Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-06-28)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 22 June 2019 45

Ballheads

Byfarthe

mostpopular

typeof tripod

head,thesewin

onlightweightand

speedof use,but

canbedifficult

toadjustreally

precisely.The

besthavean

independently

lockablepanning

base,anda friction

controltoadjustthedrag

ontheballmovement.

Sirui’sK-Xseriesheadsare

particularlyfineexamples,

featuringa well-designedfrictioncontrol,

ArcaSwiss-typequickreleaseandmultiple

bubblelevels.Pricesrangefromaround

£100forthesmallestK-10Xto£160for

thetop-of-the-rangeK-40X.Vanguard’s

AltaBHrangeis a greatbudgetalternative,

at £50fortheBH-100 to £90 for the

larger BH-300.

Photographictripodheadscomeinfourmaintypes.

Here’s a summary of the strengths and uses of each

Tripod heads

Toptipsfor

tripoduse

1

Extendthecentrecolumnaslittle as

possibleformaximumrigidity.

2

Onunevenground,adjustthelowest,

thinnest leg sections to ensure the tripod

is level.

3

Hanga bagoffthecentrecolumn hook

tohelpdampenvibrations.

4

Makesureallcontrolsarelockeddown

completelytightbeforeshooting.

5

Usea remoterelease to fi re the

camera’sshutter.

6

In portraitformat,useanL-bracketto

keep the camera directly above the head.

Macrosliders

Thesearen’theadsassuch,butadd-on

accessoriesthatallowthecamera’sposition

tobeadjustedpreciselyformacro

photography,whereevensub-millimetre

movementscanvisiblychangethe

compositionandfocus.TheVelbonSuper

MagSlider(£90)is quitebulky,butprovides

smoothandpreciseadjustmentboth

forwardsandbackwardsforfocusing,and

sidetosidefortweakingtheimageframing.If

youcanlivewithoutthelatter,theManfrotto

454 MicroPositioningPlate(£89)is a more

compact option for macro focus adjustment.

Gimbals

If youtryusinglargetelephotolensesona

tripod,you’llquicklyfindthatconventional

headsaren’treallysuitableforholdingthem

securely.Thisis wheregimbalheadscomein.

Bysuspendingthelensfromabove,they

providea stablesolutionwitheventhe

heaviestof lenses.Ourpickof theclassis

theGitzoFluidGimbalHead(£359),which

combinessmoothfluidmovementat slow

rotationspeedswithfree movement for

fasteradjustments.

The£259

BenroGH2

represents

a worthy

budget option.

Gearedheads

Forphotographerswhodemandprecise

controlof composition,perhapsfor

architecturalormacrowork,a geared

headcanbea godsend.Untilrecently,

Manfrottodominatedthissector,asidefrom

somesuper-expensiveoptionsfromArca

Swiss.ButnowBenrohasleapfroggedinto

theleadwithits£179GD3WH,a relatively

lightweightandportableyetprecisegeared

headthatincorporatesanArcaSwiss-type

quickrelease.Thoseona tighterbudget

shouldconsiderthe£139Manfrotto

XPRO 3-Way gearedhead,although

it’smoreplasticky

anduses

Manfrotto’sRC2

camera plate.

3-wayheads

The3-way,orpan-and-tilttypeof head,

is almostubiquitousoncheapaluminium-

and-plastictripods,butgetsprogressively

lesspopularaspricesrise.It hasthebig

advantageof givingindependentcontrolover

thethreeaxesof cameramovement,butthe

penaltyliesin additionalsizeandweight.Asa

result,3-wayheadsaregenerallybest

suitedforstudiouse.Havingthreelevers

stickingoutin differentdirectionsalso

restrictsportability,andforthisreasonwelike

Manfrotto’sX-PRO3-wayhead(£94)

andthesmaller804RC2MarkII (£69),

bothof whichfeaturefield-friendly

retractable handles.

Sirui’sK-10Xis

anexcellent

lightweight

ball head

3-wayheads
likethis
ManfrottoX-Pro
areidealfor
studio work

Gitzo’sgimbal

headmakes

workingwith

largetelephoto

lenses a breeze Consider an L-plate for portait-format shooting

TheVelbonSuperMag

Sliderallowsprecise

focus adjustment

TheBenro

GD3HWgives

precise3-axis

adjustment