A three legged friend! (Manfrotto 725B)

Member Name: thebigc1690

Product:	Manfrotto 725B
Date:	30/06/09 (271 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lightweight and strong.

Disadvantages: A lack of height and cannot take more than 3.5kg of weight.

When people venture into photography they are mostly unaware of just how much equipment it takes to get shots like the pro`s do. There is much more needed than just a good camera (no matter how good the camera), after the camera is in place you need a few other bits and pieces and one of the most important things is a tripod.


A lot of budding photographers are put off buying a tripod because of the money they can cost but the fact is you can actually pick up tripod`s these days very cheaply.


Whilst I would not recommend buying the very cheap tripods, there are plenty to choose from without going into the professional range and spending hundreds. Manfrotto make dozens of different tripods and they are the a very reliable brand and the Manfrotto 725B that I review here is one that you can rely on and also purchase for just a few pennies over £100.


This tripod is good enough for beginners right through to high end amateurs and perhaps even some semi-pro`s will still use them, it is fairly lightweight which is always important as us photographers have to lug a lot of equipment about without adding heavy items to it.


The Manfrotto 725B has a closed length of 52cm, a minimum shooting height of 49cm and a maximum shooting height of 166cm.

The maximum shooting height is the one thing that lets this tripod down a little and one of the reasons pro`s would not use it, at only around 5 and a half feet it is not tall enough to shoot standing portraits at eye level when your subject is a taller person and this is a real problem for me as a portrait photographer but it could be much less so if you are a landscape photographer although pro landscapers will definitely want more height also.


If you can live with the lack of height then everything else about this tripod is great for basic use. it is very strong and although lightweight it holds very firm when in use and even fully extended can still do a great job, although again it is not quite as steady and firm at full height as us pro`s would want.


The Manfrotto 725B is constructed of aluminium and has only plastic as its other components thus giving it the lightweight and easy to carry label, it has a ball head instead of a mount plate which helps give it a better rating in my eyes as a ball head offers much more freedom when shooting.

It has a load capacity of 3.5kg this again is usually fine for beginners and will take a DSLR with a fair sized lens no problems but the pro`s tend to use some very big lenses and also I use some large flash guns for outdoor portrait work so again I need something just a bit higher up the range.


Now although I have pointed out a few problems with this tripod as far as professional use goes you should take into consideration that the tripod I use cost upwards of £600 and there are very few beginners that would need such a tripod or wish to spend the money on it so this tripod is aimed at those starting out through to semi-pro and in that market it is great value for money.


You can pick up some very cheap tripods, some for less than £30 but they will not do a good job and they will feel flimsy whilst in the main be heavier and more cumbersome than the Manfrotto 725B so although you want to get a good price you also want to get a good tripod so look at this one at the £100 mark as a good investment rather than going through a few cheap ones and throwing good money after bad.


Another good point of note with this tripod is that it has three leg adjustment sections allowing you real versatility when adjusting height and they adjust by quick release levers so it is all very easy and fast to adjust.
The ball head of this and pretty much any other Manfrotto tripod, flows like water and cannot be recommended highly enough, you always want a good free moving head and a tripod that is quick and easy to adjust and you get all of that with this one.


I would have no worries about recommending this tripod to beginners or even mid range amateurs but if you are top end amateur or pro and looking for a tripod that will suit super macro shooing or high end sports photography then this is not going to give you the results you are looking for. This is a sturdy and very durable tripod so it will last probably longer than you have use for it which means that you can always sell it on second hand when it is time for you to upgrade.


A tip for users of this tripod or any other for that matter would be that if you are using it near the seaside or perhaps it's a bit windy and dusty where you are shooting then be sure to wipe the tripod clean using a mild detergent and then dry thoroughly because you do not want the ball head mechanism to become dry due to dust or sand gathering in it because then it will become sticky to manoeuvre and noisy which you want to avoid.


Thanks for reading

© 2008 thebigc1690

Summary: A great value for money tripod for amateurs!