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Three Grip tricks you wish you’d known before

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Grip is a completely undermined part of what we do as photographers and videographers. My cinema peers know what I’m talking about when I say that grips are absolute geniuses in their craft. I have seen people do amazing things with seemingly nothing, and after years of working next to some pretty professional people, I’ve accumulated a lot of appreciation for the work they do and the solutions they provide.

Manfrotto has an excellent line of grip accessories, everything from magic arms, to nano clamps, pumps, and a bunch more stuff! The problem is that it’s hard to recognize that a piece of equipment labeled as one thing, can actually be used for another. In the video, I discuss three nitty-gritty tactics I use outside of the comfort zone of a product description. And that’s really what I advocate when I try to get people excited about grip. You don’t necessarily have to be solving a problem, you can just be enhancing your workflow or creating options!

Manfrotto’s new “Fast” series tripods are optimised for setup speed

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At IBC 2019, we stopped by the Manfrotto stand to check out their new “Fast” series video tripods. There are two products in the new line. There’s the 635 Fast Single Leg and the 645 Fast Twin Leg. The latter looks more like your traditional video tripod, while the Fast Single resembles a photo tripod, but with a bowl head at the top for a video head. Both offer setup speed and low weight for their size as their big advantages.

Fixing the base of the Manfrotto RC2 tripod quick release system with 3D printing

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The Manfrotto RC2 quick release system is one of the most popular in the world for photographers. Its only real competition for tripod mounting supremacy is the Arca-Swiss system. But while very useful, the Manfrotto RC2 base (otherwise known as the Manfrotto 323) onto which your plate mounts has a fatal flaw. The underside of it is not flat.

So, if you want to mount it to a cage, or stack it on top of a plate for a different tripod system, you may face something of a challenge. Fortunately, one enterprising user by the name of Eric Hasso over on Thingiverse designed a solution that can be 3D printed. The folks at LensVid are quite partial to the Manfrotto 323, so they decided to check it out.

Manfrotto’s Befree GT XPRO is a travel tripod designed specifically for macro shooters

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Macro is one of the more difficult subjects that many photographers choose to shoot, especially when we’re travelling. Often, there’s not enough light to go handheld to get the depth of field we need when we’re close to a subject, or our tripods just don’t allow us to get the camera into a good position.

Well, Manfrotto offers up a solution to this problem with the new Befree GT XPRO. It’s a travel tripod with a centre column that can rotate 90° and get extremely low to the ground. It completes the Manfrotto Befree Advanced range of travel tripods and is available in both aluminium and carbon fibre flavours.

Video tripods are the best type of tripods to use for shooting landscapes

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During my recent visit to the USA, I decided to forego the lightweight travel tripods and go with something a little more substantial. Something that could stand up to all day use at NAB 2019 as well as trekking around the Arizona landscape.

I also needed something that would work for video. So, my tripod for this particular adventure was the Manfrotto 190X Video tripod & 500 fluid head. The ideal setup for shooting video at NAB, but some might think it a little unusual for landscape photography. For me, though, and I mentioned this briefly in a vlog I made during the trip, video tripods make the best landscape tripods. I want to tell you why.

First look at Manfrotto’s new Nitrotech 600 series fluid video tripod heads

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Manfrotto’s new Nitrotech 608 and Nitrotech 612 fluid video tripod heads represent the latest in Manfrotto’s fluid head technology. Designed to offer the smoothest level of control and movement possible, the two new heads immediately drew our attention at NAB 2019. So, we stopped by the stand to have a chat and find out more.

Manfrotto parent company, Vitec, acquires motion control company Syrp

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Vitec Imaging Solutions, a division of The Vitec Group, has acquired New Zealand based camera slider and motion control company Syrp. The acquisition actually happened on January 23rd, although it seems to have received very little coverage.

In a press release, Vitec states that “the acquisition of Syrp adds electronics and software features that control cameras to Vitec’s current product portfolio”. A portfolio that includes Manfrotto, Joby, Teradek, SmallHD, Lastolite, Lowepro and many more besides.

2018 DIYP Gift Guide – Accessories

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Photography and video seem to come with a never-ending need for extras and accessories. And after we’ve bought our cameras, lenses, lights and bags to put it all in, we still find ourselves needing extra things here and there. So, in this gift guide, we’re going to take a look at some of DIYP’s favourite and most used accessories.

Manfrotto announces two new light and rigid carbon fibre professional video tripods

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Manfrotto has today announced two new sets of Carbon Fibre Twin Leg video tripod legs. Designed to lighten the load while still being very rugged and rigid, the new tripods weigh a mere 3kg (6.6lbs) and can hold a load of up to 20kg (44lbs). They’re available legs-only, or with Manfrotto Nitrotech N12, N8 and 504 video heads.

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