The Manfrotto MT055CXPRO4 Carbon Fiber 4 Sections Tripod with Horizontal Column delivers maximum rigidity from the lightest components, a masterpiece of engineering designed for photographers who want the best from their tripod and need it to be easily transportable. The 100% carbon fibre tubes and new QPL leg locking system increase the tripod's rigidity and absorb vibrations, stabilizing camera equipment under any conditions. Carbon fibre tubing and magnesium castings also reduce the weight of this tripod compared to the equivalent aluminum version. The 4-section leg design allows this tripod to fold to a more compact size for easier transportation. It is its 90deg. center column mechanism, which allows the column to be extended vertically as normal, or horizontally to open up a wide range of framing and shooting possibilities; this makes the 055CXPRO4 an extremely versatile tripod, suitable for a wide range of photography and video applications. The horizontal column mechanism is housed within the tripod's top casting for compactness, but it is easily and quickly extended whenever you need it. Switching between vertical and horizontal column orientation requires no disassembly and can even be done with a camera attached. The 4-section legs of the 055CXPRO4 tripod make it extremely compact: together with the height saving of the new horizontal column mechanism, 4-section legs help to reduce the closed length of this tripod - a boon for any travelling photogr