around etc. What I meant by “disassemble” is that you can take the head of the tripod off and store it separately from the legs. I do this alot actually, I keep the head in my bag, and then the legs are about 4 inches shorter when strapped on the back of my bag.
The lowest “shooting” mode can be had by selecting the widest “stance” with the grey selector ring. This tripod gets very low compared to other tripods of the “do it all” nature.
right, I thought min. height was collapsed 17 inches. when in fact specs say minimum is 6.9 inches. which is very similar to slik sprint pro 6.7″.
when you lock this lever, does this become (somewhat) a pan head? letting you pan left to right, with no vertical movement?
other features on this also include, joystick, bubble level, quick release.
how useful are these features in real life? joystick meaning easier to handle or manipulate ball head? or more comfortable? then bubble level lets you get proper horizontal and vertical alignment on your pics? with quick release, how much time or seconds do you save vs tripod with no quick release?
is there also 1 year warranty when bought new?
“Minimum collapsed height is 17. Sure, the minimum that you can get from the ground is 7″ and that is very similar to the slik sprint pro. I was focusing on how small you can get it to carry around, and I overlooked the “ground clearance” spec. Thanks for pointing this out. As for the lever, yes you can lock it into more of a pan head, and yes the bubble level lets you level off the base of the tripod, however your probably going to want to use the guidelines in your camera lens to level your composition. As for the other features, yes the quick release is very nice. I find it super usefull but you will have to be the judge of this yourself. Its a very common feature on tripods these days. The joystick handle is marketing speak, but I DO like the thumb/trigger style press and release. Its just intuitive and comfortable. I will have to look about the warranty, but I imagine its AT LEAST 90 days, if not a year.
Thanks for reading and asking questions!
as this is a 2lb tripod, are you able to hang a bag or something on center column post, if this helps in further stabilizing tripod, or in reducing vibrations? performance, how do you think this will fare vs a more heavier tripod like a 5lb Bogen tripod.
I am sure that you COULD hang a bag for stability, and even though this tripod is probably not as sturdy as larger ones, thats the point of a ultra portable. You give up a little bit, although I can tell you I have never had a situation where my D80 w/200mm lens has been “unstable” on this tripod…. your mileage may vary.
H, I just bought one of these and I’m very disappointed at the quality, 3 of the leg thumb clamps broke on the first action! I thought I was on a prank show! all the clamps have cracks in them, being made of cheap plastic is the problem.
I have two other Manfrotto tripods, the 190 and 55, solid units but very heavy.
I don’t recommend this for anybody interested i longevity or quality, you get what you pay for.
Manfrotto also provided me with no help or service, its in the trash can as I type.
Hey thanks for your input. Sorry you had trouble with it. i have been using mine pretty heavily for almost two years and find it to be in perfect condition outside of some normal wear. Maybe you just got a bad unit?