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Manfrotto has quietly released a new bag range. Called the Manfrotto Pro Light Cineloader, it’s designed for professional videographers, filmmakers and crew. The bags actually started popping up at retailers last month to absolutely no fanfare whatsoever.
Manfrotto says that the bags are designed for freelance videographers who need to carry “a whole studio in a bag”, journalists that need to grab a bag and run to the next story, and small video production needs.
The world is officially divided into two types of people: those who like pineapple on pizza, and those who are vehemently against it. Like the Valencians who sent death threats to the chef Jamie Oliver for putting chorizo in his paella, surely an Italian brand like Manfrotto would not support pineapple on pizza? In the interests of culinary world peace, DIYP spoke to Manfrotto’s parent company Videndum Media Solutions to find out, along with other more photography-related things.
You may not be familiar with the name Videndum, but for sure you know the brands Manfrotto, Lowepro, Joby, Gitzo and Savage Paper. Videndum Media Solutions is the name behind all of these ‘household’ photography names, and more. In fact, you could completely kit out a photography or video studio using products that are only produced by the Videndum umbrella. That is actually the company’s over-arching philosophy, explains Videndum’s Chief Marketing Officer Chris Carr. He tells DIYP about how Videndum has positioned itself to help content creators at every step along the journey.
I can count on three fingers the most needed and purchased camera accessories for beginner photographers and filmmakers. The first one is kind of obvious: the camera itself – most likely with a kit lens. A tripod is the second. And a camera bag comes third; a backpack, or something to protect and carry your crispy, newly purchased camera. You have just spent a few hundred on a camera, so a protective case that transports your gear is not the first thing you might consider all the way through. This wisdom develops after spending a lot of time with your gear.
You might find yourself checking out bag reviews after getting that second lens, a tripod or a flash kit. Suddenly your first bag seems to be getting smaller, and you’re ready to gear up.
New Zealand based camera slider and timelapse gear company, Syrp has announced that it’s rebranding itself to Syrp Lab and that its products will be also rebranded and brought into the fold of the new Manfrotto Move ecosystem. This isn’t the first name that’s been rebranded under the Manfrotto banner recently with “Lastolite by Manfrotto”, and simply “Lastolite” before that, also bring brought under the Manfrotto name.
According to the announcement, Syrp Lab is essentially going to be come an R&D facility working on “the next generation of tools for creators” covering a range of brands across the Vitec Imaging Solutions collective. They’re also turning to education, teaching users of Vitec products how to use them and create the best content they can.
The season of giving is upon us – which becomes immediately obvious whenever you walk into a store and you’re overwhelmed by Whamageddon. If you want to avoid the Christmas music and prefer to do your shopping online, then have no fear, DIYP’s 2021 Holiday Gift Guides are here to rescue you with some of our favourite new releases of the year, as well as a few old favourites that always seem to find a place in our gear bags.
In this post, we’re going to be taking a look at Tripods, Sliders & Gimbals. Keep an eye out for our next guide coming tomorrow covering other photography and filmmaking accessories and gadgets and be sure to check out our previous guide going over the best of this year’s new Cameras, lenses and lighting gear.
Manfrotto has introduced their new Move Ecosystem. Centred around the new Move quick-release, it allows you to quickly transition from one piece of kit to another. Whether you’re going from a ball head to a gimbal or from a tripod to a slider, Move lets you switch as seamlessly and effortlessly as possible.
Manfrotto has also today announced their new line of Pro Light camera bags for professional photographers and filmmakers. In this instance, “professional” literally means that it’s that person’s profession. That photography and filmmaking is what they do day in and day out to keep a roof over their head. These bags are designed for workflow and the tough demands of working gear.
There are six different models in the new Pro Light lineup. There’s the Flexloader, Multiloader, Frontloader, Backloader M and Backloader S backpacks, with each offering different ways to access your gear depending on your needs and workflow and the Pro Light Tough for when your gear needs serious protection.
With as many companies as there are making gimbals these days, and with a whole wave of new ones coming out each year, it’s become difficult for them to stand out from each other. But Manfrotto thinks they’ve found a good approach with their new modular gimbal, that allows you to go from the traditional handled setup to whatever you want by removing and moving bits around at will.
The Gimbal is part of Manfrotto’s new “Move” ecosystem whose core focus is modularity and versatility. The 300XM Gimbal is the central core of that ecosystem and is designed to fit into the workflows of as many filmmaking needs as possible.
Manfrotto has today announced their new Manfrotto Element MII Fluid Video Monopod. They say it’s the lightest video monopod on the market, coming in at a mere 1kg (or 670g for the headless version), and includes three feet at the bottom to help it stand when you need to as has the option of a built-in fluid drag head for smooth tilting and panning.
It’s available in two different options. First is the whole kit with the built-in fluid head but you can also buy the monopod sans head with a 3/8-16″ thread on top allowing you to attach your tilt (or other) head of choice.
Load capacity on tripods (and monopods, heads, etc) has, until now, been a bit like guide numbers on speedlights. Numbers that seem to state the obvious, but are quite easy to fudge and make equipment appear more capable than it actually is when compared to its competitors. Manfrotto and Gitzo weren’t happy with this, so they’ve developed a new measuring protocol to offer full transparency to customers.
The reference practices for testing has been published by the UNI (recognised internationally by CEN and ISO). Manfrotto and Gitzo say they are both compliant with the testing procedures and have collaborated with the UNI and industry experts to create the new standard for testing payload across all photo and video products for the industry.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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