With the Nikon p1000 being the successor to the extremely popular Nikon p900, it is not surprising that the p1000 has quickly managed to build itself an absolutely huge user base of photographers after the p900 managed to earn itself such a great reputation. Nikon have not let us down and the p1000 is another great bit of kit that improves on the already excellent p900 in every way meaning that we only expect the popularity of the p1000 to increase as the months come and go.
We are seeing more and more people reaching out each month asking for advice on the best tripod for Nikon p1000 so we have decided to focus on suitable tripods for the camera for todays article. We are hoping that we will be able to help any of our readers who either already have or are considering purchasing the p1000 and will be looking to pickup a suitable tripod for their camera too.
Although the p1000 offers the super zoom capabilities that the range is famous for, there are some solid tripods out there that are suitable for supporting the camera and can prove you with some excellent levels of image stabilisation when doing so too. That said though, although a more budget friendly tripod like the Zomei z699c can get the job done, you should really be looking at a more intermediate level tripod for the Nikon p1000 like the Manfrotto MT055CXPRO3 that has managed to rightfully earn an excellent reputation for itself.
In our opinion, the MT055CXPRO3 is an excellent tripod choice for the p1000 and it offers you some excellent stability that will serve both you and your camera well in pretty much any photography niche that you can think of. Depending on the specific niche that you are planning on working in as well as what you will be doing with your p1000, you may want to also pick up a decent lens support but these are not essential for all niches. If you are on a tight budget then there are some suitable entry level lens supports on the market that you can use too.
If you are planning on using your Nikon p1000 at its upper zoom ranges then adding a decent pan head to your camera accessories can be a great way to allow you to smoothly pan or tile your p1000 without ruining your image quality. Again though, depending on the photography niche that you will be working in or what you are planning to actually do with your p1000, this may not be essential.
We are now going to be taking a more detailed look at a number of features on the Manfrotto MT055CXPRO3 to go into why we feel that it is the best tripod for your Nikon p1000. We always like to do this for any camera accessories that we recommend to our readers to try and explain why the product is our recommended tripod as well as why we feel that is beats what the competition has to offer too.
Performance And Functionality
Coming from Manfrotto, it should be no surprise that the MT055CXPRO3 offers you some of the best performance and functionality available when it comes to tripods and image stabilization. Although a number of competing tripod brands are now starting to challenge the dominance of the Manfrotto brand, they are still number one when it comes to tripod in our opinion and their latest generation of products is outstanding.
The MT055CXPRO3 is available in both aluminium or carbon fiber and although the aluminium variant of the tripod is cheaper, its self life will only be three to five years due to corrosion. Although the carbon fiber variant is more expensive, it can literally last you decades before needing to be replaced provided that you take good care of it. This is why we tend to recommend that our readers who use the Nikon p1000 go with the carbon fiver variant of the tripod as anyone who owns the Nikon p1000 will likely be sticking with photography and been needing their tripod for more than five years. Going with the carbon fiber from the start can usually save you money by removing the need to purchase a new aluminium tripod after give years.
The MT055CXPRO3 offers a maximum load capacity of twenty pounds of payload weight meaning that it is plenty to hold your Nikon p1000 as well as any heavy pan heads or lens supports that you have to use as well as all of the camera accessories you could ever need. The huge maximum load capacity on the tripod also ensures that you are able to easily use it with any other cameras in your collection without having to pick-up multiple tripods.
The MT055CXPRO3 also comes with Manfrottos precision capture system as standard that is able to help increase you performance when working at the higher zoom levels with your Nikon p1000 with ease. At the higher zoom capabilities of the p1000, even just being slightly off with your bearings can end up resulting in a large margin of error. The clear and easy to read capture system helps to reduce the chances of this happening though so that you are able to plan out your photography session and save time once on location.
Another great little feature of the latest tripods on the Manfrotto range of tripods is that they come with a easy to see, rotating bubble level as standard that you are able to turn through all planes. We have lost count of the number of tripod heads, even the premium price point modern ones that put their bubble level in a bad location making it a total pain to actually see.
The mounted bubble level on the tripod allows you to rotate it so that it is always visible no matter what you are doing with the tripod or how many camera accessories you have mounted to your p1000. No matter what you are getting up to, you can always just glimpse down to check the bubble level and have the peace of mind that your camera is level and if the initial position of the bubble level is blocked by your mounted camera, you can rotate it to a section where you are able to see it.
Thankfully, the MT055CXPRO3 uses their latest flip lock leg locks and although the twist lock system has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, we prefer the flip lock system as it offers that additional locking system for the legs to offer peace of mind that the leg will stay in position. The flip lock system that Manfrotto are using is very easy and quick to use too allowing you to lock your tripod legs in position without having to waste a whole bunch of time too.
When it comes to the operating heights, the tripod is able to support a maximum height of 170cm, a minimum height of 9cm and a closed length of 61cm. This should ensure that it has you covered no matter what you are planning to do with the tripod and let you use it with your p1000 in any photography niche you can think of. Although many people underestimate the Nikon p1000 when it comes to macro photography, using a decent clip-on macro lens can produce some some image quality so the 9cm minimum usable height of the tripod can let you work in the macro photography niches too that many people often overlook.
All in all, Manfrotto have managed to out do themselves again with the MT055CXPRO3 and it really does not surprise us that so many people have taken to using it as their go to source of image stabilisation for their camera rigs. This is why it has managed to receive so many excellent reviews from the communitythat you are able to read to get some independent insight into just how great this tripod actually is. If you do have some spare time, skimming over a few of those independent reviews of the tripod can be well worth it.
User Interface And Control System
Just like the majority of the other modern tripods on the market right now, the MT055CXPRO3 is very easy to use and many of the competing tripod brands out there actually ripped off the Manfrotto one finger operation system to ensure that their tripods are able to keep up with the Manfrotto lineup. Although some of the brands have managed to do a great job with their systems, we definitely still think that the Manfrotto system is better as it is so easy to use and lets you use all of the center columns functionality with a single finger.
This allows you to adjust the high of the tripod amongst other things with ease and without having waste time. Some tripods, even in this day and age still have the old school, annoying, time consuming adjustment system but this is not an issue with the MT055CXPRO3. Although this may sound like a sales gimmick, it ends up being surprisingly useful when on location capturing photographs and will likely be able to save you a surprising amount of time.
The MT055CXPRO3 also has the Manfrotto easy link connector system on the central column of the tripod too allowing you to quickly and easily mount a bunch of camera accessories to your tripod if needed. This lets you mount external microphones, flash units, video lights, and a number of other accessories to the tripod if needed to allow you to better adjust their location rather than just having the mounted to your subject.
As you would expect, the MT055CXPRO3 uses the Manfrotto quick release plate system too so you are able to mount or unmount your Nikon p1000 within seconds during use. This lets you switch between tripod and handheld very quickly to switch up the type of photographs that you are capturing. On top of this, many third-party brands have also licences the Manfrotto system meaning that you can switch your p1000 from the MT055CXPRO3 to another tripod or camera accessory that uses their quick release plate quickly too.
Build Quality And Design
Both the carbon fiber and aluminium variants of the Manfrotto MT055CXPRO3 have an excellent build quality and will make a great addition to your camera accessories for your Nikon p1000. As we covered earlier in the article though, we would recommend that our readers go with the carbon fibre variant of the tripod as it will last you longer and can end up saving you money in the long run.
So many people think that the aluminium alloy tripods don’t corrode from the elements due to them not rusting but this is not correct. Aluminium does not rust but it still corrodes and its signs are white dust particles letting you know that your tripod is weakening. This does not happen with the carbon fiber variant allowing it to last you much longer but if you do choose to go with the aluminium variant and you notice the white dust corrosion then it is probably going to be a good idea to get a new tripod.
The legs of the MT055CXPRO3 also have a slightly new reinforced design to help increase both the strength and rigidity of the tripod when in use. This ensures that the legs will easily be able to hold the weight of your Nikon p1000 even if you like to use a heavy rig with lots of camera accessories when working. With the price tag of the p1000 plus whatever your camera accessories cost you, it’s nice to know that the legs are going to be able to support your rig without issue.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over why we feel that the best tripod for Nikon p1000 cameras is the Manfrotto MT055CXPRO3. Although there are a number of great tripods on the market right now, we feel that the MT055CXPRO3 is definitely one of, if not the best option for the p1000 and that it will serve you well for many years to come. It offers excellent functionality with some of the best image stabilisation that you are going to get at this price point in the market. This is why it has such a great reputation amongst photographers and videographersthat just keeps on getting better and better.
