When you choose a camera as impressive as the Nikon D750, you should only ever use it with the best of the best photography accessories you can find. Equipping such a camera with anything less than that would be like driving a Ferrari with cheap wheels; a total insult! And yes, even when it comes to tripods for your D750, you should never choose an inferior accessory.
If you don’t already know, the D750 camera has earned itself multiple ‘Camera of the Year’ awards over the years. With a camera that’s so distinguished, you need an equally impressive tripod that’s the best in its class. That’s why many consider the Manfrotto 055 to be one of the best tripods for the Nikon D750.
Originating in Italy, Manfrotto is responsible for the fantastic tripods in the 055 Series. Founded in the 1960s in Cassola (Italy), the company specialises in only one thing: designing and producing supports for cameras and lighting. As part of their wide range of high-quality products, they make tripods and monopods that have stood the test of time and remain a favourite among professional photographers worldwide.
You see, it’s one thing to choose a tripod for your D750 that has an excellent reputation. It’s much better when that tripod comes from a company that’s known for being the best in the business, like the Manfrotto 055 carbon fibre tripod.
Exceptional Function And Performance
For a high-performance photographer like yourself, the accessories in your camera setup must be able to keep up with your expectations. After all, that’s why you chose such a high-end camera like the Nikon D750 in the first place. With the Manfrotto 055 tripod, you’ll have a priceless piece of gear that meets and exceeds those expectations.
Smooth Horizontal Movement
No matter where the action is, you can turn the Manfrotto 055 tripod 360 degrees very quickly to point your lens in the right direction. Best of all, the tripod head turns so smoothly! Even if you’re recording video footage on your D750, you won’t capture any bumps that might ruin your video as you pan around the room in search of your subject.
Q90 Centre Column
Another impressive element of this tripod is its Q90 Centre Column. The column is easy enough to move up and down as needed, but here’s the plot twist: when it’s fully extended, you can position it horizontally like a boom arm! At that angle, you could have your camera just a few inches off the ground at all sorts of angles. By combining those unique angles with the power of the Nikon D750, you’ll capture fantastic macro shots without having to place the camera or yourself right on the floor!
At first glance, the centre column looks complicated, especially when transitioning it horizontally. Manfrotto seems to have anticipated this by creating a one-button operation system for the column. There are no clips to open or dials to turn. All you have to do is press a single button to unlock, extend, and then turn the column 90 degrees.
Better yet, Manfrotto designed this centre column with added protection. The company has included with the centre column an o-ring gasket. So, if the centre column slips for any reason, the gasket will cushion the fall and protect your D750 from damage!
Easy Link Connection
One of the many reasons this tripod stands out among the rest is what Manfrotto calls its Easy Link 3/8″-16 attachment. With this attachment located on the centre column, you can practically have an entire photography studio right on your Manfrotto tripod! This attachment allows you to add accessories to it, such as an LED light or even a reflector if you attach a compatible arm.
If you’re using the D750 to do lots of filming, the Easy Link connection could potentially mount a small boom mic as well, so you don’t have to get an assistant to hold it for you.
With all of those accessories attached to the Manfrotto 055 tripod, you could be a one-person documentary crew!
A High Degree Of Control
Despite having all of those great features, a tripod isn’t useful unless its movements are easy to control. Thankfully, Manfrotto seems to have designed the 055 tripod with ease-of-use in mind.
Quick Height Adjustments
Sometimes in the middle of a shoot, you’ll need to adjust the height of your tripod to capture your subject at just the right angles. For some tripods, this is a tedious process that wastes valuable seconds.
You won’t get any delays like that with the Manfrotto 055 tripod! The three leg sections of this tripod are locked in place using what Manfrotto calls its “Quick Power Locks” or QPLs. One flip is all it takes to unlock the legs and extend or shorten them according to your needs. Flip those QPLs back closed, and they’ll stay firmly in place. You won’t ever have to worry about the legs collapsing and your Nikon D750 falling to the ground.
Four Different Leg Angles
With just the push of a button on each leg, you can adjust them to four different leg angles. If you go all the way to the fourth, you’ll be spreading the tripod’s legs all the way to ground level! The unique thing about this tripod is that each leg can be adjusted independently of the others. That’s great for if you’re trying to position the tripod on uneven ground, with each leg stood at different angles.
Improved Upper Disk With Rotating Bubble Level
If you’re adjusting your angles often when shooting with the D750, you’ll need a way to make sure that your camera is level. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing your photographs and noticing that they’re just a few degrees tilted the wrong way.
Not only has Manfrotto improved the upper disk that they’ve used on the 055 tripod, but they’ve also included a rotating bubble level. Let me say that again: the bubble level rotates. That means that no matter which side of the tripod you may be standing, you can turn that bubble level to wherever you need it to be to view it clearly. So, even if you keep switching the angles, you can always use that to keep your shots perfectly level.
Build Quality And Design
The Manfrotto 055 carbon fibre tripod is highly functional and offers users loads of control. But the next important question you should be asking is, “Is it built well enough to use with my Nikon D750?”. The answer is simple, “Yes!”.
Here are a few main reasons why that is.
Carbon Fibre
First and foremost, this tripod is the carbon fibre model. That is the same kind of material they use on motorcycles and for good reason. Carbon fibre provides a high amount of stiffness and tensile strength. On top of that, it can also tolerate a lot of heat without expanding too much, unlike say, aluminium.
Altogether, the Manfrotto 055 carbon fibre tripod will hold up well in harsh environments. Also, it won’t get damaged if you drop it on the ground by accident.
These are all great qualities to have on the tripod you pair with your Nikon D750. After all, you don’t want some flimsy tripod holding your camera feet off the ground!
Weight And Dimensions
Seeing as how this tripod is made of carbon fibre, it’s super strong but also lightweight. All-in-all, it only weighs 5.2 pounds. Considering how tough it is, it’s shocking just how little this tripod weighs.
Size-wise, this tripod is pretty big. It starts at 3.5 inches, but you can extend its legs all the way and the 055 tripod stands tall at a total of 66.9 inches! That’s 5.5 feet, probably taller than some people you know!
Maximum Load
Remember how this tripod has its Easy Link connection? Well, all those extra accessories will add more weight to the whole setup. Thankfully, this tripod has a high maximum load capacity of almost 20 pounds! To put that into perspective, your Nikon D750 only weighs about 1.85 pounds, giving you about 18 pounds of leeway. You could mount all sorts of accessories without worrying about the tripod collapsing in on itself.
Or, you could even use the tripod to hang your equipment bag to keep it off the ground.
Quick Release Plate With D Ring
Now here’s something that’s often overlooked when it comes to tripods. Just like any other tripod, the Manfrotto 055 comes with a quick release plate. That plate is the part that you attach to the bottom of your Nikon D750. Most plates on other tripods require a screwdriver or Allen wrench to tighten it onto the bottom of the camera. This tripod, however, already has a D ring attached to it. That means you can turn the screw with your fingers without having to use a separate tool! Never again will you be in a situation where the quick release plate is stuck to your camera just because you’ve misplaced the tool you need to open it.
On top of that, the quick release plate on this tripod is universal with most other Manfrotto products. That simply means that you can switch your D750 from one Manfrotto tripod to another without changing the quick release plate!
Stylishly Italian!
Sometimes, the design of a product can tell you a lot about where it comes from. For example, your Nikon D750 is modern, sturdy, and well-crafted; all of which are traits of Japanese design principles. When you look at the Manfrotto 055 carbon fibre tripod for the first time, this thing is so stylish that you’d rightfully guess an Italian company was responsible for it!
There are a lot of great reviews about this tripod, but they only debate how this is one of the best tripods for Nikon D750. Very few of them pay attention to its Italian style.
Some might think that its style is unimportant, but they’re wrong. Combining the Manfrotto 055’s Italian style with the Nikon D750’s Japanese engineering makes them an incredibly powerful pair.
After all, nobody ever said that you have to sacrifice style just to have a high-performance photography setup.
Final Thoughts
So, should you buy the Manfrotto 055 carbon fibre tripod to use with your camera? Yes, without a doubt, you should. This is the best tripod for the Nikon D750.
Firstly, this tripod is anything but basic. The Manfrotto 055 provides you with a great deal of functionality from top to bottom; functionality that most other tripod manufacturers never thought to feature in their products. With its centre column and one-finger operation, you can position the camera at a 90-degree angle with great ease. You can also adjust each leg independently into four different angles so the tripod will stand straight despite being on uneven ground. Combine those two factors with its smooth 360-degree turning, and you’ll be able to keep your lens straight and pointed at your subject even if it’s moving, and also if it’s a tiny insect on the ground.
Functionality aside, this tripod is sturdy, light, and well-built. You can max-out its height at 66.9 inches and put as much as 19 pounds of weight on it. That means you can mount your D750 with a whole bunch of accessories safely, without worrying about the tripod collapsing.
All told, this tripod is suitable for any type of photography you might be doing with your D750 camera. You can do macro photography capturing images of insects and plants up close with great ease. Taking standing portraits is also much more straightforward with how tall this tripod stands.
Best of all, this tripod simply looks good. It’s got that traditional Italian flair that tells the world you’ve got a keen eye for style. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what photography is all about?
You might think this review is biased, but everything said here is echoed by ountless other reviews online. Nikon owners worldwide love this tripod, which is why it truly deserves such an impressive reputation.
