Heads for every budget - review thread

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Bonus review: I also recently picked up a Joby Gorillapod Focus,

having learnt long ago that my original Gorillapod really can't hold

my D700 stably. I got this partly because of a deal providing the

very small "ball head X" and free quick release plate, which are

Arca-Swiss compatible. For the price, a spare plate and a head for

occasional use were reasonable. The head won't hold anything like as

much as the RS-3 (I can make it slip by forcing it with relatively

little weight - my Giottos is probably stronger), but it's slightly

nicer to use than the Triopo, and shorter. As for the Gorillapod

itself, I've set it up in tripod configuration with a D800 and 14-24

on the top and watched it sag sadly - but that's on a table over which

the feet can slip. On a rough surface or wrapped around something it's

a bit more solid, though I'm not sure about the claimed 5kg. The D4

is on it below for amusement value rather than practicality, though it

does work. The provided head is far more practical as a pairing, but

I'm not going to be hanging my 200 f/2 off it. My original Gorillapod

is overwhelmed by the weight of my D700 even with a fairly light

lens on it, so I'm satisfied that - if arranged to grip carefully

with enough legs - the Focus is a substantial upgrade, even if it's

a bit difficult to force the individual joints into perfect position.<br />

<br />

Having said that, I've had some success with my D800 and 14-24 on a

Tamrac ZipShot (with a ten second timer release and the strap around

me neck in case it all collapsed), and my D700 has occasionally been

stable on a Velbon VTP-777, so I'm a believer that some support is

better than none at all. (Tip to manufacturers of tiny tripods:

please over-engineer the head - if it's pointing the right way, you

can do a lot with technique and a wind break.) I thoroughly

recommend both of these devices, but for very different circumstances

than the RS-3 or D4 and TVC-34L.<br />

<br />

Here's a summary of my impressions of the kit I've mentioned.

Please take this with an appropriately large pinch of salt.</p>

 

<table>

<tr>

<th>Device</th>

<th>Ergonomics</th>

<th>Stability</th>

<th>Weight</th>

<th>Price</th>

<th>+</th>

<th>-</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Triopo RS-3 (default head)</td>

<td>3/10</td>

<td>10/10</td>

<td>8/10</td>

<td>10/10</td>

<td>Cheap, small, solid</td>

<td>Camera attachment useless</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Triopo RS-3 + A-S clamp</td>

<td>5/10</td>

<td>10/10</td>

<td>7/10</td>

<td>7/10</td>

<td>Cheapish, smallish, solid</td>

<td>Not perfectly smooth, panning poor</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Arca-Swiss D4</td>

<td>9/10</td>

<td>10/10(?)</td>

<td>5/10</td>

<td>3/10</td>

<td>Lovely bit of engineering, solid and flexible<br />

Light compared with my 393 or a geared head, heavy for a ball</td>

<td>Knobs a little fiddly (no suggested improvements though),<br />

Very "exclusively priced"</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Joby Ball Head X</td>

<td>7/10</td>

<td>4/10</td>

<td>9/10</td>

<td>9/10</td>

<td>Tiny and reasonably cheap for an A-S system head</td>

<td>Not strong enough for big lenses, simple ball + pan ergonomics</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Giottos 1301-652</td>

<td>6/10</td>

<td>5/10</td>

<td>6/10</td>

<td>7/10</td>

<td>Respectable and cheap ball head</td>

<td>Not strong enough for very big lenses, proprietary clamp</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Manfrotto 393<br />(Gimbal fork head)</td>

<td>7/10</td>

<td>9/10</td>

<td>2/10</td>

<td>5/10</td>

<td>Solid and cheap gimbal head, great on supertelephotos</td>

<td>Limited adjustability, very bulky and heavy</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<th colspan="7" align="center">Tripods with integrated heads</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Tamrac ZipShot<br />(integrated pan/tilt head)</td>

<td>3/10</td>

<td>3/10</td>

<td>9/10</td>

<td>9/10</td>

<td>Full(ish) height tripod that fits in a bag, holds a DSLR (just)</td>

<td>Barely holds smallish lenses, budget head, no QR, fixed height</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Velbon VTP-777<br />(integrated pan/tilt head)</td>

<td>4/10</td>

<td>2/10</td>

<td>9/10</td>

<td>9/10</td>

<td>Full(ish) adjustable height tripod that fits in a small bag, just holds a light DSLR</td>

<td>Barely holds a DSLR at all, very budget head, no QR</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Joby Gorillapod</td>

<td>4/10</td>

<td>3/10</td>

<td>8/10</td>

<td>8/10</td>

<td>Light, portable, take photos wherever there's a tree or street lamp</td>

<td>Struggles to hold a pro-spec SLR</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<th colspan="7" align="center">Tripods</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>RRS TVC-34L</td>

<td>8</td>

<td>10</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>3</td>

<td>Very solid, light, pretty, staff very helpful on the phone</td>

<td>Very conventional tripod (vs, say, Neotec), extortionate, hard to get</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Manfrotto 055CXPro3</td>

<td>7</td>

<td>7</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>5</td>

<td>More solid than non-CX version, centre column flexible, mid-price</td>

<td>Centre column flexes, not that tall, not in the 34L's class</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>Joby Gorillapod Focus</td>

<td>5</td>

<td>4</td>

<td>6</td>

<td>5</td>

<td>The right tool for a specific job, much more robust than the original</td>

<td>A bit pricey and heavy for a gadget, still not that solid, fiddly</td>

</tr>

</table><div></div>

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>Andrew,<br>

Here are the photos I discussed. First is clearance over the panning base lever. This is a Sunwayfoto clamp.</p><div></div>

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>Again with the P0, you asked about the ring. I've never nudged the lever out of place. I don't think you need to worry about it.</p><div></div>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Thanks, Laura. That certainly shows the finger clearance on the panning clamp, which was my big worry; it probably also tells me that there's no problem reaching the locking ring even if there's a big camera base on the top (I was worried about large format field cameras), so those were some very concise photos! I have to say it looks a little bigger than I'd imagined - and the stalk is perhaps a bit longer, which might make me nervous about stability, though I guess it's necessary for hand clearance with a large tripod plate. Still, it's not intended to be a high-capacity head, so it certainly seems worth a look when I next have money to burn.<br />

<br />

Anyone got any more obscure heads to share? (P1? Burzynski? A-S cubes, although they seem almost common on some forums around here?)</p>

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>Andrew,<br>

The "stalk" is less than 3cm high, not as long as it appears. Here's what it looks like bent over. The head is pretty compact. Same with the P1, it's a bit larger. </p><div></div>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>The P0's column still appreciably longer (and possibly thinner?) than the one on the RS-3, which is really stubby, but the head proper is wider, presumably because of the gearing arrangement, so it has to be a long stem in order to get to 90 degrees. The P1 column looks shorter, but then it doesn't have to flip on its side. Having said that, having the column below the ball at least means you're balancing everything on the column rather than hanging things off the end of it, so it's probably <i>slightly</i> more stable than the conventional arrangement (depending on how much head there is above the ball).<br />

<br />

But then, as I said, this isn't an "ultimate stability" head, so I'm not too fussed.</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>A belated disclaimer: I've had another experiment with my RS-3, and I want to be clear that, at least with the Arca clamp attached the way I did it, there <i>is</i> a tiny amount of sag when tightening the ball on an RS-3 with a large lens attached - I was experimenting with my D800 and RRS L plate, with a 150mm Sigma macro hanging off the front (though the right thing to do would be to use the lens collar instead). At least, I think the problem is with the RS-3 and not my 055CXPro3, though it's a bit hard to tell. The sag is less than I experienced with my Giottos - standing the tripod on carpet makes more of a difference - and the d4 won't have this problem because you can change position while the head is already holding the weight of the camera (so even if it flexes, it's already flexed when you align it), but I don't want to claim the RS-3 is absolutely perfect. I've not had the honour of trying the expensive high-end heads to see whether they're better. The RS-3 doesn't move any farther, though - there's no slip, the sag is just something in my system bending slightly as it takes up the weight.<br />

<br />

Just making sure that I'm not over-selling this bit of kit while enthusing about it!</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Follow-up to that disclaimer: I put my same test set-up (150mm Sigma, D800 supported by the L-plate) on an Arca-Swiss Z1 over the weekend, having found a generous and sympathetic store employee (thank you, Wex Photographic). There was still some sag when the ball took the weight - whether it was the tripod, my camera flexing, or what I couldn't say. There may have been slightly less than with my RS-3, or it may just be that I was trying it on a more stable floor, but a high-end head isn't free from this either; apparently my RS-3 isn't as disadvantaged as I thought. Neither sags very much (and I should have been using the lens foot anyway), but if you care about precise alignment, it would appear that the d4 is still the right tool for the job (or a Manfrotto 405, or similar). For the record, the Z1 dwarfs the RS-3 - I did a double-take, assuming it was a Z1g, but it wasn't - and the flip lock shredded my fingernails, so I may have been badly disposed towards it. At least it didn't bite me, unlike the last Gitzo I tried.<br />

<br />

In other news, the Velbon Ultra REXi L was much more stable than I expected, and I like the quick leg lock system. Something in that line might be my new travel tripod...</p>