After shooting with the Manfrotto befree Carbon tripod I can say it’s one to get on your wish list. Overall the weight and size while folded is very impressive considering how stable the unit was holding my Olympus OM-D E-M1 with a battery grip and many different lens sizes. Here are a few highlights from my two weeks with this unit.
The mounting plate is the quick release type developed and used by Manfrotto. It felt very strong and I never felt uncomfortable about my camera while attached, even while walking with the camera still attached to the tripod.
The ball head is one area I felt might need a bit of improvement by adding a panning function. Other than that though, the ball head is very good and when you have to drop the head into a vertical position for portrait orientation it is one of the best tripods I have ever used. This was an amazing experience on this unit. I loved it.
The three extension shafts on the legs worked well and locked down tight. I never felt any sense of creep in the legs after locking them down. An added feature, and one that should be applauded, is the way the unit folds down. I wouldn’t normally read the directions for a tripod, I know how they work. For this one I suggest you read the directions. It shows how to properly fold the unit so it can be so small for travel and it is. There are groves in the mounting plate that accept the legs when closed making it head and shoulders above its competition for folding into a small portable unit which was very important to me for fitting into my luggage and backpack on my trip. The extra items included with the tripod were the very durable case and a couple allen wrenches to adjust leg tensions and the all-important instruction book.
Overall the Manfrotto befree Carbon is something I would recommend for any photographer who finds themselves looking to cut extra ounces of gear as well as size of their tripod for travelers. Be sure to check out the befree and the rest of the Manfrotto line at Hunt’s Photo and Video.