Cullman Magic II Tripod

Light and very stable for its weight in normal condition of use.
Léger et assez stable en conditions normales, vu son poids.

Top is the leg yo can use as a monopod when connected with the central part.
Le top c'est que l'on peut connecter un des pieds à la base centrale pour l'utiliser comme monopod, idéal pour supporter un zoom.

Polyvalent pour un journaliste qui voyage beaucoup.
Very polyvalent for a photographer who travels a lot.

Manqe de stabilité en conditions extrèmes et avec des optiques un peu lourdes.
Lack of stability in extreme conditions or with heavy lenses.

This is a tripod that will divide people. With a tripod you can't have compact light sturdy and full height. So if sturdy is more important than portability then stop reading now.

This is not ideal as first or only tripod and will frustrate anyone who uses it many many times. It is slow to set up (especially from fully folded as the column needs to be reversed) and it is not very steady especially if you extend it fully. The head that comes with it is a bit of a joke and I would throw that in the bin straight away in case you are ever tempted to use it! The FLM 24F is just perfect on this and I use it with a Novoflex MR quick release that is compatible with all my other kit. This combination is under 1.5Kg

I have 2 other full height tripods both more expensive and a number of other support devices and have tried several other alternatives.

You'd think reading by now I'd hate this and believe me at first I did because I wanted too much. However I can't shake the fact that it is the best around for one important task. I travel a lot and this is very easy to pack away in hand or hold luggage a briefcase or rucksack it is not too heavy and no matter how unstable it is it is 100s of times more stable than me handholding. It is actually pretty good at low heights if you forgo the last leg extension and centre column but if you need it then fully extended it is high enough for me to use it comfortably and I am 6'3". Hanging a bag from one of the legs improves things. Now as I said I travel with this and the other big plus is that it converts to a monopod that is again plenty high enough for me so no need to carry a seperate one. It even has a reversible column for close up work. This has gotten me out of a lot of scrapes as it is always better to have a bad tripod than a good handheld shot. If you just remember it's weaknesses. It is not for 30 sec plus exposures it's not for landscapes in force ten gales and really needs a remote release or self timer for best results as it will flex a bit.

I have used it with my 300 2.8 and D2X of course it struggled but just about held up, it's happy enough with a 70-200 2.8 downwards and I even once put the 600 F4 on there just for a laugh and it balanced but I wouldn't have called it supported and I quickly took it off. All of this would be impossible with the included head which is junk, and anyway, if you took my advice, it would be well on it's way to recycling by now. It is a trade off between being compact yet being versatile in respect of working heights. But more importantly it is with me whereas my other much better tripods would be left at home since this dinky little thing just about makes it past the packing police "Do we really need so much camera equipment?" The bigger and of course better tripods and heads would mysteriously be absent when we landed.

There are lots of improvements that could be made but if they brought out a carbon fibre model that shaved some weight off and stiffened things up a bit I'd buy it even at 2-3 times the price.

So buy this if you already have a sturdy tripod and wish you used it on more trips but deep down inside know you won't carry it. AND only buy it if you appreciate that it will not give as good results as your big havy tripod because it isn't big and heavy!

Compact, portable, versatile, good working heights if you need them. Converts to a very usable monopod.

Slow to erect, not available in carbon fibre so could be lighter, supplied head is awful, not sturdy enough as an only tripod.

Manfrotto 055, Benro C-298, Manfrotto 680B, Velbon Sherpa Pro CF641,

Not tried

I had an Olympus C3040 and wanted a tripod that would fit inside my fanny pack (16x6x5" interior) and still leave room for gear. The Magic II was great for that. If you would leave a larger tripod home, and have a consumer-sized camera, get this to throw in your bag. It hardly takes up any room and is good in a pinch. No tripod this small is going to handle an SLR.

Packable

Legs don't open wide enough to make for a stable platform. However, the top of each leg forms a shelf that you can hang your bag from to add some stability.

Velbon, Bogen

Idea is nice, but frankly, it never really gives the platform required for good fotos. It is simply too unstable if stretched to over 80 cm. If the center column is kept short then it is ok.

Portable. light

Unstable

Finally a tripod I can carry everywhere! What it loses in stability it makes up for in portability. Try not to use it at full extension, though, and weigh it down in windy conditions. Clever design!

Folds flat and compact
Solid contruction for something so compact
Light
Extends to over 5 ft while folding to about 14 inches

Legs don't spread wide enough
Too light for heavy camera/lens combos
Unstable in windy conditions

Velbon Chaser EFL-4
Assorted Bogen and Slik tripods

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