Manfrotto ™
A Vitec Group brand

News and Events

Manfrotto launches 290 Series Foldable three-way Head

14/12/2012 — 

Manfrotto launches 290 Series Foldable three-way Head

Three-way heads usually have long protruding handles, which make fine framing adjustments on each axis of rotation easier, but also make the head inconvenient to transport or carry. For professional photographers, that’s often not so much of an issue, but a hobby photographer may have slightly different priorities, and anything that's bulky and hard to carry risks getting left at home to gather dust.

Making the head easy and compact to pack and transport
Manfrotto's solution is the MH293D3-Q2 head, designed and engineered to fold quickly between a closed 'transport' position in which the handles are compact and run parallel to the tripod legs, and an open 'in-use' position in which the handles are splayed for comfortable use, leaving the head just as sturdy, accurate and suitable for delicate photo subjects as a traditional three-way design.

Lighter in weight... so it makes it into your luggage or day bag
Having reduced the size of the Manfrotto MH293D3-Q2 head by making it foldable, Manfrotto set about making it lighter in weight too, by selecting a high-quality polymer for the head's body. "Adapto" is Manfrotto's specially developed material, and despite its considerable weight savings over heavier metal alloys, it offers the high mechanical resistance that makes the Manfrotto MH293D3-Q2 strong and secure when supporting up to 4kg of camera equipment, in any position and at any inclination.

More accurate framing in-camera means more time saved in post-production
The folding design and its space and weight savings are what make the Manfrotto MH293D3-Q2 stand out, but it's also distinguished by some important features that will help photographers frame their photographs more accurately - an especially important consideration in fields such as architectural photography. The Manfrotto MH293D3-Q2 has three independent bubble spirit levels - one for each axis of rotation - which ensure the camera can be perfectly positioned. Since the head's folding design ensures that it's compact by nature, Manfrotto also managed to keep its handles longer, for more delicate control of framing and movement even under heavy load.

The new Manfrotto MH293D3-Q2 head is part of the Italian company's 290 family, which already includes tripods and a monopod aimed at passionate hobby photographers who want to take their images to the next level. This new three-way head, like the rest of the 290 range, mixes no-nonsense professional features and top quality construction with practical, innovatively-engineered compactness and reduced weight.

Manfrotto stockists will be selling the head alone, RRP £54.95, as well as offering three Manfrotto 290 kit variants in both aluminium and carbon fibre, starting from £119.95. More information about the MH293D3-Q2 foldable three-way head and about the Manfrotto 290 range in general, is available online at manfrotto.co.uk.