Customer Reviews

Manfrotto Modo Maxi Black Tripod Legs & Hybrid Joystick Ball Head Kit, with Adorama Tripod Case, Tripod Hanger

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Manfrotto is best in the industry. And this product is lowest in their collection. I own a Nikon D5000 with 18-200mm lens. I saw few reviews advising that its better for only Point and Shoot cams since it won't hold CAMS heavier than that. I still brought this. Its works fine, most of the time. When going for a Vertical shot with this Tripod, it sags and te Image is blurred (for shots more than 2sec). The material is made out of Plastic and it isnt good to hold te SLRs like Nikon D5000 for a vertical shot. Even after paying close to ~100$, I wish the holder wud ve been made to withstand SLRs like D5000, T2i... Overall, the product design and the material quality of the steam is excellent.

This is a good news, bad news kind of thing. Traditionally, you get the bad news first. The bad news is it no more structural rigidity than I'd expect from a child's plastic toy. I was told that there were two grades of Manfrotto; the 'pro range' made in Italy by craftsmen that I imagine look like Geppetto from Pinnochio, complete with grey hair, spectacles and a leather apron; the 'consumer range' presumably made by flip-flop clad disinterested provincial Chinese labourers with low wages and no prospects, but from the look of this tripod, it appears there must be a third class below the others. Let's call it the 'happy meal range' and I picture them being made by mischievous gremlins that have been fed after midnight.

The good news is it's not broken after it's first outing; I was sure it was. The video/ camera mode knob got twisted too far round and stopped working but there were no broken bits of plastic and when I unscrewed the head it fitted back into place. It now properly locks against side tilt in video mode again. The head still doesn't lock, but having seen the mechanism on the inside I could see it's not a manufacturing defect or store damage. However, it does offer fairly firm and smooth friction now that I have tightened the screws that had worked a bit loose. It would be an acceptable product if you could replace the plastic head, but unfortunately, the head is fixed permanently to the shaft. The quick legs are a bit whippy like a Zipshot tripod, but the leg locks do actually lock properly. Be careful with excessive weight though; the light grey retaining ring is bendy and looks like it will fail. If the shaft starts to slip under lock which it does at about 7lbs of weight, the camera's probably too heavy to stay still on the tripod. Wobble is an issue; This tripod is best used indoors and away from wind. The camera clip on mount that rattled badly and slipped around ruining the photos was made serviceable with a single layer of duct tape that took up the play. Duct tape was not included in the price; that was an after market add-on.

In summary, it's priced above its mediocre build quality. If you have a pocket camera, or lightweight handheld video, it'll probably do the job but don't expect too much from it.

Please forgive my sarcasm, but it sums up my feelings towards this product.

Manfrotto 785 Modo Maxi Photo Video Grip Head TripodManfrotto 785b Modo Maxi Black Tripod Legs & Hybrid Joystick Ball Head Kit, with Adorama Tripod Case, Tripod Hanger