The Manfrotto Factor 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 ‘excellent tripod’ appears to be a endless quest for photographers, and though the Manfrotto Factor MII is not excellent, it nonetheless ticks loads of our bins. For the worth you pay, it has many nice options and would make a really perfect addition to any photographer’s arsenal, whether or not you are a newbie or an expert.
Each kind of images has totally different tripod necessities, making it tough to search out one that matches everybody. The Best travel tripods should be extraordinarily light-weight and moveable, whereas the Best tripods for astrophotography are designed with stability and ease of use on the forefront of their design. However if you would like 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 Factor MII to the check and it appears to offer a really glad medium because of its capacity to carry out effectively in all areas. There are solely a few small disadvantages, so we expect this is able to be a superb and inexpensive tripod so as to add to your equipment.
Manfrotto Factor 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 Factor MII tripod that we examined is constructed with an aluminum building and options an attention grabbing design on two of the legs, which makes this tripod stand out from the gang. 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 simple to arrange, notably when you’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 struggle with any fiddly protruding clips if 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 created from rubber additionally makes it simpler on the palms 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 prime to backside.
This tripod has been so effectively constructed and thought by way of that, actually, it was arduous to search out something we did not like about it. There’s one function we might discover that this tripod does not have, nevertheless — that being the shortage of a 90-degrees rotating central column. It does not make the tripod any much less nice to make use of, however we expect that including this function might make this tripod go from nice to glorious. For us, it is not a complete dealbreaker, however we expect it could simply take this tripod to the following stage.
Manfrotto Factor MII: Efficiency
- Quick & straightforward operation
- Sturdy but light-weight
- Capable of 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 proper steadiness between sturdy and light-weight, making it perfect for journey and climbing as a result of it is gentle sufficient to hold round with out breaking your again and secure sufficient to face up to a wide range 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… by some means! 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 helpful if you’re capturing in robust winds or opposed climate, notably 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 absolutely 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 absolutely prolonged anyway, so we will not see this as a significant situation, extra one thing to be aware of to increase the lifetime of your tripod.
Manfrotto Factor MII: Performance
- Ergonomic twist locks to maintain legs in place
- Ball head mechanism for panorama and portrait orientation
- 360-degree unbiased panning
One other helpful function 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 commonplace width and a wider place, plus an all-flexible legs-in-the-air place that allows you to 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 function is nice for versatility, as you could not need to spend time combating with the legs to try to get them even, so having a setting that does this for you is de facto helpful. To not point out, it makes the setup even faster when you’ve noticed a fantastic shot however do not have the time to stage the legs by eye.
The ball head mechanism can be surprisingly straightforward to navigate as a result of spirit ranges for each panorama and portrait orientations, which eliminates the necessity for any faffing. Nonetheless, you do must be sure to stage the tripod with the spirit stage first, as as soon as the digital camera is on the tripod you’ll be able to’t really see the spirit stage as a result of it is coated by the digital camera.
One other actually cool function of this tripod is its 360-degree panning capacity. It is a tremendous helpful function to have as a result of it is nice for each photographers and videographers alike. This makes video footage look silky easy, because it simply spins round on itself with out you having to pan the digital camera round in your palms and risking digital camera shake. This function 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 pictures for a panoramic picture. To not point out that it permits tripods for use in conditions the place they might not usually be used, similar to sports activities motion or wildlife images. Now you can effortlessly pan the tripod head round to trace a topic whereas it is shifting, eliminating the necessity to maintain the load of the digital camera in your palms for an prolonged time period.
Ought to I purchase the Manfrotto Factor MII?
No matter your fashion of images, we expect the Manfrotto Factor MII can be a fantastic, secure base for almost all of digital camera and lens combos. It is sturdy, light-weight, and has a bunch of very helpful options that make it a extremely stable tripod, each virtually and metaphorically.
With the flexibility to shoot 360-degree panning, it could even be a fantastic tripod when you’re entering into videography, which is one thing that not many tripods can supply. We examined the aluminum mannequin; nevertheless, there’s additionally a carbon fiber mannequin, which weighs round 1.35 kg, so when you’re in search of one thing even lighter then this is able to positively be a fantastic possibility. 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 inexpensive. If not being able to shoot at 90 levels is not a dealbreaker for you, then we expect this tripod can be a fantastic alternative 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 extra money in one of many dearer manufacturers.
If the Manfrotto Factor MII tripod is not for you
In case you have the funds to go massive and your largest precedence is portability and small dimension, then you’ll be able to’t go fallacious with the Peak Design Travel Tripod. It is just about the identical weight because the Manfrotto Factor 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 Factor MII is not fairly tall sufficient on your images 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 probably fold down to only over 40 cm, so it isn’t any much less moveable both. It may additionally bear as much as round 14 kg, making it higher for heavier setups. Though expensive, it is a tripod you’d hold for a really very long time.
For an additional extra inexpensive tripod, check out the Manfrotto BeFree Advanced Travel Tripod. It is not fairly as tall because the Factor MII, however that does imply it is also barely smaller when folded, so it might probably be a greater possibility for journey.
