Monthly Archives: July 2016


Gear Review: Manfrotto BeFree

CabuyaoDay2-01w as Smart Object-1

Sto. Tomas, Baguio City | Canon 5D Mark II | 24-70 F2.8L | Lee Filters | Manfrotto BeFree

If I bring my camera, I HAVE to bring my (a) tripod.

That’s sort of a hard and fast rule — albeit unwritten — that I’ve come to adhere to through the years. Being a landscape photographer by nature, you never know when an opportunity to capture a sunrise or sunset might arise, so my policy is to always be prepared.

These past few months though, my (along with my wife’s, naturally) travel dynamic has changed drastically with the addition of Amy into the family. Before, I could manage bringing the majority of our stuff with my trusty (but heavy) tripod in tow, but a baby changes things — now, we need to bring more stuff, and every ounce of weight off our backs is a welcome prospect.

While I ultimately wouldn’t have minded lugging along my trusty tripod up our recent trip to Baguio, it’s a good thing I asked around and Manfrotto was kind enough to lend me one of their BeFree tripods for me to bring along and review.

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First off, it’s small and it’s light. And I’m talking about the aluminum version, not even the carbon fiber one (I have some personal misgivings about CF tripods in general, but that’s entirely off-topic). Especially compared to the one I own, it was refreshing to have something so small and compact.

Small and light!

Small and light!

Since this was a loaner I just picked up, there was no manual, and I had no one to teach me to use it. But I figured how to set it up pretty quickly — the simplicity of the system was another plus for me. I also appreciated how easy it was to spread the legs out — there’s a knobby thingamajig you just twist to quickly adjust how spread out you want each leg to be. Just be careful, since you can accidentally realign the twisty things even if they’re spring-locked in place (although I don’t know if this was just because the unit was used) which could potentially upend your camera. Also, since this is a small tripod, it had more leg locks to make it more compact, which in the field translates into having to snap out more extensions.

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Twist this silver knob to change how spread out you want the legs to be.

The small ballhead that came with it gave me a bit of a pause, since I still shoot with a DSLR — which today, if you are wont to listen to mirrorless preachers, is “archaic” and “outdated” — but it managed to hold my 5D Mark 2 with a 24-70 2.8L Mark 1 pretty well and I experienced no issues like tilting. I also appreciated the simplicity of the locks for the ballhead and the stem — just one for each — which were also surprisingly stable and tight.

The mount took a bit more time getting used to, and I never got comfortable using the small plastic lock on the side that keeps the mount in place. I also got confused a lot by the main lock for the mount (does it go left or right?), which was a real (literal) pain to unlock whenever I happened to tighten the lock a bit too much. I was also disappointed that the main stem did not have a hook at the end where I could hang my camera bag for easy access to my stuff and better stability; while small, I feel this feature is especially useful in situations like shooting seascapes and you have nowhere to put down your bag.

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Cons considered, I’d still say I would not be sorry in the least to have one. My heavier tripod is still useful for rougher situations, but the BeFree is a great all-around travel tripod that wouldn’t make me think twice about bringing it (if I had one) when I go out. It’s easy to use, compact, light, and considering the brand, of good quality as well.

The Manfrotto BeFree retails for Php11,790 and is available at Henry’s, Colours Digital Foto, and Lazada. You can also visit Manfrotto Philippines to see their other offerings.

 

URCC Fight Night: Baron Geisler vs. Kiko Matos

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There were a few moments of that saw the two engage in a quick exchange of punches.

They fought to a draw.

While everyone was disappointed, the result was not entirely unexpected — after all, how could anyone expect a pro-level fight when the two were clearly amateurs, whose fighting experience was limited to bar brawls and sucker punches, and who only had a few weeks of (assumedly) irregular training?

Baron Geisler was decidedly the cockier between the two, despite Kiko Matos’ taunts and pee — later clarified to be beer only — spraying gimmicks. He got out into the ring at the fighters’ introduction on fight night obviously confident, glorying in the support of the crowd, most of whom were largely on his side. Matos was more subdued for some reason, probably expecting the resounding boos after ironically deciding to play the bad guy.

Their fight, a significant part of the proceeds going to charity, was the final act in URCC’s Fight Night on June 25, with eight other bouts coming in before. By the time the second-to-the-last match came up — URCC light heavyweight champ Chris Hofmann against Arvin Chan — Valkyrie Pool Club was packed. Like MRT at rush hour packed. The crowd was testing the bouncers, with some of the excitement fueling the tempers of a few — a girl screamed at the guy in front of her, “Wala akong pakialam sa Facebook-Facebook mo! Umalis ka sa harapan ko!” The poor guy lowered his phone sheepishly, scratched his head, sighed, and moved away.

Albeit likely unintentionally, Hoffman served the perfect appetizer to the hyped-up Geisler-Matos match, pummeling Chan into submission in the second round, prompting a stoppage and securing the win via TKO.

Albeit likely unintentionally, Hoffman served the perfect appetizer to the hyped-up Geisler-Matos match, pummeling Chan into submission in the second round, prompting a stoppage and securing the win via TKO.

Silence died in the venue for several minutes as the crowd screamed in anticipation of the fight they paid to see, hooting their disapproval of Matos when he stepped into the ring, and cheering “Baron, Baron, Baron!” when the literal bad boy of Philippine showbiz made his appearance, hair tussled, sporting giant sunglasses.

After the customary pre-fight preludes, it was on. Stamina still intact, Matos took the upper hand in the first round, managing to secure a dominant position atop Geisler, dishing out a striking favorite: ground and pound. Baron was clearly hurt, but clung on to life by covering his face with his arms. The ref, ever-vigilant, saw that both could still continue, and kept the fight going. Matos eventually lost steam, his punches slowly losing power and speed, and at one point was simple sitting on Geisler, doing nothing. His opponent took that same time to recover. And before everyone knew it, round one was over.

Ground and pound, courtesy of Kiko Matos. He eventually ran out of steam after awhile.

Ground and pound, courtesy of Kiko Matos. He eventually ran out of steam after awhile.

Geisler still had some fire in him when the second round began despite being visibly tired, seemingly discarding his reported taekwondo knowledge in lieu of grappling, scoring a great takedown and pinning Matos to the side of the cage. He was, for a good number of minutes, in a good position to deliver some knees which could have gotten him the KO, but it seemed it took all he had just to keep his position and keep his opponent from escaping. Having kept quiet most of the night, just shooting, I had to join the folks from Geisler’s corner who were right beside me scream, “Knee! Knee!” as he held Matos down, but Baron’s expression was blank, a testament to just how spent he was.

We were all yelling, "Knee! Knee!"

We were all yelling, “Knee! Knee!”

And then round two ended. After a few minutes and an announcement that there needed to be a third round — Geisler had already communicated to his corner that he could not continue (I also heard whispers around me that Matos had similar sentiments about his own ability to go to a round three) — the match ended. Alvin Aguilar, URCC owner, took to the stage, and after the announcer broke the news that the match was a draw — much to the chagrin of all in attendance, had the two shake hands, hug and declare that their feud was now over. Baron would later say in the press conference that all the heat of their drawn-out quarrel was quenched, and Kiko Matos admitted that he was just trying to hype up the fight and get under Geisler’s skin.

All in all, it wasn’t a complete disappointment, at least for me. I’ve witnessed some (and been in a few) fist fights myself, and they are not pretty things. There is no arbiter or mediator, and most folks don’t care enough to break you up unless you’re dangerously close to killing each other. Better they fought to exhaustion in a ring, with a referee, with triple-padded gloves, and both for charity and profit. One could even argue that it was a win-win, at least for the parties directly involved. Some folks have come out claiming that the whole thing was staged — I don’t think they were there that night, and even if they were, they don’t know what they’re talking about. The bottom line is that neither were professional fighters, and anyone who’s even just dabbled in martial arts will tell you just how much effort it takes even just to spar. I know that too, having spent a semester trying to throw people — but mostly getting thrown — in judo. All it takes is a split second to have the wind knocked out of you.

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And I’ve probably rambled on too long and knocked out the wind out of this thing, so until next time. To Geisler and Matos, respect — although I do hope they both make better life choices next time around. Not every bar fight will be as rewarding.