Re: Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
90 degree movement is possible - it just takes forever. With my head, you have to pull out the crank knob and just go to town...probably 15-20 seconds to go from level to straight down, considering other adjustments. While that isn't a lot of time, doing it multiple times in one shoot gets very tedious. Most adjustments tended to be somewhat small, and it is definitely usable in the field, but quick adjustments are not really much of a thing with a geared head. They are definitely more deliberate, especially when you consider every movement requires a different knob to adjust. An adjustment that might take 3-5 seconds with a ball head might take you 20 seconds to get everything positioned where you want. If you're being really careful on each axis - it can be even longer.
My leveling base is the SUNWAYFOTO LB-68. It's fine. I'm sure there are smoother locking ones, but it does the job. If I were buying one now I'd probably get the Leofoto LB-60N or LB-75 (depending on head size)....I really like their stuff.
Re: Advise needed on tripod - Ball Head Vs Gear Head?
90 degree movement is possible - it just takes forever. With my head, you have to pull out the crank knob and just go to town...probably 15-20 seconds to go from level to straight down, considering other adjustments. While that isn't a lot of time, doing it multiple times in one shoot gets very tedious. Most adjustments tended to be somewhat small, and it is definitely usable in the field, but quick adjustments are not really much of a thing with a geared head. They are definitely more deliberate.
My leveling base is the SUNWAYFOTO LB-68. It's fine. I'm sure there are smoother locking ones, but it does the job. If I were buying one now I'd probably get the Leofoto LB-60N or LB-75 (depending on head size)....I really like their stuff.
Aug 31, 2026 at 02:14 PM
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