Manfrotto 701RC2- any lighter / better? Reviews? (1 Viewer)

[wildlifeweb]

Having just bought a nice Gitzo carbon tripod with a ballhead for my new camera I wanted to also get a high-quality pand-and-tilt head so I can use the same tripod with my scope, which is a Kowa TSN823 (angled).
A friend suggested the Manfrotto 701RC2, which weighs in at 800g. As the tripod itself only weighs 1.4kg this still seems a might heavy- is it possible to get a good quality pan and tilt head that is lighter than this? Or is this just a great head?
For academic sake lets assume that money is no object! What is the best / lightest available?

 

[SteveClifton]

Why not go the whole hog and get the gitzo 2380?

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/?/binsandscopes/tripods/gitzo.html&GCID=S18120x002&KEYWORD=gitzo%20head&gclid=COqR5eyT2pECFQ5HQwodzhdxeA#fl

There isn't a picture on here, but I've heard good reviews of it from others, and inevitably, from others still who didn't like it? There are one or two old threads on this head and similar lightweight heads if you look back over the last couple of years. Take the weight figures given on that link with a pinch of salt! I think it's actually about 500g.

Personally I have one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Velbon-FHD-51Q-3-Way-Fluid-Head/dp/B000HGE2L0

(weight: about 600g)I bought it on offer for £80 from Cley Spy in Norfolk a couple of years ago, which compared to the Manfrotto is a bit steep! but still cheap compared to the Gitzo (I know you said if money wasn't an object...).

Personally I quite like it, but have heard from at least 2 people on here that it has 'durability issues'. I don't carry my scope around on it, but perhaps this is the source of those problems.

To be honest, I have owned other lightweight heads, including the Manfrotto 390RC2 (c.1/2kg) and 701RC2(good, but I never got on with it), but always keep coming back to my trusty Manfrotto 128 (about 1kg, though the newest versions of this are around 7-800g).

If lightest weight is your main aim, then either the Velbon or Gitzo have to be worth a look. With a big scope like yours, then a bigger head is going to be more stable, but the ability of both of these to balance the weight with sliding plates will help with this.

Incidentally, Velbon have just introduced an even smaller version (FHD-52Q). Have a look at it on the In-Focus website. I would reckon it will be too small for a big scope, but I have no personal experience of it.

I presume you intend to have a spare centre column for your tripod, so you can easily change the heads over?

Steve

 

[wildlifeweb]

Thanks, Steve.
You've prompted me to look at the Gitzo heads again- G2180 looks interesting, in spite of the couple of poor reviews on the forum, as does the 2380, though exceptionally huge price difference! I've used Velbon alloy heads for years but have found the spring mechanisms to be not very robust.

 

[SteveClifton]

Here's a link to one old review:

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=66280

I think I got my numbers mixed up. The 2180 is the smaller model!

Ironically, locking of the head on the Velbon is also it's weak link. It too either flops forwards or back with a scope on top when being carried around, but is fine in use.

 

[Jim M.]

Having just bought a nice Gitzo carbon tripod with a ballhead for my new camera I wanted to also get a high-quality pand-and-tilt head so I can use the same tripod with my scope, which is a Kowa TSN823 (angled).
A friend suggested the Manfrotto 701RC2, which weighs in at 800g. As the tripod itself only weighs 1.4kg this still seems a might heavy- is it possible to get a good quality pan and tilt head that is lighter than this? Or is this just a great head?
For academic sake lets assume that money is no object! What is the best / lightest available?

I have the Kowa 883, and decided to go with the very light 700RC2 on my Velbon carbon fiber tripod because of weight considerations. I feel it gives me a very lightweight and portable set up. Though it is a lightweight head, others have also reported good success with it with fairly heavy scopes. (I believe your scope is about the same weight as mine). I think a few posters had some negative experiences with it (e.g. sticking while trying to pan), but it has worked fine for me the few months I have owned it.

The review of the Gitzo head that Steve linked to was actually written by my brother. He digiscopes and now uses the 701RC2 with his Swaro 65 mm because of the durability problems he had with the Gitzo head. I think if you plan to do a lot of digiscoping you might want to consider the heavier head for stability purposes. But otherwise I personally would give the lighter head a try. The lighter head should also improve balance if you carry the scope on your tripod and rest the scope and tripod on your shoulder when carrying it in the field.

My two cents,
Jim

 

[KorHaan]

FWIW: I use the G2180 on Velbon Pro Sherpa 530 CF legs, and it's the best combination I've had so far for my Zeiss 65 scope. I've owned Manfrotto legs and heads in the past. The carbon fibre Manfrotto I had was rubbish, bits and pieces coming off ( including one whole leg ), the lightweight Manfrotto heads 700 and 701 were not durable, knobs breaking off, screws turning numb. The only Manfrotto head that is any good is the 128 RC ( though the security locking pin turned numb ), and the 055 legs I found to be indestructible and very sturdy. But too heavy also, that's why I have the aforementioned combination now.

Regards, Ronald