To take perfect stills and excellent videos, you must have a stable tripod in your photography kit. Spending on a good quality tripod is one of the earnings which can be accounted for as a wise investment!
One way or another, this investment will pay you back in the form of perfection in your photographic results. The camera tripod gives you an instant increase in your images’ sharpness and overall quality by holding the camera in a still and precise position.
Manfrotto is a renowned company for its high-quality photography accessories, i.e., tripods, camera bags, photographic filters, virtual reality, drones, monopods, et cetera. Their expertise revolves around providing a wide range of compact tripods with heads.
There are several categories of tripods by Manfrotto, which can efficiently address every photographer’s need, either professional or not.
Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK Review
Among top-notch Manfrotto’s tripods is MKCOMPACTACN-BK. It is a reasonably priced compact tripod with several corking aspects that are worthful to talk about. The next section of the article will cover the key features of the tripod with all their details, which can be helpful to you.
Key features and some other details:
Built quality:
Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK is built with high-quality aluminum and premium quality ABS plastic, the reason behind the tripod’s capability to easily carry the heavy cameras without any risk. The tripod’s load capacity is 3.3 pounds, which is one of the maxima in its category.
Most entry-level DSLRs, lenses, and cameras weigh less than this weight to be a very compatible tripod for them. In case you are looking for a tripod for your very high-resolution bulky camera or telelens, do not buy this one. It is not capable of supporting their weight. Generally, this tripod is up for this task for shooting cameras and beginner/mid-entry DSLR cameras.
The Collapsed height is 17.3 inches, whereas, upon extension, its height is 53.36 inches approximately. The range of expansion is pretty wide, and it can be beneficial in wide-angle photography and capturing landscapes.
One of the drawbacks that can be considered a major con about this one is that as you extend this tripod, the legs of this accessory keep getting thinner and thinner. When you work with it in this state, a little breeze blow can shake the tripod and make your images blurry.
Not only the wind, but sometimes your movements can leave you with blurry results. To avoid such troubles, avoid using it as a maximum extension, especially outdoors.
Easy to carry
When it comes to this tripod’s weight, it comes in at 2.64 pounds, which makes this a featherweight in its category. While it is extremely light, it doesn’t feel flimsy or unstable until or unless it is extended to its maximum height. You can easily carry it around different locations. Carrying it around will keep weight down while still keeping the functionality of a great tripod.
You can completely trust on its durability. Aluminum, the main component of Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK, is known for being light but more durable metal. Even if you are a rough user with your equipment, this tripod can assist you for years. After 3 or 4 years of constant use, there can be many scratches or dints on its body, but it will still be alive to capture tales with you.
The tripod has four legs, but there are no middle support bars. Well, it is a good thing as there is one less thing in your tripod that has a chance to break. This tripod is designed so that it doesn’t need any middle support, and it folds up quickly due to not having it.
When there are no support bars, users don’t have to worry about the mechanism that slides the legs into their proper position when I fold up the camera. It is less clutter on the tripod.
User-friendly
Well, the goodness of this photographic accessory doesn’t end here. There is much more built to ensure that your device stays stable in every kind of environment. The joystick head is very user-friendly as well as ergonomic and comes with a scroll-wheel locking mechanism.
This mechanism is very intuitive and easy to use. The comfortable grip on the body allows you to capture smooth movies and great images with minimal effort. Another physical feature for user ease is an innovative circular quick release plate. This plate is perfect for effortless camera attachment by hand without any need for coins or screwdrivers.
You will rarely find any issue with the camera orientation, thanks to the tripod’s design and shape. For perfect camera orientation, you need to close the lever just above the joystick handle.
The Regulating Dial, together with the round quick release plate, allows you to correctly adjust every camera to the tripod, thereby enhancing its stability and making the tripod suitable for a vast range of camera devices.
Impact on photo quality using a tripod:
Tripods are meant to do one thing: stabilize your camera, and Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK does its job pretty well. Manfrotto compact action tripod eliminates shakes as much as possible and tries to do its best to ensure that you do not get crispy image results.
Joystick grip:
It is attached to the head of the tripod. It gives you the ability to grip the tripod and move it around. It fits well in hand and is made up of ABS plastic. A user can move it using the handle whether the legs are fully extended or whether the legs are not extended.
Upon holding, the grip feels of rugged physical strength. The joystick grip is wide enough to provide stability when holding it in your hand. It also has a handy thumb wheel. It can be rolled forward or back to lock the tripod head into place and make it stable.
Quick-release and camera attachment:
For this purpose, there is a circular attachment on the tripod. If you peak a look at tripods available in the market, mostly tripods come with a plate that screws into the bottom of your camera. The attachment of this plate with a camera is the way the camera attaches to the tripod.
This allows for quickly attaching and detaching a camera from a tripod. Unlike other tripods and their plates, this tripod uses a circular design for quick release.
Be careful, attaching and detaching your camera. In sporadic cases, this obstruction can leave a scratch on your camera’s body.
Head:
This style of the head, adapted for this tripod, is very user-friendly and enjoyable to use. This Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK <- Affiliate Link 🙂 uses a 360-degree ball head movement. This ball head movement comes with an added pistol-like locking and a moving mechanism.
It made it extremely quick to go from landscape to portrait orientation instantly. There is a flywheel (as explained prior in this article) to lock the ball head, which you can scroll backward or forward to loosen and tighten the head. It is effortless to use even in the case of a complete beginner.
Ease of use with quick options:
Some settings options can make this tripod a straightforward deal. These options are named quick options. They provide you maximum ease, such as the photo-movie selector allows maximum freedom in any circumstance.
If you want to switch to your desired mode, it is only a matter of seconds. The photo option allows the tripod head to go to the side for the vertical photographs, while the video camera option only allows for the head of the tripod to go up and down and pan left to right. These features ensure you always obtain great and shake-free photos and smooth video recordings.
Padded bag and shoulder strap:
The manufacturer delivers a padded bag for a tripod with its package. It ensures the safe and damage-free transportation of the accessory. Padding is not overdone, but it is enough to ensure safety. The shoulder strap also helps you to carry it around the places.
Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK Specs:
In the prior sections, key features of MK-COMPACTCN-BK were highlighted with maximum details about those features. There are to the point in this section, but every detail about packaging, physical dimensions, and technical specifications. The manufacturers of the accessory provide all this information.
- Load Capacity: 3.31 lb. / 1.50 kg
- Maximum Working Height: 61.0 inches or 155 cm
- Max Height without Center Column: 52.40 inches / 133.10 cm
- Minimum Working Height: 17.3 inches / 43.9 cm
- Folded Length: 17.83 inches / 45.3 cm
- Built material: Aluminum Alloy and techno-polymer
- Weight: 2.65 lb. / 1.2 kg
- Head Type: Pistol Grip Head
- Camera Mounting Screw: 1 / 4 inches-20 Male
- Lateral pan Tilt: -30 degree to +90 degree
- Vertical pan Tilt: -30 degrees to +90 degree
- Panning Range: 360 degree
- Maximum height: 61.02 in
- Maximum height (with center column down): 52.36 in
- Minimum height: 17.32 in
- Panoramic rotation: 360 Degree degrees
- Plate type quick release – with 1/4-20” screw
- Base Type: 1.4 inches
- Center column rapid closed length: 17.83 in
- Column tube diameter: 22mm
- Leg Lock Type: Flip Lock
- Independent Leg Spread: Yes
- Leg Sections: 5
- Feet Features: Rubber
- Center Column Shape: Faceted
- Center Column Sections: 1
- Center Column Extension Type: Rapid
- Lateral / 90-Degree Center Column: No
- Package Weight and safety payload: usually 3.3 lb.
- Box Dimensions (L x W x H): 20.394 inches x 4.331 inches x 4.016 inches
- ASIN: B00L6F16L0
- UNSPSC Code: 45121602
- Item model number: MKCOMPACTACN-BK
- Date First Available: June 21, 2014
- Manufacturer: Manfrotto
Pros:
- Suitable for the vast majority of DSLR and entry-level cameras
- Capable of bearing more weight than regular tripods
- Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK comes with a carrying case.
- Aluminum designs provide all the strength required to hold an SLR
- Switch from photo to movie mode almost instantly
- Quick-release plate supports a wide range of devices.
- Easy to use
- Folds up quickly
Cons:
- At full height, the legs of the tripod get very thin. The wind, unstable ground, and persons’ movements can result in blurry results.
- Might struggle with a full-frame DSLR camera and a telephoto lens because of their weight
- Some other options are available with several functions but at a lower price.
Conclusion:
When it comes to taking high-quality images and having a tripod count, this stylish black Compact Action tripod designed with high-quality aluminum can be your perfect companion, whether you are a professional photographer or do it for the sake of fun.
Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK is pretty lightweight compared to the weight it can support and can add a significant amount of perfection in both stills and videos. The load capacity of 3.3 pounds and a maximum height of 61 inches isn’t available in any other tripod in a similar price range.
Not only is it light-weight, durable, and has impressive built quality, but also it comes with a beautiful bag and an adapter for cameras with an uneven bottom. You don’t have to spend any extra amount on buying these!
There are subtle flaws with this tripod, but this accessory’s positives can quickly out way those flaws. As Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK can support the weight of 3.3 lbs., so it isn’t recommended in case you are looking for a tripod for your tele lenses and heavier cameras.
But if you love shooting movies and photos with an entry-level SLR and standard lenses or in your professional work, you mostly deal with light-weight cameras/lenses. This is the compact tripod for you. We didn’t find any reason which can make us hesitate to recommend Manfrotto MKCOMPACTACN-BK!!<- Affiliate Link 🙂
