 Fantastic, ultra-light tripod head |
| Review Date: September 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Bertrand Hui, Columbia River Gorge |
I received the Gitzo GH1780QR ball head several days ago and have gone out on several daytime hikes with it. What follows are some initial thoughts of the tripod head. I am moving from the pistol-grip style Manfrotto tripod head which was stolen while I was on a hike and so I decided to replace that with this head. I had thought I would miss the flexibility of the pistol-grip head, but I have discovered very quickly that the Gitzo 1780 is still very easy to maneuver and position. The pistol-grip I had did not have a visible notch to drop the camera from its horizontal orientation to a vertical one but the Gitzo head does, making it extremely quick to obtain the proper orientation. The head itself has three spirit bubbles for proper horizontal/vertical alignment. Two of the bubbles duplicate effort, measuring whether the horizon is even or not. A third bubble in the housing that connects to the ball helps to correct for proper tilt angles.
One feature I enjoyed on this head that I did not have on the other is the avalability of an independent panorama control. The ball head sits on top of a plate that turns left and right, allowing for trouble-free panorama image-taking possibilities. There is a separate tightening control that will allow you to lock the camera in place after you setup shot-after-shot for a panorama. I don't shoot sports much, but I would assume it would be good for shooting action shots as well given the smooth panning action.
The tightening control for the ballhead comes in the form of a very well-built (feels very heavy duty) knob. Clockwise turn tightens the tension and hold the camera very well in place and a counter clockwise turn frees the ballhead to reposition for a new shot.
The quick release is well-built, and sticks very well to the camera body, though I did have to use a screwdriver to turn the screw and tighten the plate against the camera body. I attached the plate and tightened initially with only my fingers, put the camera into vertical orientation with the 70 - 200, and the camera body rotated down from the plate's grip. Tightening the plate against the body removed that problem. I have not owned this long enough to say whether or not the tightened plate will get loose over time or not, but thus far, it has been very secure.
The head is very light and I do question whether it can hold 22 lbs. as advertised -- It's sort of a moot point as I've paired this head with the Gitzo GT1541 1 series travel legs which Gitzo rates at 15 lbs. Overall however, based on how I shoot and what I shoot with, this should be plenty.
The one thing I wish this head did have is the friction control knob within the ballhead tightening knob that the 2870 head has. Realistically though, it's a minor nuance. I'm extremely happy with this head. I'll also be posting a review of the 1541 legs for anyone who might be interested. |
The best I have used !
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| Review Date: September 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: H. Tiffany, Alaska |
I purchasewd this tripod head at the same time I purchased the Gitzo 4-section tripod and both have worked wonderfully together !
This head is smooth, extremely adjustable and very lightwieght considering it will, and does, hold heavy spotting scopes and camera equipment. My biggest concern before using it was whether or not it could hold heavy objects at extreme angles (such as viewing at a 45+ degree angle and it does a fantastic job !!
The only thing I don't like is the fact that the adjustment/tension screw on the locking mechanism has a tendancy to become loose if you are taking items (such as a spotting scope) off and on repeatably but if you leave the item/equipment on the head that is not a problem. Overall this is a fantastic head which I would highly recommend though it, and the the Gitzo 4-section tripod I use in conjunction with this head, are expensive they are both well made and work as advertised. |
OK
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| Review Date: January 19, 2010 |
| Reviewer: C. Umeda, |
| This ball head is ok, but would probably want something stronger for my next one. |
Nice
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| Review Date: April 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: R. Ho, USA |
First you'll notice is that it looks weired, second you'll notice is how small it is, third you'll notice is how light it is. The action is smooth, Very smooth. There's a little bit of post lock sag but I guess that's what you would expect at this price range and below. Though this can be minimized if you tighten the camera plate as well as the lock adjustment screw. If you loosen the tilt lock and pan lock, you can actually use it as a poor man gimbal while tracking birds in flight, sort of. Even with all the locks loosen, the limit of the tilt would not let your lens hit the tripod when you let go of the camera without tightening the tilt lock. I doubt you'll find anything that can support 22 lbs and this light at this price.
Updated 04-16-09
After trying this with a few lenses, I think you cannot really ask the ball head to carry too much weight, the post lock sag might have to do with front loading of the gear. With a long lens mounted with the tripod mount ring on this ball head instead of mounted with the body, not only there is no post lock sag, the whole setup is smooth like mounted on a gimbal (I know that's a stretch). While stalking couple pairs of hummingbird darting about in the backyard, I did not even once need to lock down the tilt lock. This thing is smooth if used properly. I still can't believe how small and light this thing is.
One more thing, not sure why Amazon does not mention it, you get $40 rebate on this from Gitzo. Most Gitzo products are eligible, download rebate form here ---- http://www.bogenimaging.us/Jahia/site/bius/cache/off/lang/en_US/pid/19554 |
Camera Swivels on Quick Mount Plate
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| Review Date: June 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. Wroten, Bronx NY USA |
| At first I really liked the ballhead. Very high build quality and smooth operation, at least on a horizontal shot. But, then I did a vertical shot, the camera swiveled on the mounting screw, so I had to hand-hold the camera. This eliminates the advantage of using a tripod. I'm using a Canon EOS/50D with a 24-105mm EF lens, so it is a bit front heavy, but well under the weight limit. I'm returning to Amazon and getting a B50D-L from reallyrightstuff which holds the camera in place. |
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