Manfrotto 244 Variable Friction Arm with Bracket (Black) for Photographers and Videographers

Fantastic quality. Holds the weight it's rated for and great build.

I use this in a different way, but I think I can speak to it's quality. I have a toddler that is easier to shower then give a bath, but the shower head is way too high for him. I clamp this to the shower door frame and the other end told the shower head. It's getting wet daily and there's no signs of rust or wear. It still holds tight and I can control the position easily. Wherever I want the head to be, I can do it with one knob. I can say the jaws don't open wide enough to hold a large cell phone. Probably the only complaint I have. When not in use it folds down fairly tight and fits in a regular backpack but just barely.

The Manfrotto 244 Magic Arm is incredibly well designed. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the build quality. I needed an articulating desktop mount for my camcorder, to replace the floor standing tripod that claimed too much space in my office. The arm is plenty long for my needs. The clamp (sold separately) firmly attaches to my desk, and the arm allows perfect positioning of my camcorder. The Arm is rated to support about 6.5 pounds, which is twice the weight rating of other products. Perfect for my camcorder, teleprompter, and microphone. It's pricey, but you get what you pay for.

There are two studs on ball joints on either end of the arm. When the knob is turned counter-clockwise, the ball joints and the center 'elbow' all loosen. The loosing is gradual, so it won't suddenly collapse. Once you have it set, turn the knob clockwise and all the movable joints tighten. I was a little leery of hanging my DSLR in the air, but this arm locks up pretty solidly. Now I have a set point on my macro table for mounting the camera. Since focus and view angle is so critical in macro work, my tripod is a bit of a nuisance. This makes life a whole bunch more simpler. :) The arm and clamp combo are also being used where tripods are not permitted/practical but where a solid mount point (e.g.fence post) is available. Construction is solid, fit and finish are excellent and the usage is intuitive. The Superclamp in the photos is not included, but unless you already have a mounting strategy figured out, you'll need one. Quick edit: The knob on mine was fully assembled and there were no missing parts. Maybe they read the previous reviews.

Cheap quality. Bought this hoping for a clean quick-release setup, but it ended up damaging my gear. The screw snapped clean off and left the threaded part stuck inside my Sony camera. None of the pieces were defective at first glance, but the metal clearly wasn’t strong enough for regular use. Now I’m having to go out of my way to find a shop just to remove it. Super disappointed—this mount caused more hassle than it’s worth. Not recommended for any serious setup

The Manfrotto 244 Variable Friction Magic Arm comes close to being a jack of all trades: umbrella bracket, hair light, back light, camera mount, mic stand, monitor/iPad mount, etc. I mainly use it with a Super Clamp, allowing it to be securely attached almost anywhere. The ends are male light stand tips and fit standard 5/8" female light stand sockets. It makes an excellent light stand when used with the Manfrotto 003 Backlight Base . The friction wheel controls arm and ball joint tension simultaneously. So you always need two hands for adjustment: one hand on your gear to keep it from flopping and the other to control the wheel. With moderate fiction, movements are smooth but, once locked down, it holds a medium sized DSLR or light head without budging. I tried a friend's Magic Arm with the cam-lever. Same excellent build quality but the lever is more difficult to adjust than a friction wheel. You need to really muscle it too! However, I was surprised my Magic Arm arrived without the wheel installed. Probably Manfrotto wanted to reduce bulk and use a smaller box. No biggie, just spin the wheel on and you're golden. No assembly instructions provided or needed. I didn't find the camera bracket terribly useful and should have bought the Magic Arm without the bracket. I use a ball head (Sunwayfoto) to mount LED lights, mics or cameras: the Magic Arm has a little settle with heavy loads and a ball head allows fine adjustments after lockdown. To attach a ball head, screw a 1/4 to 3/8" male stud adapter, e.g., Manfrotto 118 Male Spigot into the arm's baby stud and screw the head on it. You could also mount the ball head directly on the bracket if you don't mind the extra weight and bulk. The Magic Arm is well designed, built like a bazooka and my most useful Super Clamp accessory. I'm often in cramped quarters and it works where light stands and tripods dare not tread.

I am finally finished making my captains chair with a Razor Enki and the Manfrotto super clamp system and the magic arms with camera attachment I've been trying all year and wasting so much money on different and much less viable solutions to mounting my glove80 split keyboards to my gaming chair. As it turns out you get what you pay for. These are expensive little steel rods, but they are sturdy as hell and worth every penny.

arguable the best for being on the road and stages

Compré este producto porque me lo dejaron para una ocasión en un auditorio y la posición de la cámara quedó "de cine". Era la versión de palanca, que se nos desmontó y es muy complicada de montar/armar. Esta versión es mucho mejor, menos mal, con rosca y el sistema más sencillo. Imprescindible que también compres la super pinza.

سهل الإعداد مرن في التحكم والتوجيه قوة التحمل جيدة جدا مع كاميرات dslr وعدسات البعد البؤري المتوسط

Per chi non abbia ancora mai maneggiato gli originali magic arm Manfrotto, questo è uno degli strumenti più utili e versatili mai inventati ( persino nello spazio sulle stazioni spaziali viene utilizzato dagli astronauti, e sapendo quanto sia critico il peso del carico sulle missioni spaziali il fatto che se li portino dietro nonostante siano parecchio pesanti, ne dimostra l'assoluta utilità ed affidabilità ) Ne porto sempre con me almeno un paio sul set. Ripiegati occupano poco spazio. Dureranno una vita. L'acquisto in questione è stato sereno, senza il minimo problema. Consiglio, in abbinamento l'acquisto di un paio di 035 Super Clamp che con il magic arm diventano un sistema di fissaggio universale incredibilmente versatile. For those who have never handled the original Manfrotto magic arms before, this is one of the most useful and versatile tools ever invented (even in space on space stations, it's used by astronauts, and considering how critical cargo weight is on space missions, the fact that they bring them despite being quite heavy demonstrates their absolute usefulness and reliability). I always carry at least a couple of them on set. Once folded they take little room. They will last a lifetime. This particular amazon purchase was smooth, without the slightest problem. I recommend pairing the magic arm with the purchase of a couple of 035 Super Clamps, to assembly an incredibly versatile universal mounting or support system.

pas de problème avec le produit c'est du manfrotto cher mais solide et efficace

Muy bien pero extremadamente caro