18 February 2016

REVIEW: Manfrotto Pixi Smart Mini Tripod

Tri-hard.

If you use your smartphone as a camera as much as we do, you'll know that no matter how hi-spec the handset is, it's your shaky hands that can often ruin a picture. The thing about people is that we tend to move about a bit too much, which means we're pretty awful photography accessories. You know what is a good photography accessory? A tripod, and we've found a great one. We review the Manfrotto Pixi Smart Mini Tripod.


The Manfrotto Pixi Smart Mini Tripod is a small hand-held (literally, in fact) camera stand that can accommodate any kind of camera with a traditional tripod screw, including action cams, as well as smartphones thanks to the additional clamp. You can set your camera, action cam, or phone in the Pixi Smart and then either pop open the three legs to set up a stable shot, or hold it in your hand to act as a grip.


The Manfrotto Pixi Smart Mini Tripod has scooped a couple of design awards in the recent past, including a reddot award, and it's not hard to see why. Several exceptionally useful features have been crammed into this thing; something not that much longer than your smartphone itself is tall.

First up, the tripod functionality is stable and the legs pop out and lock firmly into place. They spread wide enough so that the Manfrotto PixiSmart Mini Tripod can even support larger DSLR cameras and video cameras, as the weight is nicely distributed. When folded up the legs act as a hand-hold, and the curved plastic is comfortable to grip and ergonomically designed.


At the business end of the tripod you'll find the attachment screw. This features a rubber-encircled plate to let you easily screw the tripod onto your camera without having to rotate either, and the top of the plate is also lined with rubber for a firm grip on the camera's base. Press the red button on the side of the tripod and the tension in the central ball-joint is relaxed, allowing you to position your camera in whatever angle you desire. Let go, and it all locks tight again. This is a great feature, and one that certainly beats having to screw and unscrew separate hinges to get the shot.

The detachable smartphone clamp is also lined with rubber and closes down onto your phone with a reassuringly strong amount of pressure. The clamp screws directly onto the Manfrotto Pixi Smart Mini Tripod like a camera, so you can use the same ball-joint adjustments to line up your shot (or indeed your selfie, you beautiful person).


This is a very useful bit of kit to carry around, for when you're either off for a night out around town, or planning some sight seeing that is not to be missed. Check it out.

£17.95

Available from www.amazon.co.uk




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