3D Super Pro 3-Way Head (229)

I purchased this pan head for some Celestron SkyMaster 25x100 binoculars, which weigh about 12 pounds just by themselves. The pan head itself is heavy, but once installed and the binoculars have been mounted the entire observing experience becomes very much better. The head moves smoothly, and locks tightly. I can keep the object I'm viewing in field, move the field of view a bit, and tighten the handle, and the binoculars do not move or sway. I know only a little about making movies and videos, but a lot more about looking at stuff, and this heavy duty head makes looking at stuff a lot more fun.

This is one great product! Beefy and top quality. Once you set one of the various controls you can be assured it will stay put. The coarse and fine adjustments are a joy to use. All the spirit levels are dead-on accurate. I know because I verified each axis with a high quality digital level. I simply screw my Nikon D3 DSLR to the quick-release mount, attach it to the head and I'm ready to go. Use is a no-brainer. Costly, but like anything else you get what you pay for. Most highly recommended for any photographer who wants the best head for their expensive camera gear.

Solid, well-built head. Only complaint after one use in the field is that it does not fit into tripod bag: The handles stick our all over. The longest handle has a spring that can easily get lost if you unscrew the longest handle from the head. The shorter handles do not have a spring and can be removed and placed into tripod bag. The longest handle cannot be positioned to point down, parallel to the tripod legs.

This is an amazingly versatile tripod head. It allows exquisitely fine positioning of a camera to get exactly the right angle/look for a shoot. While it is clearly intended for still photography, it can also be used with a DSLR camera for video work (or with a similar sized camera - the mounting plate is a bit small for large pro video cameras, though it'd work at a pinch). It is not dampened for panning (like a video head) but the mechanism is so smooth that you don't get vibrations - at least none that I've ever noticed.I was more than pleased when I first started using it and it is my standard for still photography now - anything that needs a tripod. (See my separate reviews on quick change plates and Manfrotto tripods - all of which are excellent and cost effective.)

I purchased and returned three other tripod heads before I found this one and it is a keeper! It is heavy however for stability and ease of use it easily beat the other heads that I tried earlier. It provides quick, easy adjustments to keep even the heaviest long lens very stable when used with a good stable tripod. Would definately recommend however be prepared for the weight.

This head is very good. It locks down and doesn't move. It will serve my purpose for product shots. Take note, this item does not qualify for Manfrotto's 10 year warranty on their website. The box does not have the proper QR Code to be eligible. In the future, I'm buying from dealers who can sell products that qualify for warranties.

Seems very well built, sturdy. Should be totally adequate to handle my 4x5 view camera. The movements all seem solid and smoothe, although I'm noting a little stickiness to the side-to-side tilt (controlled by the long handled knob.) I expect that to smooth out with some use.

Very stable. Big enough for a 300mm. Really tightens nicely.