Manfrotto Element Small Aluminum Traveler Tripod (Black)

This is a very adequate, sturdy tripod that meets the needs of nearly all photographic purposes. It is a very good value.

This is the perfect all-around tripod! super small when folded up, it can fit in water bottle holders on backpacks or can pack neatly in your camera bag. The ball head is perfect for being able to level out your shots, both horizontal and vertical. Its small form factor can help you get shots in tight spaces, but can also be extended all the way to eye level! It is light, so it has a hanger underneath if you want to do long exposures or if theres wind. Its just perfect for all photography situations, especially if you are looking to travel! It is also perfect for my video needs as well. my Manfrotto 502AH Pro Video Head with Flat Base screws right on when you detach the ball head. Even though my video set-up is quite heavy, the tripod is sturdy enough so the tripod can handle it like nothing. If you're looking for a tripod and a travel tripod, this is definitely the one for you, its on the cheaper end, but the quality is next level. Definitely a bang for your buck tripod, and it's worth every penny!

I agree with Patrick; this is a very nice compact travel tripod with one glaring problem: the 5mm hex head screw used to attach the Arca compatible screw-knob clamp to the threaded post on the tripod head disallows use of most other plates. So I did essentially what Patrick did. I unscrewed the the head from the tripod, went down to the shop, and carefully secured the attached screw knob clamp in a padded vise. Then with a right-angled 5mm hex wrench and pretty much all the foot-pounds I could muster, I finally loosened and removed the screw. My efforts resulted in a small defect on top of the threaded post that required about 3 seconds with a fixed disc sander to flatten out (it's aluminum and did not harm the sander. Also I taped off the ball to eliminate metal shavings in the ball-head.) Next I went to my Odd Machine Screw drawer and fortunately found an appropriately threaded flat head screw. So things would be flush, I enlarged the hole in the clamp just a hair with a counter sink, put a drop or 2 of Loctite Blue on the screw threads and screwed it back together. It now looks pretty, and works much better. And yes, I'd be happy to start reviewing Manfrotto tripods BEFORE they release them. Going to N. Scotland next month, and if anything tripod untoward occurs, I'll leave an addendum. Cheers!

It's inconspicuous, barely takes up any space or weight, and gets acceptably high for most situations (camera at about nose level on an average adult). Ball head perfect for holding a fixed, unmanned wide or mid mirrorless camera for videography gigs while leaving your bag much, much lighter. Overall stability is totally fine indoors even with the fixed middle column, so much better than something truly nutty like putting cameras on light stands. Definitely don't try to use it outdoors to take bird photos in a hurricane with a telephoto or something mental like that. I personally wouldn't even use this outdoors period unless the weight/bulk requirements necessitated it, but if you have a light camera rig and don't mind ball heads, it could be fine for bringing on a hike. It also doesn't look terrible if it gets in the shot from another camera, unlike so many other compact tripods with gaudy accent colors and whatnot. You could probably pack half a dozen of these in the space/weight of a single 'proper' videography tripod. Some people might find this tripod sacrifices too much height or ergonomically for the sake of being absolutely minuscule. If you have the space/weight/price capacity for it, go for the 3-section carbon fiber Element MII instead. It's measurably faster to setup and can get quite a bit taller for a very small weight increase, albeit a measurable bulk increase and higher price. If you are trying to minimize the weight and bulk of your setup at all costs, especially if you just need to place a fixed camera in a spot indoors for a hour or two, consider this.

This isn't going to be anyones favorite tripod, but it does one thing very well...travel. It fits perfectly inside most carry-on luggage, it's light weigh, easy to set up and durable. I bought two for filming basic interviews in the field on Sony alpha bodies and have zero complaints.

At a folded length of 12 inches, this tripod fits easily inside my backpack for air travel, instead of being strapped to the outside of the backpack and advertising that I am carrying camera gear.

Manfrotto has always been a good name in tripods. This is a tiny thing... I'm using it as an extra-portable tripod to keep around 'just in case'. I've already used it at about 8 spontaneous shoots. The nondescript pouch and small size makes this un-interesting to car thieves. It's a nice tool, with a real arca ballhead (so it can work with L brackets for example).