GEAR MINI TESTS
LEOFOTO MANBA TRIPOD KIT £479/$341 leofoto.com
Chinese company Leofoto might be relatively unknown to a vast swathe of filmmakers, but the Manba LV-284C and BV-5 head could change that. It’s the brand’s latest professional tripod designed for filmmakers. But it shows Leofoto’s influence as a manufacturer of high-quality photo tripods and heads rather than being a traditional supplier of sticks to cinematographers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the Manba has lots of the qualities of high-end photo tripods, some useful innovations and a decent price for what you get. It would make an ideal buy for filmmakers who use mirrorless cameras and want something light and stripped back, but oozing quality. But you can’t escape the fact it lacks many mod cons that hardcore cinema camera users demand. For example, there’s no adjustable counterbalance and the Arca-Swiss plate isn’t very long to help with balancing. Pan and tilt are damped but don’t offer adjustable drag or free movement for speedy whips and tilts. Motion is fairly smooth, but the only way to slow it down is to tighten the locking screws. These are obvious omissions for a video-specific tripod, yet in other
ways the Leofoto over-delivers, with three bubble levels to help get the head horizontal, plus two different accessory threads – 1/4in and 3/8in – for accessory arms. This isn’t a photo tripod with a video head plonked on top. For self-levelling, the central column is unlocked with a large lever and can then swivel around on a big, hollow aluminium ball which sits in the spider at the top of the legs. This section can also be raised and lowered for precise framing, or replaced by a shorter central column that’s included in the kit. Then the legs can be splayed out very wide, allowing the tripod to get ludicrously low to the ground. The legs are beautifully made; the lever locks are works of art that operate smoothly and effectively. These have silicone rubber ends for grip, plus spikes for outdoor use, but rubber covers that spin onto them for indoor surfaces. The centre column has a hook for extra ballast to keep it stable, too. The whole kit is good quality, easy to use and light. It comes in a bag that can be expanded to keep extra bits of kit in there, such as accessory arms. In fact, the legs and centre column/ ball system are so good, they deserve a pairing with a more high-end video “Then the legs can be splayed out wide, allowing the tripod to get ludicrously low to the ground”
LUXURY BUY Carbon-fibre legs and top fixings bring a touch of class
SPECIFICATIONS Material: Carbon-fibre legs, aluminium head Head fitting: Flat, 50.8mm/2in Camera plate: Sliding QR plate Drag control: Pan and tilt with independent locks Maximum payload: 4kg/8.8lb Working height: 175-1580mm/6.9-62.2in Legs: Four-section, lever lock Spreader: None Folded height: 480mm/22in Weight: 2kg/4.4lb
head. This is easy to do – the head is just a flat base in a 50.8mm/2in size. So you could get the legs with no head and buy a more feature-packed one. Or use the Leofoto in its full kit form for a light, simple solution then fit a higher- end head for more control. Then you’ll have the best of both worlds – as long as your camera kit isn’t too weighty. PRO MOVIEMAKER RATING: 8/10 Nice legs, shame about the head Pros: Great levelling mechanism Cons: Not the best head
UNIQUE TECH The levelling ball at the top of the centre column works rather well
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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