Hi. There's a good and useful primer for Tripods in this forum. Is there anything similar for heads either here or elsewhere please? I'm replacing a pretty old Velbon PH-157Q which I believe is pan and tilt, but I would like to understand what other options are available. Thanks.
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Head Design (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Tiptonian
- Start date
You have pan-tilt heads like yours, ball heads, gimbals and video fluid heads.
Ball heads are not really suited to spotting scopes. Fluid heads allow controlled pan with adjustable drag, and gimbals when set properly allow you to move even heavy lenses effortlessly.
Ball heads are not really suited to spotting scopes. Fluid heads allow controlled pan with adjustable drag, and gimbals when set properly allow you to move even heavy lenses effortlessly.
Hi,
best budget option for a full size scope is the 500AH - if you can live with custom plates. There is a well regarded Gitzo fluid head for smaller scopes with arca swiss compatible plates, but $$$...
In general you want a fluid head with counterbalance or a gimbal, everything else is less than ideal.
Joachim
best budget option for a full size scope is the 500AH - if you can live with custom plates. There is a well regarded Gitzo fluid head for smaller scopes with arca swiss compatible plates, but $$$...
In general you want a fluid head with counterbalance or a gimbal, everything else is less than ideal.
Joachim
Perhaps I could expand a little.
Tripod heads, having relatively compact dimensions, are less likely to have a negative effect on stability than the tripod itself. Compatibility between different manufacturers of head and tripod is a non-issue as 3/8"x16 threads are almost universal.
There are three possible movements, pan, tilt and lateral tilt, although some specific video heads also incorporate a levelling function.
Simple tilt heads such as the Manfrotto 234 and Sirui L-10 are the ideal solution for a monopod as the panorama function is not required and lateral tilt would just be an annoyance.
Three-way heads are only justified for photography where one might need the lateral tilt function, and are less useful for scopes and binoculars as the smoothness of motions is often inferior to video heads.
Ball heads can be lightweight with a high load capacity but here again have the unwanted lateral tilt. There are some ball heads where this can be locked out but users here on Birdforum were not that satisfied.
Gimbal heads offer the possibility of placing the centre of gravity in the tilt axis but are potentially less stable than other heads and would be cumbersome in the field.
That leaves us with two-way video heads. The extremely expensive offerings from the likes of Sachtler and Vinten with high load capacity and precise counterbalance are not necessary for birding scopes, where the maximum load would be aroung 3,5 kg for a BTX 115. In addition to those mentioned by Joachim there are suitable heads from Berlebach, Leofoto and Sirui. It's an advantage if the head has a counterbalance function and if it will accept long quick-release plates to achieve good balance in the horizontal without too much tilt friction.
If you want to take an occasional look at the stars with your scope, then the head should allow a 90° tilt.
Lastly, although I prefer the Arca Swiss QR system, it's advisable to stick with one manufacturer as there can be issues with compatibility and safety retention.
John
Tripod heads, having relatively compact dimensions, are less likely to have a negative effect on stability than the tripod itself. Compatibility between different manufacturers of head and tripod is a non-issue as 3/8"x16 threads are almost universal.
There are three possible movements, pan, tilt and lateral tilt, although some specific video heads also incorporate a levelling function.
Simple tilt heads such as the Manfrotto 234 and Sirui L-10 are the ideal solution for a monopod as the panorama function is not required and lateral tilt would just be an annoyance.
Three-way heads are only justified for photography where one might need the lateral tilt function, and are less useful for scopes and binoculars as the smoothness of motions is often inferior to video heads.
Ball heads can be lightweight with a high load capacity but here again have the unwanted lateral tilt. There are some ball heads where this can be locked out but users here on Birdforum were not that satisfied.
Gimbal heads offer the possibility of placing the centre of gravity in the tilt axis but are potentially less stable than other heads and would be cumbersome in the field.
That leaves us with two-way video heads. The extremely expensive offerings from the likes of Sachtler and Vinten with high load capacity and precise counterbalance are not necessary for birding scopes, where the maximum load would be aroung 3,5 kg for a BTX 115. In addition to those mentioned by Joachim there are suitable heads from Berlebach, Leofoto and Sirui. It's an advantage if the head has a counterbalance function and if it will accept long quick-release plates to achieve good balance in the horizontal without too much tilt friction.
If you want to take an occasional look at the stars with your scope, then the head should allow a 90° tilt.
Lastly, although I prefer the Arca Swiss QR system, it's advisable to stick with one manufacturer as there can be issues with compatibility and safety retention.
John
Tiptonian,
Your PH-157Q head uses the pan/tilt bar to lock both the pan and the tilt. It doesn't look like there is any fluid friction in the pan or the tilt. I find these a pain to use and much prefer a fluid, "video" head with separate pan and tilt locks and adjustable friction/drag. I suggest you try one of those. Manfrotto, Velbon and Slik and others all make them.
I've been looking at the websites for some of the suggested manufacturers and I am surprised to see that none of them (so far) seem to have a head with the type of pan and tilt handle which locks the scope with a twist of the handle that my old PH-157Q has. I use one hand to point and lock the scope and the other to tweak the focus at the same time. To me, in principle, it seems a retrogade step to have to point and lock the scope separately. Am I missing something here?
I don't think you are missing anything, but photography is the major market for tripods and heads,. That sets the priorities on positioning precision rather than speed and convenience. The Ph-157Q is a very long lived head because it is robust, cheap and very convenient to use for birders.
Photo and videographers object to its grabby panning and relative inflexibility, both non issues for most birders.
