Manfrotto 290 Dual

£149/$179 The tallest, but not in a good way

With a taller folded height than the other tripods here, this one has three-section legs instead of four, and omits a swing-up design to reduce the carrying size. The latter is also true of the four-section Manfrotto 190 kit, but the 290’s folded height is 12cm greater.

It’s not all bad news. The flipside, so to speak, is that there are only six flip locks to operate in total, rather than the nine locks of a four-section tripod, or 12 locks for a set of five-section legs. You can therefore set the height of the tripod with little fuss. Like the other Manfrotto, this one has a 90-degree pivot facility that is incredibly quick and easy to operate, and the push-locks for the four-way leg angle mechanism are similarly simple and effective.

The leg section diameters are the same as for the three upper sections of the Manfrotto foursection 190 tripod. The bottom section is chunkier, with a diameter of 19mm compared with the 190’s 16mm. Even so, the 290 kit’s load ratings are reduced to 5kg and 6kg for the legs and head respectively, compared with 7kg and 10kg for the 190.

Features

It’s very speedy in use, but the head lacks a pan only release and bubble levels.

The pivot mechanism for the centre column is different to that of the 190, but simple.

Performance

Despite its lower load rating, the 290 tripod’s legs feel as impressively robust and rigid as those of the 190. And while the 496RC2 head lacks a pan-only release or bubble levels for levelling, it’s supremely quick for making the full range of adjustments, and feels really solid when locked. The tripods controls are simple too. Overall, the 290 kit delivers very good performance for the price.

WE SAY

The kit is quick and easy to set up and adjust, but the folded height is comparatively tall.