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Old 28th October 2021, 04:00 PM
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GoodOldNorm GoodOldNorm is offline
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Default Geared tripod head

Can you recommend a budget geared tripod head please. Is the Manfrotto 410 or its Benro equivalent any good? If you use a geared tripod head what are the advantages/dis- advantages over a 3 way head? Ta!
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Old 29th October 2021, 07:24 AM
mpirie mpirie is offline
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I've used a 410 for a few years and although it's a good head, eventually, the gears wear out and introduce some "slack". The 405 looks like a better solution, but is much more expensive and bigger. Both use the same adapter plates.

Nowadays i don't use the 410 because it's relatively heavy. A good 3-way pan and tilt head could be a better option. Be careful buying a used 410 head in case it's too worn.

A geared head is fine in you're doing architectural work and need the precision, but even then, it's not essential.

Mike
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Old 29th October 2021, 05:05 PM
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Martin Aislabie Martin Aislabie is offline
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I have used a Manfrotto 405 for about 10 years.

I use it for all my cameras but it was bought mainly for my 5x4.

I mainly shoot landscapes and like the way you can make small adjustments to get your horizons horizontal.

I used to use a 3 way head and found trying to make those small adjustments quite difficult - holding the camera so it didn't over-balance while making very small adjustments is quite a challenge.

Of course 3 way heads are faster to use - its just they are not quite as precise.

Note - the 405 has a rapid adjustment mechanism - so you don't have to crank the head too far.

Martin
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