Manfrotto Befree Advanced AS Twist Carbon Fibre Tripod review

Amateur Photographer verdict

The Manfrotto Befree Advanced AS Twist Carbon Fibre is an attractive looking tripod with a nice bag, but seems to be missing a few key things that come with cheaper tripods.

Pros

Carbon Fibre tripod makes it lightweight
Friction control ball-head
Good bag included

Cons

Doesn’t include phone mount
Lacks some useful features (like a lock on the quick release plate)

The Manfrotto Befree Advanced AS Twist is a carbon fibre tripod with a fairly affordable price. This tripod comes with a range of features, such as the friction control knob on the head which is used to ensure the camera stays upright when you unlock the main knob. A fully Arca-Swiss compatible ball-head with quick release plate is included.

Manfrotto Befree Advanced AS Twist Carbon Fibre Tripod at a glance:

$289 / £249
Arca Swiss compatible ball head
Carbon fibre legs and centre column
4-leg sections, with twist locks
Max height 150cm, closed 41cm
1.27KG weight, max 9KG support

The legs are quite stiff, but can be adjusted with a special Allen key that comes with the tripod. The legs have three set positions that you can adjust by pressing a button on the sides of each the legs.

The head has a separate control for 360 panning, but no angle markings which you can often find on much cheaper tripods. The knobs are made of plastic, not rubber which you can also find on much cheaper tripods.

A similar Joby tripod, the Joby RangePod Smart Tripod (also made by Manfrotto) has a number of features that are missing from this tripod (lock on quick release plate, markings on the ball-head for rotation, and a phone holder) for less than half the price.

Manfrotto Befree Advanced AS Twist Carbon Fibre Tripod. Photo Jeremy Waller

Key features

Friction adjuster – keeps the camera upright when loosening the main knob on the ball-head.
Rubber stopper – there’s a rubber stopper / surround around the bottom of the ball-head meaning if you accidentally drop the centre column it should land with a gentle thud.
360 head – the ball head, and the 360 rotations can be locked off separately, letting you use the ball-head for 360 photos and video.
Arca Swiss compatible head – the ball head comes with a quick release plate that is made of metal.

Manfrotto Befree Advanced AS Twist performance

This tripod is easy to set up with its lockable legs that go all the way round for storage. The legs are made up of four sections, and are very sturdy, with even the thinnest showing little sign of flexibility.

This tripod does not need a rubber grip because it is made of carbon fibre which does not tend to get cold like it would if it were metal, which means, you don’t need to worry about getting cold hands.

If you are not careful when releasing the quick release plate from the tripod, your camera could slide off because there is no additional safety pin preventing that. The tripod head only has one spirit level which means if you are shooting vertical images or video, you cannot see if it is aligned properly.

At full height, it’s just tall enough for easy eye-level use by someone 5 foot 11, but if you’re taller, you might find you need to bend down a little to shoot.

Manfrotto Befree Advanced AS Twist: Our Verdict

The Manfrotto Befree Advanced AS Twist Carbon Fibre tripod is well-built with Manfrotto’s Easy Link system for attaching additional accessories (such as a light, or extra hand) to the tripod. It is a shame that they don’t have some of the features that come as standard on other tripods, such as a safety pin for the quick release plate. I didn’t find the additional friction control particularly useful when compared to ball-heads without this feature, as it seemed a little bit overly complicated and fiddly in use. But, if you’re looking for a relatively affordable carbon fibre tripod, this could be an option.