We're all used to quick release plates for cameras, but if you want to swap over your tripod head, you're still faced with a tedious and fiddly unscrewing process. Why has nobody created a quick release system for this?
That's the gap that Manfrotto has spotted with its new Move quick release system, or 'Move Quick Release Catcher' to give it its full name. You attach the Move base to your tripod where you would normally attach the head, then screw its quick release plate into your tripod head. You can now drop the lug on the fixing plate into the Move at whatever horizontal angle you like and just push it in to snap it in place.
If you only ever use one tripod head, there's no real need for this quick-action fixing mechanism, but if you regularly need to swap a ball head for a video head, for example, or a camera slider, a geared head, a gimbal head or any other kind of head, then the Move could save you a whole lot of time and fuss.
For the Move Quick Release Catcher to make sense, you will need a plate for each head you want to attach in this way. This will push the overall price up somewhat, but after you've seen the Move in action and tried it out, it's hard not to be impressed by how much simpler it becomes to swap tripod heads.
Manfrotto's new Move system
The Move base is just part of Manfrotto's new Move ecosystem. It also includes the company's clever Gimboom extending boom arm, for microphones, cameras, lights or anything else you need to put on an extending arm.
The Gimboom might sound like a glorified selfie stick, but it's part of a Move ecosystem with extended capabilities – including a clever Gim-pod attachment that adds another two legs so that the Gimboom effectively becomes a tripod.
There's also a new 'modular' Manfrotto Gimbal 300XM, which is going to be the heavy duty flagship of the Manfrotto gimbal range and has a hefty maximum payload of 3.4kg.
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The key feature of this gimbal is that the handle splits from the motor section but maintains contact wirelessly, so that you could, for example, put the gimbal unit on one end of a Gimboom and the handle (with controls) on the other.
Manfrotto's Move products should be shipping any time now. The new Gim-pod will sell for $89.99/£71.95, the Manfrotto Gimbal 300XM will be $669.99/£611.95, the Move Quick Release Catcher kit (base and plate) will be $99.99/£91.95, and you can get additional quick release plates for $24.99/£22.95.
