So today, we are going to review the Magnus VT-300. You can find this tripod at any retailer from B and H to Amazon and probably any retailer on the internet. Just type in Magnus tripod. I will tell you, I have used this tripod exclusively since I found it. It’s light enough to move around quickly on location, and it’s sturdy enough to hold all my equipment. Just so you know I shoot with either a Canon DSLR or a Canon c100, sometimes I have them completely rigged out, and even with the extra weight, I have not had any issues and no problems.
Let’s start with basics, this is labeled as a Two way Fluid Pan and tilt head tripod. It has telescoping legs with flip locks, the camera is secured using a quick release plate all of which are being held to the ground by sure grip rubber feet. It’s maximum height is 64.3 inches with a listed maximum load of 15 lbs. When there is nothing on it the tripod weighs 4.5 lbs.
Let me start by saying that I’m an Indie Producer, so normally, budgets are tight; everything I purchase has to work and work well. I look for four things in any product I buy cost, functionality, usability and replaceability.
So what’s first, cost. It’s 80 bucks. Even if you have a tight budget 80 bucks is affordable. Now people tell me that 80 bucks isn’t affordable to everyone well my take is win, lose or draw the money it takes to invest into this tripod is worth it. Trust me.
Function ability. The tripod extends to a decent height. I have been on locations where I wish I had an extra few inches to get over someone’s head, grabbing a lift or a riser or even a chair when the other two weren’t an option, but if I had three wishes to use on this tripod one would defiantly go to giving me a little more height. Now the fluid pan, tilt head motion works depending on the luck of the draw. To date I have only ran into two Magnuses that weren’t as fluid friendly as I wanted them to be but with a little grease and just working them lose they became smooth. This tripod is really basic, and You adjust the freeness of the pan-tilt movement by manual dial levers, righty tight left lossy, there is no science to it. I personally like the basic function-ability the tighter I make it the more secure the head is the looser I make it the freer the pan-tilt head is. Pretty simple and really no room for mistakes.
Usability. This is probably the main reason why I use this tripod. I have walked away from a number of other brands of tripods with my gear on it for whatever reason. A big wind comes or the weight is uneven and the tripod does what either falls forward because of the weight of the lens or falls back. When that happens, what happens? Your rig is on the ground, hopefully still working. This tripod never has, and I mean never dropped my gear and I have had my rig facing either up or down, sideways, loose, everything. This bad boy holds onto everything. I’m going to use another wish, the leg locking mechanisms. They suck. when you have all your gear on the tripod and you have to increase or decrease the height, the way they are made it’s actually a pain to raise and lower your system and lets say you want to go outside of the extremities meaning you want to stop halfway in between then it’s very difficult to even out your camera and the rig; which for 80 bucks is a small price to pay.
Overall the Magnus vt 300 is user-friendly, and the basic setup leads to a ease of use. It’s a consumer-level tripod but can be used easily for professional applications. It’s inexpensive enough to allow even the most frugal videographer out there the chance to use a great tripod, but at the same time it has more then enough quality to be considered prosumer, I buy 5 or 6 ever 3 years or so, and they usually hold pretty well. They would last longer, but I’m very tough on my equipment just because of where and what I shoot. Let me know if you have any questions.