The Good: Good looking, well built and versatile tripod.
The Bad: Not ideal for prolonged use with a DSLR camera, particularly if you intend on using it in front-facing/selfie mode. It’ll get a tad heavy.
The Bottom Line: For the asking price, it’s hard to fault the Manfrotto Pixi Mini. It’s a well made tripod that’s great for casual photography and videos.
Whenever I’ve gone on a photo-taking spree I’ve typically relied on my not-so-steady hand to take good shot, and for the selfies I reluctantly use a selfie stick. (Don’t judge me.)
Now I’ve got a new toy to use instead: Manfrotto’s Pixi Mini. On sale for £14 at the time of writing from Amazon, this thing is a versatile tripod that works with your smartphone, action cam or DSLR camera, allowing you to take steady, crisp photos & videos.
Well built, versatile design
The Manfrotto Pixi Mini has an all-black body and red accents that gives off a simplistic, stealthy look that’s going to look great with just about any camera you attach to it. Built out of stainless steel, you’re also getting something durable and with textured rubber feet protecting the base of the tripod, the Pixi Mini has been super stable wherever I’ve placed it.
What I really like about the Pixi Mini is its versatility to work with just about any camera I want. Want to use a smartphone? No problem: just clamp it into the Pixi Mini’s attachment and screw it into the tripod’s ball head. Wanna be a pro and use a DSLR? You can directly screw on my Canon camera onto the tripod too. Either way it works well.
Adjusting the tripod to the angle you’d like is easy too; all you have to do is push in the big red button and swivel your camera to the desired position. The button has a lot more resistance than I had expected — almost to the point where I was worried about damaging the joint — however it’s designed this way to ensure the Pixi keeps your camera securely in position, rather that flapping around.
Tripod, selfie stick & stand in one
If a selfie stick is overkill for your front-facing shots and all you want is a little bit of range and stability, the Manfrotto Pixi Mini actually makes a good alternative. It’s surprisingly comfortable to hold, especially if you’ve only got a smartphone attached to it, and it gives you a wider selfie angle without needing to extend your arm like a clown.
Using the Pixi Mini with a DSLR is still nice and comfortable, although you’ll obviously feel the weight difference. Holding the tripod in a selfie position worked just fine but I didn’t feel like it would be ideal for prolonged use. That said, if you’re intending on using the Pixi Mini for normal, front-facing shooting, it’ll work just fine.
As well as a tripod and selfie stick, I actually found the Pixi Mini worked well as a smartphone stand too. I tried it out while lying in bed and because of its 3-legged design, it gave a good amount of stability for me to watch videos in pretty much any position.
Manfrotto Pixi Mini tripod: Final thoughts
If you’re looking for an inexpensive, well built tripod for taking photos, I don’t believe you can go wrong with Manfrotto’s Pixi Mini. It’s very well built, looks great and is nice and sturdy.
It’ll work well for video, but if you intend on planting a DSLR on this thing for vlogging purposes then you may just want something bigger and more comfortable with the extra weight.
All in all though, I’d recommend the Manfrotto Pixi Mini tripod.
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