Manfrotto 293 Telephoto Lens Support (#3420)

Got this for my wife’s Canon 800D with the Canon 100-400mm L telephoto lens. This unit is very well made using aluminum stock, attaches to the camera/lens easily and provides a solid and secure mounting to the tripod. It also is better balanced on the tripod then just the lens ring mount. The quick disconnect has a good locking feature with an audible click. It is hefty and adds weight to an already heavy camera/lens combination, so this is not really something one would use to take snapshots. Mine did not come with any instructions but it was not difficult to figure out how to assemble it to the camera. All in all, a good value for the money that should prove durable for field wildlife photos.Side note - Amazon prime on this delivery was terrible. It took a week plus to get this unit instead of the two day normal and expected delivery .

Just like you'd expect from Manfrotto, this is a very high quality, professional-grade product. It performs as described and will no doubt provide years of use.It's heavy but I didn't take away a star for that reason. I love that this is a machined, precision device made mostly of metal and not plastic. However, as you can see in the image of the product, you use a strap to hold the lens onto the base and that makes it difficult to turn the lens to zoom or focus it. I wish you could adjust the position of the strap backwards or forward because that way I could put it around a smoother surface on my long lens. As it is, the strap goes around the knurled plastic on the lens, which makes it hard to turn.However, that's a minor complaint. This is an expensive device but it's very high quality.

With years of photography, there was one thing that annoyed me greatly and that was that unless you had a lens with the built-in tripod structure, odds are that you needed to find a way to balance and stabilize the lens otherwise you'd get shake when using a long lens supposed only by the camera's mount.For years, there was no options, and then a few that were expensive.Then I found this support, at a decent price, and expected something that might not be bad.I received it and saw right away that THAT was an understatement...Not bad is not close to describing this support... it's fantastic.It's very strong, heavy, extremely nice quality, not one part is sub-par.It's made of actual metal, brushed painted finish, the velcro belt is an excellent strong nylon type, the mountings are very solid and easily adjusted.The fact that there's a quick release built-in (and the way it's built), was a welcomed surprised.For the price I bought it for here on Amazon, it was cheaper than any other place I've seen it and very much worth every penny.This thing is built to last for lifetimes, great-grandkids will probably still use it (if any goes into photography, and things like the cameras don't change too much).I used to fear using my big lenses, not any more, even without a tripod I can see how you could use it just as a hand-held support to prevent the shakes by resting this against something..

I am using this with a 400mm f3.5 nikkor on a Bogen/Manfrotto 3047 head and Carbon Fibre tripod. It provides solid support with no vibration allowing tack sharp images at 1/30 second in moderate winds. I did use a sand bag on the tripod but having this 2 point support prevented self inflicted vibration from mirror slap or finger on the button vibration. Solidly built, mostly metal, large knobs and easy to adjust and lock down.Instructions are a bit thin but you should be able to figure out assembly and use.5 star rating

OK. Use an 800mm lens >without< built-in jitter control (IS)? Of course you need a tripod. But even with electronic shutter tripping (no fingers touching), a well balanced camera on an expensive (very expensive) perfectly balanced gimbel mount shakes enough from the camera shutter tripping to ruin the image (unless shooting very high speed in good light).A well balanced system is a see-saw. Small camera body vibrations are reproduced at the other end (lens). So the reverse strategy, steady cam, requires inertia to >not< have transmitted vibration motion.This set up is simply easier to configure offset enough to dampen vibration without being unwieldy. Also it is very light weight whereas the gimbel versions are very large and heavy yet without that size & weight contributing to the stability of the image.Gimbel mounts (with IS) are great and can be used offset as well. But then the advantage is minimal for the weight and bulk of what you have to carry.

The reason I don't give it 5 stars is because of the bulk and size of the lens support. Don't get me wrong, you can't find a better price on such a product as others try to sale you a lens support for $150 or more. The only problem I have is the bulkiness but it is strong and sturdy and has adjustments everywhere. This is the cheapest alternative and better than nothing. I mean try to hold a nikon 80-200mm 2.8 push pull early version with no support and your arms begin to shake and in return you get even more blurred pictures.

After a few month's use I haven't found a single thing to complain about. Sure it's a heavy little beast, but that's an asset when working with long lenses. You definitely should have a good tripod to mount this on, because of that weight. I use it on my Manfrotto 190 XB tripod with its 804 RC2 pan/tilt head, and it's rock solid. The support, with the camera mounted on it, can be slid back and forth to balance it so there's no tendency for the whole thing to rotate forward or back. And yes it does come with a Manfrotto-type quick-change plate. Note: even with a high-quality rig like this, it's a good idea to use a remote to trigger your shutter when using long lenses.

Havent used it ...... too hard to understand how to attach it to tripod , camera it does not have Good explainationof how

J'ai magasiné longtemps pour trouver ce support et c'est le meilleur gizmo pour un trépied avec une caméra, très satisfaitI have looked around quite extensively and this is the best gizmo for a tripod and a camera, very happy of my buy

A very simple and elegant way to support a tele lens both for hand held and tripod situations.I like especially the elastic support at the front.

The adapter is heavy but works great.

very nice support for a longer lens situation

Have used it but not that often . Works well .