Manfrotto 131D Side Arm (#3059)

This is an excellent solution for you if you need to shoot straight down. I was in a studio for many years and always used a camera stand for "down shots" but now I am renting space on a day to day basis in different locations and this arm allows me straight down shooting from a portable tripod. It is the only practical solution I have found. There are tripods that have a center column that will turn sideways but you give up the hight adjustment it typically provides. The side arm give you the horizontal adjustments and your center column still allows you to make the closer and farther way micro adjustments needed rather then having to change the tripod leg heights and re centering and so on.These are a cheap and effective solution over lugging a huge heavy 9 food camera stand to a location!FYI a good sand bag as a counter weight will assure no tip over will occur as you place your expensive equipment out to the side of your tripod.These are simple well made inexpensive solutions. They are also the only solution I am aware of!

Just what I ordered. It works fine.

i was expecting manfrotto quality from this item and i got it. quality engineering, robust materials, well thought out design. i've always preferred chrome and black photo equipment over all-black photo gear and this piece looks stunning. it's a good fit with my manfrotto chromed 055C tripod ( an old classic ) and vintage 115 3d head(bogen 3028). i've had the 115 head and 055c for over 15 years. i'm confident the 131d will last as long. i've read complaints on how difficult it is to attach the arm to the center-column. like what i usually do with different types of tripod heads: pull out the center column from the tripod, screw onto the arm, tighten the set screws, reposition the center column and you're ready to go.

Whenever I used to do macro / close-up photography on my old tripod, I would always get a shadow from the legs on the documents I was shooting. By using this device, I can move the camera beyond the tripod legs and eliminate the shadows. Works very well.Make sure you purchase the adapter at the same time or you will have to wait before you can use it.

This is a solid piece! Very easy to get on and off my tripod.

There's one thing that no one has written about, and that surprises me.There are basically 3 parts to this product: the arm itself, the collar that "grips" the arm, and a set screw that bolts the entire unit to your tripod. The latter is the problem. The set screw (as I'm calling it - there may be a better term) has a big robust grooved "dial" to grab onto from either side of the collar to make it easy to attach to the tripod's center column.While this screw dial thing is big and robust and handy, it's also a problem. The collar has a big cutout so you can easily grab the screw and turn it. It's easy to turn, but the gap in the collar cutout ensures that the arm will never be solid. You can have the screw firmly cranked into the tripod center column, but the arm will still rock back n forth because of the gap. This means that your camera will not be level. The gap creates 1/2 to 1 inch of play at either end of the arm.You were probably going to put a ball or tripod head on the end of the arm anyway, which can account for the non-level slope of the arm, but you shouldn't "have" to. I love everything about this product, except for the design flaw. I would give it 5 stars otherwise. Seems like Manfrotto could address it easily.One last thing... I also bought a 1/4 to 3/8 adapter for attaching to my tripod, but interestingly, the lateral arm came with one. It was attached to the 1/4" end of the arm. It's nice quality too, with a rubber washer. Seems as though others here didn't get that with theirs

Works really well. Depending on the weight of your camera and lens, you will need 1-2 very heavy weight bags to keep your tripod from tipping over. I use a triangular​ weight bag on the base of my tripod as well as one with a hook that I hang off the end of the tripod arm.

product works as needed, great alternative when your salon stand doesn't allow you to do overhead very well.