First test
PRICE: £409.95
MANFROTTO.CO.UK
A tripod is a photographer’s best friend, and Manfrotto’s latest model has the feature set to appeal to landscape, travel and macro workers Manfrotto Befree GT XPRO Carbon
SPECS
› Price £409.95; comes with 496 centre ball head. An aluminium version with the same head is available at £269.95 › In the box Befree GTXPRO carbon, 496 ball head with 200PL-PRO plate, carry bag › Key feature 90° column mechanism › Leg sections Four › Leg locks Twist grips › Leg material Carbon fibre › Max height (centre column down) 141cm › Max height (centre column up) 163cm › Min height (centre column normal) 58cm › Min height (centre column at 90°) 9cm › Folded length 62cm › Folded length (legs reversed ) 43cm › Max payload Legs 10kg, ball head 10kg › Leg angles 22°, 54°, 89° › Weight Legs 1.76kg, ball head 400g
Manfrotto’s ever-growing family of lightweight, portable Befree tripods is very well named and its latest top-end model has the qualities to appeal to a wide range of photographers. The GT XPRO is designed and precision engineered in Italy using the latest premiumqualitymaterials. Two identical models, aluminium
alloy and carbon fibre, are available with the carbon version retailing for £409.95 and the aluminiummodel, which is just 240g heavier, more competitively priced at £269.95. I tested the carbon version, and the quoted prices are complete withManfrotto’s 496 centre ball head which usually retails at £104.95 on its own. The GT XPRO is a four-section tripod with rubber-covered twist grip M-locks. The locks work very effectively with little effort. About half a turn slackens themoff enough to allow the legs tomove freely and then a quick twist tightens themback up. Even a fairly gentle tightening is enough to lock the legs enough for me to push down withmy full 84kg body weight on the tripod without any leg slippage.
Verdict The world’s best tripod is the one you have with you. In other words, it’s pointless having a beefy, solid tripod if it spends most PROS 90° mechanism, lightweight, stable CONS Broader feet would make them easier to grip with gloves head weighs 2.2kg. It’s great to use and will happily accept a hefty camera/lens combination and give excellent stability in a wide range of shooting conditions. It’s a very impressive tripod. of its life at home or in the car boot. That won’t apply to the Manfrotto Befree GT XPRO Carbon which with the supplied
The tripod was a new sample so as you would expect the legs glided up and down very smoothly. After a few trips to the seaside and the woods the legs inevitably picked grains of sand and grit so that smooth action got a little less smooth and you could feel the grit as the twist grips were used. That’s not surprising in the situation and it’s why I regularly dismantle and cleanmy tripods, especially after a trip to the beach. It’s a simple process with this Manfrotto to take the legs apart, rinse and clean the components and then reassemble once dry to restore the tripod back its gliding smoothness. The only handling observation is that I’d prefer slightly broader feet. When the leg is fully retracted it’s a little fiddly to grip the feet, especially with gloves on, to pull the leg out into position and a wider foot would be a benefit. An innovation on the GT XPRO is its 90° mechanism that enables the centre column to be fixed horizontally. Manfrotto has used a similar mechanismon its bigger tripods and now it’s on Befreemodels andmakes
this tripodmodel ideal for shooting flatlays andmacro as well as general photography. There’s the added benefit that with the legs fully splayed the camera position is as low at 9cmoff the ground and that’s done without having to reverse the centre column. All you have to do to allow the fully extended centre column to be freed and flipped over is to push a locking button at the column’s base. Once in its horizontal position the column can be adjusted and locked in position, taking care that the tripod is stable and not going to tip over with your camera. I used a range of kit on the Befree, from the lightweight Olympus OM-D E-M5Mark III with 12-40mm f/2.8 to the FujifilmGFX 50Rwith a 120mm f/4macro lens. I used it with the centre column in its standard position and also horizontally and it provided excellent stability in a range of outdoor situations. I did 50sec exposures on the OM-D E-M5Mark III and focus bracketed with the GFX 50R, and got spot on results each time. The GT XPROwith the 496 head proved an impressive pair. WC
ABOVE It takes a few seconds to switch the GTXPRO’s centre column to the horizontal from a vertical position and back again
ABOVE The Befree GTXPRO Carbon was used for this 10-image focus- stacked shot of cyclamen taken from above. A Fujifilm GFX 50R and 120mm macro lens was used and the images merged in Affinity Photo. It was a calm autumn day and each individual exposure was 1.6sec at f/16 at ISO 100
ABOVE The supplied 496 centre ball head is easy to use and the tension of the locking knob can be adjusted to suit you. It will accept a 10kg payload
Issue 72 | Photography News 81
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