Welcome to our Manfrotto MT190XPro4 review that we have been trying to find the free time to publish for a few weeks now. After we published a number of articles a few months back featuring a number of entry level tripods, we noticed a decent number of higher-end tripods also had a lack of information about them online so decided to cover as many of them as possible too.
As we have noticed a number of people specifically reaching out for advice on the MT190X Pro 4 we decided that it would be the perfect tripod to start with. Our hope is that this article will help as many people as possible be it our regular readers who are considering adding the tripod to their camera accessories or someone who has just randomly found us from Google or social media.
If you have read anything else about the MT190XPro4 before arriving at our article, you will probably know it holds an excellent reputation amongst both the photography and videography communities. Although it is technically a higher middle price point tripod, its excellent features, performance, and build quality let it compete with a number of higher price point tripods without ease.
Click Here To Check For Prices On The Manfrotto MT190XPro4!
User Interface And Control System
As you would expect from a Manfrotto tripod, the control system is very sleek and easy to operate allowing you to quickly and easily set the tripod up as required to get exactly what you require out of it with minimal effort. Although the Manfrotto tripod range is usually a little more expensive than their competition, they usually blow competing brands out of the water when it comes to ease of use of the actual tripod.
The MT190XPro4 comes with Manfrotto easy link plug to allow you to quickly and easily mount a number of popular accessories to your tripod within seconds too. Not only can this make your life easy if you do plan to have to mount a bunch of different items on your tripod but it can also potentially save you an absolute ton of time.
On of the major updates to this generation of Manfrotto tripods is their quick power lock system shown in the image above. It is essentially an updated version of the popular flip lock leg locking system that has been tried and tested on tripods for decades. Not only does this new quick power lock system offer increase stability but it also makes it easier and quicker to lock your leg sections in place.
We know that some photographers and videographers do prefer to use the twist lock system and over the last Five or so years the differences in performance between twist lock and flip lock systems has been minimal, the quick power lock is mean to help push ahead of the traditional twist locks systems due to its ease of use, higher fault tolerance, and fail-safe systems. This can provide you with peace of mind that your main camera rig that is potentially worth Thousands of dollars is safe when mounted on your MT190XPro4 and that the locks will stay in place.
The main center column of the tripod can also be rotated through 90 degrees as shown in the image above to offer you some unique positioning angles for your camera rig too. When using the tripod in this way, its load capacity does not change even though the weight of your camera rig is not central to the legs. The rotary locking system used to angle the center column is also very easy to do and can be unlocked, rotated, and relocked within seconds with a little practice.
You can couple this with the improved leg angle selectors to position your camera rig in some unique positions to get some really unique photographs while still having all of the stability a great tripod should provide. Again, coming from Manfrotto, you can rest assured that the leg angle system is not only easy to use but also sturdy and firm enough to keep your camera rig safe.
Although it should be expected at this price point in the market, the bubble level on the Manfrotto MT190XPro4 is also clearly visible even when you have your camera rig mounted. You can still see it clearly if you use a large DSLR camera body too allowing you to quickly and easily glance down to ensure that your camera is level without having to faff around.
There are so many lower price point tripods that put their bubble levels in a bad location that ends up getting covered the second you mount your camera body. Thankfully, with the MT190XPro4 this is not the case and if your tripod does become unlevel while recording or prepping for a photograph, you can quickly and easily tweak it to level everything out again.
The flat head connector on the tripod allows you to easily mount a ball head or pan head on your MT190XPro4 within seconds too. Although there are a number of different third-party tripod heads on the market right now that you can mount to the MT190XPro4 we would recommend the following depending on what you need:-
- Manfrotto XPRO Magnesium Ball Head (Click here to check for product prices and availability).
- Manfrotto 502 Video Head (Click here to check for product prices and availability).
Both of these heads have excellent reputations within the community and have been tried and tested by many independent photographers and videographers and always manage to maintain their reputations. The both also use the standard Manfrotto quick release too meaning that you can unmount your camera within seconds and mount it on another tripod that uses the Manfrotto quick release plate design or even a gimbal like the Zhiyun range that use the Manfrotto quick release plate system.
Click Here To Check For Prices On The Manfrotto MT190XPro4!
Performance And Functionality
When it comes to tripods, there is only so much that you can say about their performance and functionality as they are pretty limited bits of kit designed to do a few tasks extremely well. We would like to say that we feel that Manfrotto has managed to smash it out the park when it comes to the MT190XPro4 as it provides some excellent image stabilization while also having the tech to ensure the tripod stays upright and that your camera rig stays safe.
The tripod has a maximum upper load capacity of 15.4 pounds while only coming in at just over 4.5 pounds itself. When fully compressed, the MT190XPro4 is less than 20 inches long while being able to provide you with a fully extended length of around 63 inches. It’s lightweight and small dimensions when compressed make it ideal for any photography or videography gigs you may land that requires you to travel even though the tripod is not initially intended to be a travel tripod.
The modern locking systems and safety systems on the tripod do an excellent job of keeping the tripod in place while you capture the photograph or video footage you desire though. This allows you to get very creative with how you set your tripod up to get the best positive angle from your camera.
Click Here To Check For Prices On The Manfrotto MT190XPro4!
Build Quality And Design
As an aluminum tripod, you can rest assured that the Manfrotto MT190XPro4 is lightweight while also being robust enough to take knocks without breaking while also being strong enough to safely support the weight of your camera rig. The mounting screw on the head has also been reinforced to minimize the chances of you accidentally cross threading the mounting screw when attaching or removing your tripod head of choice.
As we have already touched on, Manfrotto has done a great job of upgrading the traditional flip lock leg locking system with their quick power lock system. We have been unable to find a single report of this new generation of leg locks failing during use giving us tons of confidence that Manfrotto has lived up to the hype they generated prior to their launch.
The rubber feet at the base of the legs do a great job of keeping your tripod in place even when using it on wet or slippy surfaces. In addition to this, if you are using the tripod in windy conditions, the modern counterweight hook at the base of the center column on the tripod is easy to use and allows you to add additional weight to reduce the chance of your tripod and camera being blown over.
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Although Manfrotto has changed the design of the leg angle selectors on the MT190XPro4 when compared to what they have used in previous generations of their tripods, we were unable to find any specific reason that they did this other than to make them slightly easier to use. That said, they are great for keeping the tripod secure when using it in some random positions.
If you are involved in something like nature photography or videography and know that you are going to have to warp your tripod into some random shapes while out and about to get the photo or video you require then you will be using the leg angle selectors a bunch.
All in all, the MT190XPro4 has a great build quality that you would expect for its price point in the market and we wouldn’t change a thing about it. The innovation Manfrotto try to keep in their products definatley shows while they have still managed to keep all the systems very familiar to what their users will be used to so they can easily get used to them.
Click Here To Check For Prices On The Manfrotto MT190XPro4!
FAQs
Question – What screw mount does the MT190XPro4 use?
Answer – It uses a 3/8 inch mounting screw.
Question – Does the MT190XPro4 qualify as airplane as a carry-on?
Answer – As different countries and different airlines each have their own rules it is usually safer to put your kit in the hold luggage if possible. That said, if you have to try take your tripod as carry-on then it would be better to contact the airline that you will be flying with and ask them.
Question – Is the MT190XPro4 cast aluminum?
Answer – Yes, the majority of the tripod is made from cast aluminum to offer a nice mix of robustness and lightweight.
Third Party Reports
Although we cover the majority of their content in our article, it may be worth checking out as it is pretty short and some people tend to absorb information better when it is presented in video format.
Our Verdict
That brings our Manfrotto MT190XPro4 review to a close and it is easy to see why it enjoys such a good reputation within the community amongst photographers and videographers from different niches that required different things from their kit. The MT190XPro4 can be heavily customized to get what you require out of it while also being easy to normalize and use like you would use any regular tripod too.
If you have the budget available, we feel that it will make a solid addition to your collection of camera accessories and provide you with an excellent source of reliable image stabilization to help improve your image quality. As we touched on earlier, the MT190XPro4 has not specifically been designed as a travel tripod but its lightweight and small size when debuilt means that, if needed, you could use it as a travel tripod in a pinch while getting its excellent performance when you reach your destination.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!
