Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: WanderingKiwi on February 13, 2022, 02:49:34 am
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I'd like to invest in a quality tripod head that can be used for photography AND glassing (with binoculars and a spotting scope).
I'm after something top quality that'll last many years. The head must have a butter smooth pan/tilt feature so that I can make small adjustments to the binos/scope without the image 'jumping'. It must also have a rock-solid locking feature (for camera/stills use).
A fluid head might be the best bet, but most of the cheaper fluid heads aren't built as well as the higher end video varieties - and the higher end ones are far too heavy (2kg's +).
Any ideas on what would work?
Would a quality ball-head with a pan feature, such as the RSS BH-55/BH-40 or Arca Swiss D4/Z1 work? Can these heads be set up in a way so that the friction controls on both the pan and tilt can be adjusted independently, and both be left unlocked at the same time? That way I can freely pan the binoculars/spotter on BOTH the vertical and horizontal axis without having to mess with any knobs?
Thanks.
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Ballheads are terrible to use with binoculars/scopes because one has to use the eyepiece on the bins/scope to pan to one side or the other...it is not easy or comfortable to do. So yes I think a Pan/Tilt head would be better for you.
I use an Acratech video head that has recently been discontinued...probably because a new model (with a higher price) will replace it: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1158916-REG/acratech_7112_video_ballhead_with_knob.html
It is the lightest weight model - and supports a lot of weight - most pan/tilt heads weigh more and support way less...
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A proper video head will cost you. I once paid $10K for one. A Sachtler Studio 7. It was superb.
Manfrotto makes one that I see a lot on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPc0qfed7bU
Only issue is that it's not Arca. Fairly easy to get adapt, though.
Make sure you get a bowl head (not a ball head). A 75mm bowl mount makes levelling the head effortless instead of a PITA.
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So it sounds like it's best to pony up the extra cash and get used to the extra weight of a quality fluid head (Sachtler, Miller etc)?
I'm not keen on cutting corners re: quality, as I generally hate replacing gear.
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B&H e-image GH 06
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Look on this guy's channel. He has a number of videos showing why he uses fluid video heads and tripods for still photography. Rather than spend a lot of money on unnecessary heavy and expensive professional equipment for videography, this may fit your needs. He has about four videos on the subject, check them out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei8XYK5Cz-k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THlG5jtUuoE