I have been using the Leofoto VH30-R for more than a year. I primary shoot landscapes and have been in rain and close to salty water quite often. I do not experience the flaws you have with yours. Before buying the Leofoto I looked that Acratec. While that is a very good head, I find it way to expensive especially here in Europe (added customs and VAT costs). I personally can recommend the Leofoto head (and their tripods too for that matter).
I’m also very happy with my Leofoto VH30-R! No issues so far. Looked at the very nice Acratech but it was totally out of range for me at triple the price vs the Leofoto…
Thanks for sharing your experiences guys. I will pin this comment for others to see. I was surprised too as I don't shoot near the coast that much to be honest!
My Leofoto VH30-R still works flawlessly as well. Perhaps the build-quality is uneven with this product. I'm very happy with it still! But I do tend to keep it covered with a small pouch when in transport. Perhaps that helps?
Every time one of your videos shows up in my search results, and it's often, I watch it with immense sadness, AND I learn something. We never know when it's our time. I wish you good luck and clear skies, Alyn.
I've used an Acratech Pano head for about 12 years. They were originally designed to support big, 'long lenses' (as they were known), but I figured out that with a leveling base and nodal rail they could do anything a big, cumbersome pano rig could do. Since then I have found that (as a landscape photographer) the biggest advantage is the speed and accuracy with which I can work. I am convinced I have got many (tripod) shots of fleeting light that I would otherwise have missed out on. Tips: The 'secret' to their remarkable efficiency is the bubble level location, combined with the 2 axis operation. I use a nodal rail for 'normal' shots as this helps greatly with camera / lens balance and setting up / fine adjustments. Don't forget to lock the tilt! As the tension knob can temporarily 'hold' the camera in place. The clamp screws are super quick, reliable and a pleasure to use (the result of precision engineering). I disassemble and lube the panning base from time to time. If you do buy a LLH (Long Lens Head, which does the same job), get the 'indexed' clamp so you have the option to use a rail - in the correct orientation.
I discovered the Acratech head about 4 years ago and now really never use a ballhead anymore. I use RRS tripods and leveling bases and for years now have been recommending a leveling base and 2 way head to everyone who is looking for a tripod/head combination. Always happy to see new converts. Great video!
Props to Hudson Henry for recommending this setup a while back. Move shoot Move with the Acratec pan and tilt head and a Tripod with a build in leveling base is top tier. Not to mention for general landscape work the Acratec is very nice to work with.
That was a pretty useful comparison of different types of heads. I was a tad taken aback by the “cons” of the geared head, but in context, you’re spot on. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Very, very helpful to relative noobs like us.
The Acratech pano head is on my tripod 90% of the time for Astro or general landscape work, and when I’m doing macro the Acratech Ultimate head is on my tripod. Great products, yes expensive, but very well make.
Returning seriously to the hobby after an absence of about 40 years, I have a lot of catching up to do, especially with the equipment. Thanks for sharing your setup and your experience with the various accessories. This is the clip that got me to subscribe.
I was using a ball head for astrophotography… Man, it was so painful for deep sky objects… it’s funny how I came to know about gearhead from one of your previous videos! This really helps. Thanks, Alyn for this vid :)
Have the same tripod for my architectural work and normally use the Benro geared head but looking for a low profile ballhead for a forthcoming trip to Valencia for the reasons you said about the size and bulk of the geared head. Would be interested in seeing you getting your hands on the new Polaris electric tripod head from Benro and putting it through its paces. Loving the book as well Alyn, so much information to take in but what a reference manual to have
understand. could it theoretically/principally work? maybe it's not possible because of the protective material (I don't know what it's called) on the cameras of mobile phones? anyway, I love your videos, it's so beautiful and wonderful to see the night sky captured in your photos/recordings. thank you very much for your reply and keep up the good work and good health!
Another TH-camr that uses the Acratech head for landscape is Thomas Heston, he also did a review on it a while back. Not cheap from what I remember but like you found it invaluable for his work.
I just bought a SunWayFoto GH-PROII+ which is different that the non-+ version in that it also pans at the top of the head and does have a geared fine adjustment knob. It's a big improvement over the GH-PROII (non +) version you had. So far, I've not have any shifting problems when locking down as you had with the previous model. But truth is I've only used it a few times. Time will tell how it holds up (fingers crossed)
The Sunwayfoto head in his review seems to be the plus model though. What's odd is how he complained about having the geared panning at the bottom when looking at the other geared head, an issue the Sunwayfoto head addresses, but he does not mention.
Alyn , I am greater admirer of your knowledge and presentation.From the perspective of a hobbyist if we have to approach Astrophotography every gear is astronomically priced.First the Tripod then the head then the camera then the lens then the Mount then the accessories like USB powered band to keep warm then the Computer/laptop etc.I wish you gave some stuff which we can use on a tripod with our basic DSLR to capture night sky objects. You forgot to mention the price of Acrateck head.It costs about £800. Please do consider amateur photographers who are on a tight budget but still want to get nice photos of the night sky objects.
I was looking into 2-way pan/tilt heafs, and the one that Sirui makes is also very good. There's a decent amount of friction on the tilt and my 150-600 works almost as well as a gimbal. I also paid less than $150 USD for it
Geared heads all the way, I prefer the Sunwayfoto V2 over the Benro. The best are from Cambo, but they are soooo expensive. In between, the Rogeti is very nice looking and compact.
I swapped from a ball head to the Acratech Panoramic Head two years ago after a run of bad luck with ball heads. I usually take decent enough care of my equipment....well, for a landscape photographer anyway. All my ballheads began to stick horrendously after being locked down for more than a few seconds, so I couldn't make small adjustments after the fact without having to break the ball free. I swapped to a FLM Tripod and put a leveling base on, I couldn't go back to a traditional ball after this, though I have been looking at wildlife gimbals for my other projects.
I really like the Acratech heads. I ran into one of the founders in Mammoth Lakes, CA, and got to inspect the one he had. I loved it! How do you do panoramas with a tracker? Or do you stack or do you just stitch single shots? My setup is similar to yours, but I attach a tracker to a video head on a Leofoto tripod and a leveling plate. The up side is it is counter balanced to offset the weight of the tracker, or a large lens. The down side is it does not have latitude markings. I then use a ball head on top of the tracker to align the composition I want.
Nice video!There are a few nodal rails available for very little money which lets u move the cam back according to your lens length. Made for panorama shooting.
Great video, as always. Clarified my thoughts and just ordered leveling head for my 42-year-old Slik video tripod (hubby figured out how to get the old video head off that I have been trying to work with). Thank you for your great info that you share with us
Nice comprehensive overview, Alyn. I've been using that same ArcaTech set-up for about 4 years now for astro but with the addition of their leveling base (plus a nodal rail for pano's). They are a quality family-run company and nice folks to deal with. Well engineered. Each piece is hand-tooled. Build quality is superb. A little weighty, but collectively very versatile and virtually indestructible. Worth the extra $. And I love their lever-lock Swiss-Arca plates.
The fit and finish of Acratech products is top notch. I've been using their pano head for years after getting frustrated shooting a blood moon with a RRS BH55 which allowed lens creep when adjusting.
I've gone for the pan/tilt head too, I went for the Leofoto, as I wanted the option to do more incrimental degrees rather than the 90 incrim. from the Arcatech, so your comments were interesting. My current setup is the: levelling base from Leofoto LS-284CEX with the shorter legs from LS-284C (so it fits in my Thinktank Airport Roller Derby) + Novoflex PANORAMA Q=48 + Leofoto VH-30 (with a rotating head cannibalised from another Leofoto ballhead, VH-30R was too hard to find) +/- Rogeti L bracket with Sony A7IV (Spencer Camera, full spectrum mod) &/or A7RIII (foreground pano) and Fornax Lightrack II tracker.
My next tripod head is going to be the Acratech panoramic head, I'm not sure whether I want the standard or level lock on the top. Acratech's GPX ball head, is a lot more expensive but handles up to 50 pounds unlike the Panoramic and long lens heads which handle up to 25 lbs. Neither of them are particularly compact though for airline travel.
Ive been using the Long Lens Head from Acrytech for several years (along with leveling base)..no turning back now! But I'd love to see someone take on this market (namely WA astro or Astro...and general landscapers) and make a more compact version of the same head, the current version is excellent in all its specs (weight, strength, and function) I'd just like a bit less bulk...like a 2/3rds version would be ideal. But at the end of the day Ive never otherwised wished for another ballhead. (I also have the Leofoto version too...but not as happy with it compared to the Acrytech).
While this looks like the dream setup, I have found another that works brilliantly… and actually has some features the Acratech does not for about 1/4 the price. The Sunwaufoto dd64si indexed rotator with the Desmond DMH-2X1 Monopod Tilt Head. I do realize it doesn’t have the build quality of the Acratech… but for someone who is an amateur and doesn’t have the budget… it works brilliantly. I also find a levelling head useless when used with a 2-way head. As it I very simple to get a perfectly level tripod using the levelling sensor open the camera and a simple technique that ensures perfectly level panning every time. And reduces the weight for long hikes.
I quit using ball heads after using the Acratech head you have there, and also a Wimberley gimbal. I'll never go back! And actually, the Wimberley does what the Acratech does, only better. The Acratech pan is either on or off, no friction adjust. The Wimberley allows nice panning friction control. Also, the Wimberley is better in tilt because once you balance it, your rig won't budge at any tilt angle even if you don't lock it or have no friction at all in tilt! It just holds its position. With the Acratech you have to put some friction in the tilt to keep the rig from tipping forward. I don't just use the Wimberley for long glass, either. I put primes, camcorders, point and shoots, binoculars, spotting scopes, everything on that Wimberley. If you are hiking up a mountain, maybe you want the Acratech with a leveling base or leveling tripod. But if you don't have far to lug the Wimberley, it's the way to go. Either will work for nice panos. I'm glad to have both.
If the tripod below the head isn't leveled, and you rotate from the base of the head, the rotation will be skewed. If you use a geared head with a rotating base on top you don't need to level the tripod, nor do you need a leveling base. By leveling the top platform of a geared head, anything you attach to it will be leveled. Rotating from a base on top of a gear head with a leveled top platform solves the skewed rotation problem. (And, as Alyn importantly points out, it gives you options for mounting on top, because some devices require transverse mounting - like a camera in an L-bracket - and others - like long lenses - require mounting parallel to the LOS.) I use a Benro tripod with a Benro geared head, with a RRS rotating mount on top. I shoot a lot of panos and never worry about the tripod. I just level the top of the geared head (including the rotating platform, to which my camera or lens is attached), and I'm ready to go. I turn the head so it is pointing in the general direction of my subject and then leave it. I then level the top of the head using the roll and elevation controls. With leveling complete, I use only the tripod head's elevation control and the rotating head to work my subject. (Using the tripod head's roll or rotation control after leveling will take the top of the head out of level.)
I'd love to hear you compare a few different tripod brands, particularly because I know you're a Benro guy... not to say Benro isn't making great tripods, but because there's probably some bias there, no? I'm currently using the iFootage TC7 and love it. It seems to have pretty much the same features as the Benro you're using. In some ways the Benro seems superior... like the bowl head locking mechanism and wieght/sandbag hook. The only negative I have about these tripods is the limited leg positions. I'd love a couple more so that I can widen the legs just a little more. Also, while they're a little bit heavier, I find the iFootage Komodo video heads to be great for photography. I don't know why more people don't talk about using these lightweight video heads. They work for panning and tilting without the issues of a ball head.
Yep this Benro tripod is the Bees Knees, but then I'm only comparing it against my only other tripod which is a 20 year-old Manfrotto metal beast. The video levelling head is just sublime to accompany my Manfrotto video fluid head. Not great for astro work but, with your book, I'm getting there.😀
I have both the Benro geared head and the Leofoto vh-30r (looked at the acrotech but was just too expensive). When tracking I generally end up mounting the tracker on the geared head. I polar align with compass and clino (no polaris down under) so I love the fine tuning it allows. This leaves me with a z mount and ball head on top of the tracker. Ideally I'd love another benro geared head instead of the ball head - so much easier for panos in the dark once you know how many turns of the geared knobs for required overlap (horizontal and vertical) and small tilt adjustments to keep things level as tracker rotates.
Excellent survey! I've been a fan of geared heads for several years, especially the Benro GD3WH. I love everything about it except the weight. I've tried both Sunwayphoto geared heads and the Manfrotto, but I keep returning to the Benro.
Very interesting video! As a landscape and product photographer, I've been using Leofoto products for a few years (LN-254CT, NB-34, LS-365C, LH-40), and find their build quality to be up there with "the big boys", i.e., Gitzo, RRS, etc.). I don't often shoot near salt water, so have not experienced the issues you have, but I think that they would perform well if maintained. I too, considered the Acratech head for panos, but since I don't do them often enough to justify that particular head, I find that the Leofoto LS-365 tripod (no center column) plus the LH-40 ball head combo is supremely solid and robust (max payload 44 lbs). Once locked down, nothing moves at all...Looking foward to testing it with an eventual Nikkor 180-600 f/5.6-6.3 telephoto. Thanks again!
Great and useful advice Alyn That last combo you showed looks perfect. I generally manage with my MSM tracker on a V plate and the camera on a Z plate and ballhead for wide angle images, they work great.
Another fantastic video Alyn. Very informative and made for some additional decision making for myself as I would like to upgrade from my current setup. Thankyou.
Been there, done that. Using the Manfrotto 500AH? fluid/video head. Great for landscape but shoot wildlife & keeps the camera/lens from flopping/smashing down if I forget to tighten it when walking away from.. A bit heavy for long hikes. Probably wouldn't want it for a multiday hike. Acratek also has the long lens head simular to the Pano head but no degree markings on the tilt. Acratek probably has the best quality to weight in the business. Anyway, I was checking out your gear list & wondering. Do you still think that 24mp sensor is the sweet spot for astro/night photography, & have you tried any of Sony's higher mp cameras for night/astro? Thanks for any replies.
Guess what ! I encountered your MSM plate a few weeks ago to try finding an alternative way to lighten up my astro gear, although I haven't bought it due to my limited budget, and recently I wanted to get a new tripod, and I came over the idea of a leveling base , and so coincidentally the tripod I searched all over the internet and finally decided to go with is exactly the one u are suggesting ! I guess we really have some similar taste 😂
Been using that Acratech head for about 6 years now, it's as you say a pleasure to work with Alyn But what you say about the top plate, mine I can set in 45° steps
Awesome video as always. Thanks for the info and comparisons Love that Arcatech head, but it’s just out of an (amateur) price range. So I lug my bulky Benro geared head around. The more affordable options are the Leofoto, which some have good success with and others not. Seems to be par for the course with off-shore manufacturing where sometimes the alloy is not 100% the same batch to batch. I see it in other industrial stainless steel applications where for some there’s no rusting and others report rust spots on the same equipment from the same manufacturer. The only other one that allows to rotate the top is the SunwayFoto DT-03R, which is even cheaper than the Leofoto. Just thought I’d share for those on a more restricted budget.
This was my predicament years ago when I committed to getting the Acratech head (plus leveling base). Easily the best photo gear purchase I have ever made! [I do landscapes, perhaps 75% from a tripod. What makes the Acratech sooo good is it is how quick and reliable it is to get accurate compositions - right down to how quick the clamp screw works. it's an awesome bit of kit].
@@simonmaney3438 Just came back from shooting some nightscapes and landscapes in Big Bend National Park and my elevation gradation "sticker" came off my Benro geared head in the middle of a shoot 😒 I'm going to try to level it all out perfectly and re-attach it with superglue or something. But if it happens again, I may just indeed bite the bullet for the acratech.
I'd love to get one of those "lens collar-type" mounts for my camera but I didn't see them on the Silence Corner web site. I hope they are available in the near future.
MPB in the USA do not offer a pick up service for sellers in Australia. I had to post my gear to New York (at my expense) for them to assess. I had issues with payment also as they require an IBAN (International Bank Account Number) to enable payment. Australia does not use this system. I did however get paid by a bank transfer after a lot of negotiations by email. Good company but problematic for an Australian seller.
I'm just wondering if you've ever tried the Benro Polaris head? I've never used it myself and probably will not spend money on it but I was just curious if you've used it and what you think of it for astro!
Thanks for again an interesting video. Would you please care to explain what you mean by "no need for super precise alignment of the tracker during wide angle astrophotography ? It seems perhaps I was unnessecarily redoing the precision of the alignment between shots (if sometimes waiting for various reasons between shots) by removing the ensemble of slider-ballhead-camera-cable from the tracker unit to replace the polar star at the exact spot indicated for the scope ("cross in graded circle")... Thank you. Do you have a particular video on the topic, I'd be interested viewing it. Thanks again
Not a fan of the laser alignment, to be honest! Laser pointers ruin timelapses for everyone around you while one could have just looked through the polar scope. Hope that nobody gets the idea to use this on La Palma... btw: Laser pointer usage is forbidden there above 1400m on the rim of the caldera.
Thanks Alyn! Will you be updating the gear page on your website? Also, did you look at the Arca Swiss C1 Cube Geared Head? That looks pretty amazing. The price is pretty steep, but it looks to be the most compact out of the non-ball head options.
Really nice. Not sure everyone realizes the completness of Your informations - it's not just smooth basic info as it seems :-) Some many unseemingly details :-) Except you chose to not mention possible benefit to add a rail (-perhaps with a slidable- quick release clamp) to the kit for nodal point integration. I think the utility of this two-axis device from Arcateck comes across really well. I'd mention that they have monoball options that are designed to be mounted eithther way : Pano at bottom, or on top if we accept the ball to be reduced to act as leveler only. But that was not Your point, but show Your solution, working great for multy-row especially for far subjects. (Myself I like available -contested- center-collums) What Your system however cannot offer is the dual nodal that a gimbal-like setup-with-aditional-nodal-rails does (wich for some might mean to not need an L-bracket mounted on the camera itself) ..since tilt up and down the camera throws of the lens front to back.
I'm happy still using the Benro geared head but I do agree it's a bit bulky to pack, and it would be better if my tripod had a levelling base. Do you notice a stability improvement for astro without a centre column?
Did you try a Benro Polaris? Does panoramic shots and Star tracking (no polar alignment needed). It might be worth a look. I have not been able to get a really long single exposure with 200mm, but that may be on me. I can get shorter exposures though.
Great video Alyn! In panning I know that one can use a nodal point slider to eliminate parallax. But isn't that only when you are panning level and looking straight ahead? If you are pointing at an angle upwards, or if you are panning a second row of photos, how do you deal with the nodal point movement as it would fall behind the tripod head? thanks!
every lens has a different no parallax point (NPP). This head was not designed for no parallax, rather the rotating mount I use on my camera allows me to bring the NPP over the centre of the head or at least closer
Great video of the different heads Alyn, I really appreciated it. I am also reading your excellent book. I am a bit slow at reading but going through it from cover to cover slowing so I don't miss anything. On pages 117 & 118 I feel that the diagrams are mixed up. On page 117 both chart should be Invariant, and on page 118 they should both be Variant. Is that correct?
So, I have a tripod, leveling base and fluid head. I’m using the sky watcher drive for the upcoming eclipse. Do I put the sky watcher right on top of the leveling head and the fluid mount between drive and camera? Paul
Great overview and review! I am looking for a solution for my telephoto landscape photography. I would love that Benro geared head, but it only supports 12 pounds. My 400 2.8 is just about twelve pounds by itself. Once I had a TC and a body with grip, I'm closer to 16 pounds. I can't find anything that supports more than 12 pounds until I get into the $1000+ Arca Swiss D4 and Cube. :(
Hi, Alyn. What can you recommend as a 2nd ballhead...I'm using move shoot move...looking to replace the ballhead attached to my MsM as it wiggles and I'm afraid of any accidents that might happen. Thank you
Hey Alyn- I bought a set of your signature Z and V brackets. I paired them up with a small pano base. I mounted a Rokinon 35mm and ZWO 2600 camera on them. They were very wobbly and sometimes moved under the weight of the camera. Any tips or did I waste my money?
New subscriber to your channel, you've got some really interesting videos. Just wondering if you still use the tortoise today? I'm seriously considering one over the thinner leg travel tripods out there.
Hy Alin,thanks for your demonstration . Have you any experience with head Benro Polaris Astro? I think it is good product. i have it a few days. i am getting to know him.
Nice, they have a nice ball head that acratech gxp but it's expensive! There was also that aspin ballhead. I am looking for a solid lightweight ball head that moves freely for mirrorless, any recommendations?
Another great review vid Alyn and much appreciated. Acratech Head - have you found that you can do precise PA when mounting the Star Adventurer with Telephoto Lens?
Also I haven't used it to do telephoto astro but I'd say it would be fine so long as you have a steady hand. Usually with such devices the periodic error is more of an issue than the PA
The only real advantage of carbon tripods is the significant reduction in weight. I ditched my aluminium tripods and monopods years ago, transitioning to carbon because of that. Rigidity on a model by model base is comparable, that is why aluminium weighs more. A lot more.
Hello,Mr.Wallace! I'm living in Romania,a hungarian and very nice and informative video about the amazing night sky. From a mobile phone point of view, I would like to ask if the hydrogen filter can also be used for mobile phones, that is, is it possible to achieve the effect of highlighting nebulae and giving real color to the stars and planets? Thank you in advance for your reply and good health for further beautiful and successful work! Greetings from Romania!🙏
All well as the Acratech it is one of the best and certainly the most expensive heads in the market. but you conveniently (?) forget that the Leofoto has a friction knob as well, which means the camera would not fall easy as you said for the ballheads and it is less than a 1/3 of the price... As for the "squeaky" noise your head looks that have been under heavy work (!)... I don't own any Leofoto gear except 3 spikes for my Gitzo tripod and not any kind of affiliation with them but I think you have to be a bit more careful when you review and recement any gear...
I mentioned the the two-way head I was originally using didn't have a friciton knob which is why I ended up trying the Leofoto. I was going to make this video months ago and sing praises of the Leofoto head, but in less than 6 months it rusted and started showing worrying signs of creaking and cranking. I'm just sharing my experience. Others in the comments have had a better experience with the Leofoto, so I have pinned their comments.
I bought that Benro gx30 ballhead you suggested and it’s already stripped and wobbly on the bottom pan you have any issues? Hopefully they can replace it.
Hi Alyn. Really enjoyed this. I was very tempted by the Tortoise 34CLV but the lack of bubble level on the levelling system put me off. I'm really happy with my Benro TMA48CXL coupled with the GD3WH geared head as it's a really stable set up but I wanted a lighter tripod for longer walks. Does the lack of a bubble level cause you any problems?
@@markhetherington5558 Agree Mark. I've done that on my Benro travel tripod but it feels like an oversight tbh. The new KingJoy models have a levelling base with a bubble so I'm going to check them out.
"No parallax point" ... you mention the Acratech two axis head + silent corner adapter. Is it possible to place a camera in a vertical (ie 90 degree to horizontal) and maintain the no parallax point?
Yes you can spin it 90 degrees and shoot vertical. Just to clarify it doesn't perfectly centre the NPP and it never will but it's enough that panoramas stitch with little to no issues.
Acratech do make nice but expensive heads. But nothing is perfect and it nearly 'killed my camera! I bought an Acratech GXP ball head with a nicely engineered quick release arca-swiss mount for just over £500 via Bob Rugby at one of the NEC photography shows. It's a 'skeleton' design ball so lightweight for it's size, smooth, can be used inverted as a levelling base and (at a push) will function as a gimbal head too. BUT it's essential that you torque down the ball lock sufficiently to avoid any 'sudden drop'. Of course that sounds obvious. But it's far from easy on this Acratech head. The locking knob has a plastic/rubber hand interface with a small degree of 'give'. Not the most reassuring or ergonomic I have used. It's quite easy to think you have tightened enough to hold OK. But in practice with a heavish camera/lens I have found the ball to suddenly slip and crash to it's limit of travel. This happened when locked and apparantly stable, only giving way 3-4 seconds after tightening and moving away from the camera/head for a brief moment. This has happened now on 3 separate occasions and makes me distrust it's capability and design. I have several much cheaper heads that don't have this nasty hidden tendency to just slip, unexpectedly. I still use but need to almost overcrank the locking lever to be certain of holding. First time this happened, the shock of hitting the stop momentarily compressed the QR spring, such that my camera 'popped' out of the arca-swiss mount and fell 5+ feet onto a concrete deck. The metal lens hood was crumpled (thus avoiding most of the energy) and probably saved my camera and lens from worse damage. I'm not saying it will happen with any Acratech head and maybe my exposed ball was a little dirty/dusty. I can't say with any certainty why this happens. I'm normally pretty careful and look after my kit, but accidents with this head just seem to keep happening, and for a £500+ head (now £575 special order at WEX) that just shouldn't happen. I still use the head but nowadays with a degree of extra caution not really needed with other 'well designed' kit. So, remember, you don't always get what you pay for with premium kit. Just saying!
Yes it was Bob Rigby. Rugby was a typo or possibly a predictive text 'correction'. As an update I still use the head for stills as it's pretty light for what it is, but I don't 100% trust it, so won't recommend. That said I cleaned the ball and slightly adjusted the tension screw and it appears to work better now!!? Possibly the grip wasn't smoothly hugging the ball, thus only providing friction on one small point. By micro adjusting the tension knob then possibly the locking clamp better hugged the ball, facilitating greater surface area, more friction when tightening main lock, enabling it to work properly. Anyway, whatever the reason , a slipping ball isn't very good on a premium £500+ ball head.
@@rickymcc8624 I agree, that's not great. For many years I used a Linhof b&s on a Twinshank tripod or Mnimatic studio stand, I never had problems with slipping. Acratech get very good reviews for their levelling and panoramic heads, but the occasional not so great one, and those heads too are serious money. For now I'm looking at putting an RRS nodal rail and panning clamp on a 3LT levelling head and Winston tripod. The 3LT bubble isn't very good, but the RRS one is excellent.
Hi Alyn, I bought the Acratech Leveling Base and Panorama Head. Do I need any additional adapter to mount the Star Adventurer on top of the Acratech Panoramic Head? Btw, do you also use a ZV plate in this setup or not? Thanks!
Just some quick thoughts from a noob within astro: Use more B-roll for the details you talk about, it was hard to see and understand. Although you got a nice cinematic look, it get very dark filming black gear. So I didn't finish your film, maybe I'm slow. Your plan for explaining these things are good! Hope this helps!
I played with the Sunwayfoto one time, in my opinion it's really piece of junk, the Benro is little better still far from good, even the similar price Leofoto GW-01 feels much better, the Leofoto G4 is day and night better than the Benro. I always own the Scratch two way pano head, it's pretty good as tracker base, but I still think the 3Way geared head like the Arca-Swiss D4 or the Leofoto G4 pro to be the best, I like them even better than some of those equatorial wedge bas like the one come with the Sky-Watcher Str Adventure, that wedge feels too poorly built, just big and heavy duty, but really low quality . .
I have been using the Leofoto VH30-R for more than a year. I primary shoot landscapes and have been in rain and close to salty water quite often. I do not experience the flaws you have with yours. Before buying the Leofoto I looked that Acratec. While that is a very good head, I find it way to expensive especially here in Europe (added customs and VAT costs). I personally can recommend the Leofoto head (and their tripods too for that matter).
I’m also very happy with my Leofoto VH30-R! No issues so far. Looked at the very nice Acratech but it was totally out of range for me at triple the price vs the Leofoto…
Thanks for sharing your experiences guys. I will pin this comment for others to see. I was surprised too as I don't shoot near the coast that much to be honest!
I also have the Leofoto VH30R and after only a couple of months it also shows rust, at the same part you showed. Disappointing…
Same for me
My Leofoto VH30-R still works flawlessly as well. Perhaps the build-quality is uneven with this product.
I'm very happy with it still!
But I do tend to keep it covered with a small pouch when in transport. Perhaps that helps?
Every time one of your videos shows up in my search results, and it's often, I watch it with immense sadness, AND I learn something. We never know when it's our time. I wish you good luck and clear skies, Alyn.
So sad isn’t it 😢
What a master. My master. Oh captain my captain you will be missed
It's the first video of Alyn's that I watched and I had no idea. Recquiescat in pace. What a loss.
I had no idea. How tragic.
He was such a nice, humble, helpful person. So sad he lost his life to a bloody gall bladder infection.
I've used an Acratech Pano head for about 12 years.
They were originally designed to support big, 'long lenses' (as they were known), but I figured out that with a leveling base and nodal rail they could do anything a big, cumbersome pano rig could do. Since then I have found that (as a landscape photographer) the biggest advantage is the speed and accuracy with which I can work. I am convinced I have got many (tripod) shots of fleeting light that I would otherwise have missed out on.
Tips:
The 'secret' to their remarkable efficiency is the bubble level location, combined with the 2 axis operation.
I use a nodal rail for 'normal' shots as this helps greatly with camera / lens balance and setting up / fine adjustments.
Don't forget to lock the tilt! As the tension knob can temporarily 'hold' the camera in place.
The clamp screws are super quick, reliable and a pleasure to use (the result of precision engineering).
I disassemble and lube the panning base from time to time.
If you do buy a LLH (Long Lens Head, which does the same job), get the 'indexed' clamp so you have the option to use a rail - in the correct orientation.
I discovered the Acratech head about 4 years ago and now really never use a ballhead anymore. I use RRS tripods and leveling bases and for years now have been recommending a leveling base and 2 way head to everyone who is looking for a tripod/head combination. Always happy to see new converts. Great video!
Same here. It is amazing.
Props to Hudson Henry for recommending this setup a while back. Move shoot Move with the Acratec pan and tilt head and a Tripod with a build in leveling base is top tier.
Not to mention for general landscape work the Acratec is very nice to work with.
He uses Leofoto Sparkly! Really
That was a pretty useful comparison of different types of heads. I was a tad taken aback by the “cons” of the geared head, but in context, you’re spot on. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Very, very helpful to relative noobs like us.
The Acratech pano head is on my tripod 90% of the time for Astro or general landscape work, and when I’m doing macro the Acratech Ultimate head is on my tripod. Great products, yes expensive, but very well make.
Returning seriously to the hobby after an absence of about 40 years, I have a lot of catching up to do, especially with the equipment. Thanks for sharing your setup and your experience with the various accessories.
This is the clip that got me to subscribe.
I was using a ball head for astrophotography… Man, it was so painful for deep sky objects… it’s funny how I came to know about gearhead from one of your previous videos! This really helps. Thanks, Alyn for this vid :)
Have the same tripod for my architectural work and normally use the Benro geared head but looking for a low profile ballhead for a forthcoming trip to Valencia for the reasons you said about the size and bulk of the geared head. Would be interested in seeing you getting your hands on the new Polaris electric tripod head from Benro and putting it through its paces. Loving the book as well Alyn, so much information to take in but what a reference manual to have
This is so perfect since I've been considering getting a new tripod and head after my visit to La Palma this summer. Great content as always, Alyn!
understand. could it theoretically/principally work? maybe it's not possible because of the protective material (I don't know what it's called) on the cameras of mobile phones? anyway, I love your videos, it's so beautiful and wonderful to see the night sky captured in your photos/recordings. thank you very much for your reply and keep up the good work and good health!
Another TH-camr that uses the Acratech head for landscape is Thomas Heston, he also did a review on it a while back. Not cheap from what I remember but like you found it invaluable for his work.
I just bought a SunWayFoto GH-PROII+ which is different that the non-+ version in that it also pans at the top of the head and does have a geared fine adjustment knob. It's a big improvement over the GH-PROII (non +) version you had. So far, I've not have any shifting problems when locking down as you had with the previous model. But truth is I've only used it a few times. Time will tell how it holds up (fingers crossed)
The Sunwayfoto head in his review seems to be the plus model though.
What's odd is how he complained about having the geared panning at the bottom when looking at the other geared head, an issue the Sunwayfoto head addresses, but he does not mention.
I've been using a geared head to mount my tracker, and it makes Polaris a snap to dial in super accurately. 10/10 recommend.
Alyn , I am greater admirer of your knowledge and presentation.From the perspective of a hobbyist if we have to approach Astrophotography every gear is astronomically priced.First the Tripod then the head then the camera then the lens then the Mount then the accessories like USB powered band to keep warm then the Computer/laptop etc.I wish you gave some stuff which we can use on a tripod with our basic DSLR to capture night sky objects.
You forgot to mention the price of Acrateck head.It costs about £800.
Please do consider amateur photographers who are on a tight budget but still want to get nice photos of the night sky objects.
I was looking into 2-way pan/tilt heafs, and the one that Sirui makes is also very good. There's a decent amount of friction on the tilt and my 150-600 works almost as well as a gimbal. I also paid less than $150 USD for it
Geared heads all the way, I prefer the Sunwayfoto V2 over the Benro. The best are from Cambo, but they are soooo expensive. In between, the Rogeti is very nice looking and compact.
I swapped from a ball head to the Acratech Panoramic Head two years ago after a run of bad luck with ball heads. I usually take decent enough care of my equipment....well, for a landscape photographer anyway. All my ballheads began to stick horrendously after being locked down for more than a few seconds, so I couldn't make small adjustments after the fact without having to break the ball free. I swapped to a FLM Tripod and put a leveling base on, I couldn't go back to a traditional ball after this, though I have been looking at wildlife gimbals for my other projects.
I really like the Acratech heads. I ran into one of the founders in Mammoth Lakes, CA, and got to inspect the one he had. I loved it! How do you do panoramas with a tracker? Or do you stack or do you just stitch single shots? My setup is similar to yours, but I attach a tracker to a video head on a Leofoto tripod and a leveling plate. The up side is it is counter balanced to offset the weight of the tracker, or a large lens. The down side is it does not have latitude markings. I then use a ball head on top of the tracker to align the composition I want.
Nice video!There are a few nodal rails available for very little money which lets u move the cam back according to your lens length. Made for panorama shooting.
Great video, as always. Clarified my thoughts and just ordered leveling head for my 42-year-old Slik video tripod (hubby figured out how to get the old video head off that I have been trying to work with). Thank you for your great info that you share with us
Nice comprehensive overview, Alyn. I've been using that same ArcaTech set-up for about 4 years now for astro but with the addition of their leveling base (plus a nodal rail for pano's). They are a quality family-run company and nice folks to deal with. Well engineered. Each piece is hand-tooled. Build quality is superb. A little weighty, but collectively very versatile and virtually indestructible. Worth the extra $. And I love their lever-lock Swiss-Arca plates.
The fit and finish of Acratech products is top notch. I've been using their pano head for years after getting frustrated shooting a blood moon with a RRS BH55 which allowed lens creep when adjusting.
I've gone for the pan/tilt head too, I went for the Leofoto, as I wanted the option to do more incrimental degrees rather than the 90 incrim. from the Arcatech, so your comments were interesting. My current setup is the: levelling base from Leofoto LS-284CEX with the shorter legs from LS-284C (so it fits in my Thinktank Airport Roller Derby) + Novoflex PANORAMA Q=48 + Leofoto VH-30 (with a rotating head cannibalised from another Leofoto ballhead, VH-30R was too hard to find) +/- Rogeti L bracket with Sony A7IV (Spencer Camera, full spectrum mod) &/or A7RIII (foreground pano) and Fornax Lightrack II tracker.
My next tripod head is going to be the Acratech panoramic head, I'm not sure whether I want the standard or level lock on the top. Acratech's GPX ball head, is a lot more expensive but handles up to 50 pounds unlike the Panoramic and long lens heads which handle up to 25 lbs. Neither of them are particularly compact though for airline travel.
Ive been using the Long Lens Head from Acrytech for several years (along with leveling base)..no turning back now! But I'd love to see someone take on this market (namely WA astro or Astro...and general landscapers) and make a more compact version of the same head, the current version is excellent in all its specs (weight, strength, and function) I'd just like a bit less bulk...like a 2/3rds version would be ideal. But at the end of the day Ive never otherwised wished for another ballhead. (I also have the Leofoto version too...but not as happy with it compared to the Acrytech).
I’ve been using a Manfrotto 410 for a while. Great and fast, I put a level on it. Great way to go. PS loving the book.
While this looks like the dream setup, I have found another that works brilliantly… and actually has some features the Acratech does not for about 1/4 the price. The Sunwaufoto dd64si indexed rotator with the Desmond DMH-2X1 Monopod Tilt Head. I do realize it doesn’t have the build quality of the Acratech… but for someone who is an amateur and doesn’t have the budget… it works brilliantly. I also find a levelling head useless when used with a 2-way head. As it I very simple to get a perfectly level tripod using the levelling sensor open the camera and a simple technique that ensures perfectly level panning every time. And reduces the weight for long hikes.
I quit using ball heads after using the Acratech head you have there, and also a Wimberley gimbal. I'll never go back! And actually, the Wimberley does what the Acratech does, only better. The Acratech pan is either on or off, no friction adjust. The Wimberley allows nice panning friction control. Also, the Wimberley is better in tilt because once you balance it, your rig won't budge at any tilt angle even if you don't lock it or have no friction at all in tilt! It just holds its position. With the Acratech you have to put some friction in the tilt to keep the rig from tipping forward. I don't just use the Wimberley for long glass, either. I put primes, camcorders, point and shoots, binoculars, spotting scopes, everything on that Wimberley. If you are hiking up a mountain, maybe you want the Acratech with a leveling base or leveling tripod. But if you don't have far to lug the Wimberley, it's the way to go. Either will work for nice panos. I'm glad to have both.
If the tripod below the head isn't leveled, and you rotate from the base of the head, the rotation will be skewed. If you use a geared head with a rotating base on top you don't need to level the tripod, nor do you need a leveling base. By leveling the top platform of a geared head, anything you attach to it will be leveled. Rotating from a base on top of a gear head with a leveled top platform solves the skewed rotation problem. (And, as Alyn importantly points out, it gives you options for mounting on top, because some devices require transverse mounting - like a camera in an L-bracket - and others - like long lenses - require mounting parallel to the LOS.)
I use a Benro tripod with a Benro geared head, with a RRS rotating mount on top. I shoot a lot of panos and never worry about the tripod. I just level the top of the geared head (including the rotating platform, to which my camera or lens is attached), and I'm ready to go. I turn the head so it is pointing in the general direction of my subject and then leave it. I then level the top of the head using the roll and elevation controls. With leveling complete, I use only the tripod head's elevation control and the rotating head to work my subject. (Using the tripod head's roll or rotation control after leveling will take the top of the head out of level.)
I'd love to hear you compare a few different tripod brands, particularly because I know you're a Benro guy... not to say Benro isn't making great tripods, but because there's probably some bias there, no? I'm currently using the iFootage TC7 and love it. It seems to have pretty much the same features as the Benro you're using. In some ways the Benro seems superior... like the bowl head locking mechanism and wieght/sandbag hook. The only negative I have about these tripods is the limited leg positions. I'd love a couple more so that I can widen the legs just a little more. Also, while they're a little bit heavier, I find the iFootage Komodo video heads to be great for photography. I don't know why more people don't talk about using these lightweight video heads. They work for panning and tilting without the issues of a ball head.
Yep this Benro tripod is the Bees Knees, but then I'm only comparing it against my only other tripod which is a 20 year-old Manfrotto metal beast.
The video levelling head is just sublime to accompany my Manfrotto video fluid head. Not great for astro work but, with your book, I'm getting there.😀
I have both the Benro geared head and the Leofoto vh-30r (looked at the acrotech but was just too expensive). When tracking I generally end up mounting the tracker on the geared head. I polar align with compass and clino (no polaris down under) so I love the fine tuning it allows. This leaves me with a z mount and ball head on top of the tracker. Ideally I'd love another benro geared head instead of the ball head - so much easier for panos in the dark once you know how many turns of the geared knobs for required overlap (horizontal and vertical) and small tilt adjustments to keep things level as tracker rotates.
Excellent survey! I've been a fan of geared heads for several years, especially the Benro GD3WH. I love everything about it except the weight. I've tried both Sunwayphoto geared heads and the Manfrotto, but I keep returning to the Benro.
Very interesting video! As a landscape and product photographer, I've been using Leofoto products for a few years (LN-254CT, NB-34, LS-365C, LH-40), and find their build quality to be up there with "the big boys", i.e., Gitzo, RRS, etc.). I don't often shoot near salt water, so have not experienced the issues you have, but I think that they would perform well if maintained. I too, considered the Acratech head for panos, but since I don't do them often enough to justify that particular head, I find that the Leofoto LS-365 tripod (no center column) plus the LH-40 ball head combo is supremely solid and robust (max payload 44 lbs). Once locked down, nothing moves at all...Looking foward to testing it with an eventual Nikkor 180-600 f/5.6-6.3 telephoto. Thanks again!
Great and useful advice Alyn That last combo you showed looks perfect. I generally manage with my MSM tracker on a V plate and the camera on a Z plate and ballhead for wide angle images, they work great.
What ball head do you use?
Another fantastic video Alyn. Very informative and made for some additional decision making for myself as I would like to upgrade from my current setup. Thankyou.
I literally googled this on Friday.
I like the nodal point capability.
Been there, done that. Using the Manfrotto 500AH? fluid/video head. Great for landscape but shoot wildlife & keeps the camera/lens from flopping/smashing down if I forget to tighten it when walking away from.. A bit heavy for long hikes. Probably wouldn't want it for a multiday hike. Acratek also has the long lens head simular to the Pano head but no degree markings on the tilt. Acratek probably has the best quality to weight in the business.
Anyway, I was checking out your gear list & wondering. Do you still think that 24mp sensor is the sweet spot for astro/night photography, & have you tried any of Sony's higher mp cameras for night/astro? Thanks for any replies.
Love gear review vids! Keep up all the good work man 💯
Guess what ! I encountered your MSM plate a few weeks ago to try finding an alternative way to lighten up my astro gear, although I haven't bought it due to my limited budget, and recently I wanted to get a new tripod, and I came over the idea of a leveling base , and so coincidentally the tripod I searched all over the internet and finally decided to go with is exactly the one u are suggesting ! I guess we really have some similar taste 😂
great minds think alike :)
Been using that Acratech head for about 6 years now, it's as you say a pleasure to work with Alyn
But what you say about the top plate, mine I can set in 45° steps
Hi Alyn, thank you for the video. Can you likely show some tips on how to use such a setup with a small star tracker (Move Shoot Move)?
Awesome video as always. Thanks for the info and comparisons
Love that Arcatech head, but it’s just out of an (amateur) price range. So I lug my bulky Benro geared head around.
The more affordable options are the Leofoto, which some have good success with and others not. Seems to be par for the course with off-shore manufacturing where sometimes the alloy is not 100% the same batch to batch. I see it in other industrial stainless steel applications where for some there’s no rusting and others report rust spots on the same equipment from the same manufacturer.
The only other one that allows to rotate the top is the SunwayFoto DT-03R, which is even cheaper than the Leofoto.
Just thought I’d share for those on a more restricted budget.
This was my predicament years ago when I committed to getting the Acratech head (plus leveling base).
Easily the best photo gear purchase I have ever made!
[I do landscapes, perhaps 75% from a tripod. What makes the Acratech sooo good is it is how quick and reliable it is to get accurate compositions - right down to how quick the clamp screw works. it's an awesome bit of kit].
@@simonmaney3438 Just came back from shooting some nightscapes and landscapes in Big Bend National Park and my elevation gradation "sticker" came off my Benro geared head in the middle of a shoot 😒 I'm going to try to level it all out perfectly and re-attach it with superglue or something. But if it happens again, I may just indeed bite the bullet for the acratech.
I'd love to get one of those "lens collar-type" mounts for my camera but I didn't see them on the Silence Corner web site. I hope they are available in the near future.
Sunway GH-4 PRO+ is the nice, you can try
Love your book!
If that setup wasn’t so expensive I would of bought it now!
Leo Foto only way to go mate. Yep
شكرا لك على الفيديو و الشرح كنت جد مفيد.
MPB in the USA do not offer a pick up service for sellers in Australia. I had to post my gear to New York (at my expense) for them to assess. I had issues with payment also as they require an IBAN (International Bank Account Number) to enable payment. Australia does not use this system. I did however get paid by a bank transfer after a lot of negotiations by email. Good company but problematic for an Australian seller.
I'm just wondering if you've ever tried the Benro Polaris head?
I've never used it myself and probably will not spend money on it but I was just curious if you've used it and what you think of it for astro!
Thanks for again an interesting video. Would you please care to explain what you mean by "no need for super precise alignment of the tracker during wide angle astrophotography ? It seems perhaps I was unnessecarily redoing the precision of the alignment between shots (if sometimes waiting for various reasons between shots) by removing the ensemble of slider-ballhead-camera-cable from the tracker unit to replace the polar star at the exact spot indicated for the scope ("cross in graded circle")... Thank you. Do you have a particular video on the topic, I'd be interested viewing it. Thanks again
Not a fan of the laser alignment, to be honest! Laser pointers ruin timelapses for everyone around you while one could have just looked through the polar scope. Hope that nobody gets the idea to use this on La Palma... btw: Laser pointer usage is forbidden there above 1400m on the rim of the caldera.
Thanks Alyn! Will you be updating the gear page on your website? Also, did you look at the Arca Swiss C1 Cube Geared Head? That looks pretty amazing. The price is pretty steep, but it looks to be the most compact out of the non-ball head options.
Really nice. Not sure everyone realizes the completness of Your informations - it's not just smooth basic info as it seems :-)
Some many unseemingly details :-)
Except you chose to not mention possible benefit to add a rail (-perhaps with a slidable- quick release clamp) to the kit for nodal point integration.
I think the utility of this two-axis device from Arcateck comes across really well.
I'd mention that they have monoball options that are designed to be mounted eithther way : Pano at bottom, or on top if we accept the ball to be reduced to act as leveler only. But that was not Your point, but show Your solution, working great for multy-row especially for far subjects.
(Myself I like available -contested- center-collums)
What Your system however cannot offer is the dual nodal that a gimbal-like setup-with-aditional-nodal-rails does (wich for some might mean to not need an L-bracket mounted on the camera itself)
..since tilt up and down the camera throws of the lens front to back.
I'm happy still using the Benro geared head but I do agree it's a bit bulky to pack, and it would be better if my tripod had a levelling base. Do you notice a stability improvement for astro without a centre column?
Did you try a Benro Polaris?
Does panoramic shots and Star tracking (no polar alignment needed). It might be worth a look.
I have not been able to get a really long single exposure with 200mm, but that may be on me. I can get shorter exposures though.
Great video Alyn! In panning I know that one can use a nodal point slider to eliminate parallax. But isn't that only when you are panning level and looking straight ahead? If you are pointing at an angle upwards, or if you are panning a second row of photos, how do you deal with the nodal point movement as it would fall behind the tripod head? thanks!
Very useful
Thanks
How much vibration do you get with this nice setup in telephoto?
Hi , have you had a look at that platypod head , looks interesting .
Tempting!
Hey, Alyn! Do you usually have problems stitching panoramas without controlling nodal points?
If I remember right, the parallax differs, depending on what lens you use. Does that head account for that?
every lens has a different no parallax point (NPP). This head was not designed for no parallax, rather the rotating mount I use on my camera allows me to bring the NPP over the centre of the head or at least closer
Great video of the different heads Alyn, I really appreciated it. I am also reading your excellent book. I am a bit slow at reading but going through it from cover to cover slowing so I don't miss anything. On pages 117 & 118 I feel that the diagrams are mixed up. On page 117 both chart should be Invariant, and on page 118 they should both be Variant. Is that correct?
So, I have a tripod, leveling base and fluid head. I’m using the sky watcher drive for the upcoming eclipse. Do I put the sky watcher right on top of the leveling head and the fluid mount between drive and camera?
Paul
Great overview and review!
I am looking for a solution for my telephoto landscape photography. I would love that Benro geared head, but it only supports 12 pounds. My 400 2.8 is just about twelve pounds by itself. Once I had a TC and a body with grip, I'm closer to 16 pounds. I can't find anything that supports more than 12 pounds until I get into the $1000+ Arca Swiss D4 and Cube. :(
nice video! btw, you may want to blur out your personal info at 14:31
Hi, Alyn. What can you recommend as a 2nd ballhead...I'm using move shoot move...looking to replace the ballhead attached to my MsM as it wiggles and I'm afraid of any accidents that might happen. Thank you
Hey Alyn- I bought a set of your signature Z and V brackets. I paired them up with a small pano base. I mounted a Rokinon 35mm and ZWO 2600 camera on them. They were very wobbly and sometimes moved under the weight of the camera. Any tips or did I waste my money?
Have you been given the Benro Polaris? I'm curious to get your thoughts on that.
I have a Canon 700d stock what lens and basic tripod do you recommend. For a Biginner?
the best star trackers for general use?
Great video. Is it possible to use the Acratech to flip the camera into portrait mode as is possible using the slot on a ball head? New to all this…
Thanks!
Oh wow my first donation! Thank you so so much!
I hope this man’s parents have access to the comment sections of his videos, they are so moving…
I really wish you would've listed the gear in the summary
New subscriber to your channel, you've got some really interesting videos. Just wondering if you still use the tortoise today? I'm seriously considering one over the thinner leg travel tripods out there.
Yup same setup to this day
Hy Alin,thanks for your demonstration . Have you any experience with head Benro Polaris Astro? I think it is good product. i have it a few days. i am getting to know him.
6:20 what is that piece called can you link an Amazon link for that product?
+1, I'd also like to see this info - seems like a useful lightweight addition to tripods that don't have a spirit level on them!
How accurate is that leveling base though, like if you need really precise long lens astro
Interesting thanks Alyn. What is the Benro tripod you have there?
Nice, they have a nice ball head that acratech gxp but it's expensive! There was also that aspin ballhead. I am looking for a solid lightweight ball head that moves freely for mirrorless, any recommendations?
I want to buy rhino version of this benro with photography head. Can I attach s4pro video head also?
Another great review vid Alyn and much appreciated. Acratech Head - have you found that you can do precise PA when mounting the Star Adventurer with Telephoto Lens?
Depends on what you mean by precise. I feel like I do a pretty good PA with it. The biggest issue is the panning can be a bit loose.
Also I haven't used it to do telephoto astro but I'd say it would be fine so long as you have a steady hand. Usually with such devices the periodic error is more of an issue than the PA
Would the aluminum benro bat be a ok cheaper alternative
The only real advantage of carbon tripods is the significant reduction in weight.
I ditched my aluminium tripods and monopods years ago, transitioning to carbon because of that.
Rigidity on a model by model base is comparable, that is why aluminium weighs more. A lot more.
Hello,Mr.Wallace! I'm living in Romania,a hungarian and very nice and informative video about the amazing night sky. From a mobile phone point of view, I would like to ask if the hydrogen filter can also be used for mobile phones, that is, is it possible to achieve the effect of highlighting nebulae and giving real color to the stars and planets? Thank you in advance for your reply and good health for further beautiful and successful work! Greetings from Romania!🙏
Thanks! Hydrogen alpha filters are only for astro modified cameras. They won't work with smartphones I'm afraid
All well as the Acratech it is one of the best and certainly the most expensive heads in the market. but you conveniently (?) forget that the Leofoto has a friction knob as well, which means the camera would not fall easy as you said for the ballheads and it is less than a 1/3 of the price... As for the "squeaky" noise your head looks that have been under heavy work (!)... I don't own any Leofoto gear except 3 spikes for my Gitzo tripod and not any kind of affiliation with them but I think you have to be a bit more careful when you review and recement any gear...
I mentioned the the two-way head I was originally using didn't have a friciton knob which is why I ended up trying the Leofoto. I was going to make this video months ago and sing praises of the Leofoto head, but in less than 6 months it rusted and started showing worrying signs of creaking and cranking. I'm just sharing my experience. Others in the comments have had a better experience with the Leofoto, so I have pinned their comments.
I bought that Benro gx30 ballhead you suggested and it’s already stripped and wobbly on the bottom pan you have any issues? Hopefully they can replace it.
Which leveling head did you use?
It's built into the tripod I'm using
Almost bought that one. I liked it as well. I bought the Manfrotto mammoth. If I don’t like it I can return, we shall see.
Hi Alyn. Really enjoyed this. I was very tempted by the Tortoise 34CLV but the lack of bubble level on the levelling system put me off. I'm really happy with my Benro TMA48CXL coupled with the GD3WH geared head as it's a really stable set up but I wanted a lighter tripod for longer walks. Does the lack of a bubble level cause you any problems?
You can easily add a 3rd part bubble plate which is what I have done but the tripod should really come with one.
@@markhetherington5558 Agree Mark. I've done that on my Benro travel tripod but it feels like an oversight tbh. The new KingJoy models have a levelling base with a bubble so I'm going to check them out.
"No parallax point" ... you mention the Acratech two axis head + silent corner adapter. Is it possible to place a camera in a vertical (ie 90 degree to horizontal) and maintain the no parallax point?
Yes you can spin it 90 degrees and shoot vertical. Just to clarify it doesn't perfectly centre the NPP and it never will but it's enough that panoramas stitch with little to no issues.
@@AlynWallace Thanks
Acratech do make nice but expensive heads. But nothing is perfect and it nearly 'killed my camera! I bought an Acratech GXP ball head with a nicely engineered quick release arca-swiss mount for just over £500 via Bob Rugby at one of the NEC photography shows. It's a 'skeleton' design ball so lightweight for it's size, smooth, can be used inverted as a levelling base and (at a push) will function as a gimbal head too. BUT it's essential that you torque down the ball lock sufficiently to avoid any 'sudden drop'.
Of course that sounds obvious. But it's far from easy on this Acratech head. The locking knob has a plastic/rubber hand interface with a small degree of 'give'. Not the most reassuring or ergonomic I have used. It's quite easy to think you have tightened enough to hold OK. But in practice with a heavish camera/lens I have found the ball to suddenly slip and crash to it's limit of travel. This happened when locked and apparantly stable, only giving way 3-4 seconds after tightening and moving away from the camera/head for a brief moment. This has happened now on 3 separate occasions and makes me distrust it's capability and design. I have several much cheaper heads that don't have this nasty hidden tendency to just slip, unexpectedly. I still use but need to almost overcrank the locking lever to be certain of holding.
First time this happened, the shock of hitting the stop momentarily compressed the QR spring, such that my camera 'popped' out of the arca-swiss mount and fell 5+ feet onto a concrete deck. The metal lens hood was crumpled (thus avoiding most of the energy) and probably saved my camera and lens from worse damage. I'm not saying it will happen with any Acratech head and maybe my exposed ball was a little dirty/dusty. I can't say with any certainty why this happens. I'm normally pretty careful and look after my kit, but accidents with this head just seem to keep happening, and for a £500+ head (now £575 special order at WEX) that just shouldn't happen. I still use the head but nowadays with a degree of extra caution not really needed with other 'well designed' kit. So, remember, you don't always get what you pay for with premium kit. Just saying!
Bob Rigby?
Yes it was Bob Rigby. Rugby was a typo or possibly a predictive text 'correction'.
As an update I still use the head for stills as it's pretty light for what it is, but I don't 100% trust it, so won't recommend. That said I cleaned the ball and slightly adjusted the tension screw and it appears to work better now!!?
Possibly the grip wasn't smoothly hugging the ball, thus only providing friction on one small point. By micro adjusting the tension knob then possibly the locking clamp better hugged the ball, facilitating greater surface area, more friction when tightening main lock, enabling it to work properly. Anyway, whatever the reason , a slipping ball isn't very good on a premium £500+ ball head.
@@rickymcc8624 I agree, that's not great. For many years I used a Linhof b&s on a Twinshank tripod or Mnimatic studio stand, I never had problems with slipping. Acratech get very good reviews for their levelling and panoramic heads, but the occasional not so great one, and those heads too are serious money. For now I'm looking at putting an RRS nodal rail and panning clamp on a 3LT levelling head and Winston tripod. The 3LT bubble isn't very good, but the RRS one is excellent.
Hi Alyn does the Benro Tortoise 34CLV Levelling Tripod have a bubble ? Thx
I don't think so but might be worth contactin Benro. I would chekc but I'm in the middle of moving house and my life is packed away in boxes
@@AlynWallace
Hi Alyn thx for getting back to me, moving house the second most stressful thing in life after cloudy skys :)
Hi Alyn, I bought the Acratech Leveling Base and Panorama Head. Do I need any additional adapter to mount the Star Adventurer on top of the Acratech Panoramic Head? Btw, do you also use a ZV plate in this setup or not? Thanks!
Just an arca swiss plate to go on the bottom of the star adventurer. I use the Z/V plate on top of the tracker to level the ballhead on top
@@AlynWallace Thanks! Which Z/V plate do you recommend?
Just some quick thoughts from a noob within astro: Use more B-roll for the details you talk about, it was hard to see and understand. Although you got a nice cinematic look, it get very dark filming black gear. So I didn't finish your film, maybe I'm slow. Your plan for explaining these things are good! Hope this helps!
I played with the Sunwayfoto one time, in my opinion it's really piece of junk, the Benro is little better still far from good, even the similar price Leofoto GW-01 feels much better, the Leofoto G4 is day and night better than the Benro. I always own the Scratch two way pano head, it's pretty good as tracker base, but I still think the 3Way geared head like the Arca-Swiss D4 or the Leofoto G4 pro to be the best, I like them even better than some of those equatorial wedge bas like the one come with the Sky-Watcher Str Adventure, that wedge feels too poorly built, just big and heavy duty, but really low quality . .
What about the tripod????