Home > Consumer Reviews > Manfrotto 728B Digi Compact Tripod with Integrated 3-Way Head and Carrying Bag (Black)

This is a very good tripod for the money. The only problem is the 3-way head. It has too much slack. Once you angle the camera in the direction you want, tighten the handle, it will settle a few degrees more down or to the side. It also does not have a mark for the horizontal position, so it's hard to align the camera to the horizontal plane. It will lean a few degrees to the left. Even the cheapest plastic tripods I've seen have a sturdier head.

This was the first tripod since I started shooting seriously.

1. The weight is light, and the construction of the leg part is excellent. Considering the leg part only, it is very stable, easy to manipulate, including the fold and unfold - extension of the legs.

2. It is very tall - I am 6' 2" and I did not feel much uncomfort with that.

3. The head part is a bit fishy - compared to the leg part. There is a few problems I met with the head since 2004. First, it is takes some effort to point the lens to designated target. When I was shooting moon - given a 300mm lens on a 1.6x DSLR in New York, it takes great effort to point the focusing point to the moon. Second, the quick release board is not quite stable - in some degree it kills the stable legs.

Given the price of the tripod - it is a reasonable starting tripod for folks shoot seriously. Even in day time, shooting scenically, a tripod will offer you much sharper image than handhold with shutter speed slower than 1/200s.

I used it for more than two years now and I upgraded to a Bogen 3021BPro and a Benro ball head (a A-S compatible ball head made by a China manufacture, got on ebay), they works noticebly better but cost me $330.

This is a great tripod for vloggers and citizen journalists. I'm a video editor in Tucson, AZ, and in my free time I like to take my consumer-level video camcorder (1 CCD, a Canon Optura 30) out to capture scenery, public events, live music, and other things for use on a video blog I infrequently produce. I therefore needed a tripod that was simultaneously durable, lightweight, and provided relatively smooth tracking motions (panning, tilting, etc.), and didn't cost an arm and a leg to buy.. I looked around for something that met this criteria and landed on the 728B.

I also travel quite a bit via bicycle, and the 728B fits nicely into my backpack during commute. It's made of hard plastic with sturdy pop-lock mechanisms on the legs and twist locks on the head. The plate is made of metal and is small enough to stay attached to the bottom of my camcorder without causing much issue. My only criticism is that the head is not removable, thus making it impossible to buy a separate, higher-end ball head in the future. Theoretically this forces someone into purchasing a whole new tripod when the time comes to upgrade. A shrewd economic decision that may benefit the company that manufactures these tripods, but is woefully inconvenient for working-class media folks like myself.

It is likely that most people will use this tripod for capturing still imagery with a digital camera. Though I can't speak to those individuals directly I can say that this is an excellent tool for amateur videographers, vloggers, or folks just wanting a stable tripod for capturing the impending internet video revolution!... or junior's soccer match. Whichever comes first.

Simple and sweet. 4 stars.

The 728b is a very lightweight tripod/mount at under 4lbs. Keep in mind that this is not a tripod you want to push anywhere near its supposed 11 lb. limit. I use it for my Pentax 65mm Spotting scope (2.3lbs) and for something like that, it's just about ideal. Settling time is well under 2 seconds and the range of motions on the integrated head is fine. I have used it at 100x without any problems. It comes with a nice travel case and shoulder strap. As a really lightweight tripod, it definitely fills a useful niche - just don't expect to be able to put a 10lb refractor that's 30" long on it!

Since I take mostly landscape photographs, I don't like dealing with heavy tripods. I hike extensively and go on lengthly backpacking trips. This is an excellent alternative to the heavy Bogen/Manfrotto tripods, without sacrificing quality. I'm really impressed with the construction, and I've had no trouble with the head (smooth and easy to operate). The legs are strong and withstand decent stream/river currents without shaking. Each leg operates separately, so propping up your camera in uneven terrain is a cinch. I'm a huge fan of this tripod, and look forward to many years of hard use.