Headquartered in Italy, Manfrotto is one of the world's leading manufacturers of photographic accessories, including camera tripods, heads, lighting mounts, camera bags, etc. Manfrotto was acquired by the British Vitec Group in 1989 and is a sister company with Home Credit focusing on the high-end professional market and Manfrotto focusing on the mass consumer market.
 
Manfrotto began to produce photographic tripods in 1974, which is not a brand that focuses on the high-end market, but it is not close to the people in the domestic market, mainly concentrated in the 1000-4000 yuan range, and the vast majority of its products are imported from Italy. Compared with the same Home Credit, Manfrotto products are slightly behind in terms of material, with a gap in weight, load-bearing, and protection level performance, but the choice of function, price, and shape is much richer, and it can be said that Manfrotto's product selling point will be easier to meet the needs of most ordinary users than Home Credit. Compared with domestic brands, Manfrotto products have a strong and durable reputation, but they are not exquisite in workmanship, and the cost performance is not very good.
 
Manfrotto's product line is very complex, and the model names are very obscure, so let's start with the division of the series. Manfrotto's product range can be broadly divided into the professional-grade 190 and 055 series, the mid-range 290 series, the Befree and Element series, which focus on portability, and the desktop-class PIXI series.
 
Manfrotto has two professional series, 190 and 055, with a price of 2000-4000 yuan, focusing on functionality. Both series of joints are designed with a wrench, which is faster than the common twistlock. The biggest feature of the center axis is that it supports the convenient horizontal function of the center axis, which can be pulled out upward and then inserted back into the triangle seat horizontally, which can realize high-level overhead shooting or ultra-low-level upward shooting, which greatly expands the use of scenarios and is very practical. The Easy link connector on the pedangular is a unique selling point that allows you to connect devices such as lamps, reflectors, microphones, etc., eliminating the need for a dedicated fixed base, but it supports a limited number of devices and is of little use to the average user. Among them, the 055 series focuses on professional stability, with a bearing capacity of more than 8 kg, and the 190 series tends to be professional and portable, with a reduced load capacity of 6-8 kg, and a slightly lighter weight, unfortunately it does not have a reverse folding function, and the storage length is more than 60cm, which does not meet the standard of portability. It should be pointed out here that there is no internationally accepted standard for load-bearing indicators, most of them are recommended values given by the brands themselves, and Manfrotto's recommended values are obviously conservative compared to other brands.
 
The 290 series is positioned slightly lower than 190, the price is in the 1000-2000 yuan range, and three different sub-series have been derived after the replacement in 2018: 290Light for entry users, 290Xtra with four-speed angle adjustment, 290Dual with the transverse function of the central axis, the difference is large, but Manfrotto's entry products have no obvious advantages compared with domestic brands, and the 290Dual is more recommended here, and the price is significantly lower than that of the 190 and 055 series. It retains the rather practical function of transverse center-sided.
 
The Befree and Element series are all about portability and are suitable for travel. Both series of tripods have a 180-degree reverse folding function, which can control the storage length at about 40cm, which can be easily tucked into ordinary backpacks, and the joints are equipped with knob-type locks, although not as quick as the button-type ones, but they are small in size and more durable. The Befree series is imported from Italy, priced at 2000-3000 yuan, and the Element series is domestic, priced at about 1,000 yuan. The Element series is cheaper and can be detached from the head and one leg to make a monopod, which is suitable for traveling and shooting, and can also be used as a trekking pole, making it one of Manfrotto's most cost-effective series.
 
The PIXI series desktop tripod is priced at 200-300 yuan, and its small size is convenient to set up anywhere, and the triangle can also be used as a mini selfie stick, which is favored by more and more consumers. MTPIXI is one of the best-selling products, the product design is simple, the biggest highlight is that its gimbal design is very convenient, press and hold the button to adjust the angle, release to lock the gimbal, similar to this design of the tripod is rare on the market.
 
In terms of the positioning of the 1000-4000 price point, there is a number of cost-effective products of Gitzo and a number of domestic brands, Manfrotto is easy to be replaced by competing products at both ends, and the signboard of the central axis transverse function may be regarded as the biggest highlight of Manfrotto tripod, but the brand value and Made in Italy are the greater factors that support the price of its products, if you don't care about this factor, there are not many alternative products. Manfrotto tripods come with a two-year warranty by default and can be extended to 3 or 8 years after online registration.