Benro Tête 3 voies HD2A Arca-Swiss

This is a nice tripod head with a smooth movement and firm locking. I couldn't detect any play in the structure, which is brilliant because I bought it for macrophotography. I've bolted the head directly to a heavy baseboard on which I can place and illuminate subjects. I used the set-up for the first time yesterday for focus-stacking with a rail, and there was no evidence of movement anywhere. The angular scales look like a handy feature, but I'm not convinced they do anything useful. Photographers take subjects that they line up visually they don't need angles to help compose a shot. One minor gripe: it would be great if the pan-and-tilt handles retracted to create a bit more space for movement in a tight corner. But that small oversight isn't enough to detract from a five-star rating.

Benro tripods are the business: excellent quality and great value for money. I usually used their ball head but sometimes I need the extra control that a pan and tilt offers. This head very secure and smooth in action. I can't fault it!

Good Points: The head itself works well but see improvement points. Improvement Points: Most of my existing Swiss arca plates (which are interchangeable with all by other ball heads) don’t work with this head. I had to by another L frame which is very frustrating.

Good Points: Unfortunately the twist pull knob failed on first use and had to be returned Improvement Points: Need to have a better knob fixing for the pull and twist. Clearly a deisign/ manufacturing fault. Also Benro do not manufacture any base plate with anti-rotational pin. Therefore unsuitable for very long lens or spotting scope.

Having read reviews of this head, I have no regrets having purchased it. Used for landscape photography, it provides better stability than a ball head, especially when positioning the camera to frame the shot. It enables minor corrections in any plane, as opposed to a ball head - which, when released to move the camera, will move the camera in all directions. I use this with a -Legged Thing Winston tripod, and it's a great match. It's sturdy, well made (as you would expect), and suits the landscape genre perfectly. It is slightly heavier than a ball head, but the weight trade off for stability is well worth it. I use this head with Canon d MkIII and Canon D, with wide and standard Canon L lenses, as well as a Canon - f., and Sigma -mm C, and it is well up to the job. I would recommend considering this head to any landscape photographer. And Harrison Cameras were great to use.