Customer Reviews
Great tripod! 
2008-07-14
This tripod is perfect for travel. It is very light (around 3lb - 1.2kg), and comes with a bag. It can support loads up to 7.7lb (around 3kg), which if enough for a small dSRL with a moderate lens. I have a Canon Xti (400D), and so far I have tried it with the 28-135mm and 70-300mm lenses without a problem.
Definitely recommended!
Great Product 2008-07-10
Excellent!!!!! Took some fireworks photos on 4th of July with lon exposures
Got Great results. It is easy to use and transport.
I love this tripod 2008-06-18
I love this tripod, its quality and features, and using it, because:
1. The dove tail plate is permanently attached (screwed) to my Canon 40D camera. The camera, with its attached dove tail plate, is easily attached to, and removed from, the tripod's ball head. I am pleased with the ease and swiftness of this attaching and removing process. I was pleasantly surprised to see the pin that prevents me from accidentally opening the latch with my camera on the tripod. Nice feature; nice quality.
2. The ball head rotates in a complete circle when the lever is loosened. The camera can move to any orientation. Changing from horizontal to vertical shots or vice versa is easy. My Canon 40D has "live view", so it is easy to set up the correct orientation for horizontal and vertical shots.
3. The light weight and nice carrying bag make it easy to carry this tripod while walking.
4. The flip-style latch mechanisms on the legs are easy to use, and enable quick extending and collapsing of the legs.
5. Some people like tripods with three sections in each leg. I like this tripod because it has four sections in each leg. This enables the tripod to collapse into a short length, making it easy to carry and transport. This shorter length also enables the camera to be positioned closer to the ground when all leg sections are collapsed.
6. I agree with other reviews stating that this tripod is easy to set up and use.
7. The amazon price is good and the shipping is free.
Fantastic Tripod! 2008-06-10
I purchased this tripod to use with a Canon Rebel XT.
At first I was concerned that it wouldn't be sturdy enough.
WRONG! I was pleasantly surprised! This is a fantastic tripod, with ease of set-up,lightweight, the tripod Ball head and quick release that came with it you can't beat the quality or the price!
Dennis
By far, a true steal for a GREAT item! 2008-06-09
This item was recommended by my FLICKR group and it was well worth it. The cost is minimal yet the advantages are huge!
It also arrived very quickly and packed very well.
Would definitely recommend this one 2008-06-08
New and improved quick release equipped compact tripod designed / Adds the professional range 3157N rapid connect plate to the ball head
My search finally ends 2008-06-07
I've been looking for the perfect portable (read: lightweight) travel tripod for over a year. When I travel, I typically spend 12-16 hours a day roaming around with a heavy camera backpack including a bulky DSLR, several lenses and accessories. (I once weighed my pack at 17 pounds, haha.)
Have returned previous online tripod purchases as they just weren't very compact when folded, and they just weren't very tall (full-sized) when expanded. I am thrilled to have happened upon this model. Folds small enough to shove into my pack, but I was amazed to fully expand it and have it go way, way over my head (I'm 5'9").
The ball head is sturdy enough to support a Nikon D300 + a fully extended 18-200mm lens. Although lightweight, the legs are steady and feel well-constructed. The carry bag is very convenient and nicely designed with the "Manfrotto" logo down the stripe. A very good value. I think I'll use this as my "real" tripod from now on.
Setup takes less than a minute, from out of the bag to fully in place with the camera mounted and pointed. I was frequently able to stop on the street when I found something I wanted to shoot, set up, shoot and move on quickly. My "real" tripod is extremely heavy, slow to set up, and NOT compact when folded - only use I can see for it from now on might be in high winds.
For the price, this is an excellent tripod. I bought the version with the ball head, which allows for many interesting configurations (including shooting vertically). As someone else mentioned, this head doesn't allow you to pan to the side without loosening, so you may lose your vertical position, but this is easily solved by just rotating the lightweight tripod. There's no bubble level, but you can use the grid lines in your viewfinder to find the horizon if you can't eyeball it. The only other possible improvement would be two leg stays per leg instead of three, which is more time-consuming to operate.
For the money, I can't complain. This is the perfect combo of durability (you get high-quality Manfrotto design), ease of setup, weight, and compactness (when folded) with expandable height. Would recommend.
Perfect for DSLR beginners 2008-05-31
Its been over a year since we bought this product, and we are very happy with it! The tripod is perfect for DSLR beginners with relatively light cameras who want the picture quality of a tripod but don't want to lug around heavy, expensive tripods. We've taken ours to various national parks, mountains, beaches and streets. It works equally well in the house and outside, is sturdy and stable, strong enough so that I can leave my camera locked in without worrying, yet light enough to carry on my shoulder during a long trek. The ball head gives us great freedom of movement and helps me to place the lens exactly where I want ( I take food pictures), without having to move the tripod itself. A great buy.
An excellent tripod 
2008-05-31
The two aspects of tripods that have always confounded me have been the clip in mechanism that secures the camera to the tripod, and the positioning system, usually two arms that twist. This tripod has solved those dilemmas. The ball positioning system is slick, quick, simple and stable. The clip in mechanism is quick and simple; but it's a bit tricky and takes some practice.
Bear in mind, my cameras a medium sized digitals, not full force SLR digitals with monster lenses.
Bottom line: this is the best tripod I have ever owned, and would buy it again.
Bogen-Manfrotto 725B Tripod 2008-05-29
It is just as good as what I learned from the reviews. It is light, but sturdy. Excellent for traveling. The features are sufficient for average photography need. Even though the instruction says it is for
light digital cameras. It is in fact good enough for my Nikon D200 with nikon 18-200 and 105 micro lens. It comes with a beautiful carrying case. The price is really reasonable. I am very happy with the product.
