SLIK TRIPOD HEAD 700DX PRO

My experience with the 701 is that it feels less sturdy, but again, that is a personal thing. Obviously this comes down to personal preference, and other people love the 701 head.įrom personal experience, the 128 is bomb-proof and will last for years with no real loss in performance. IMO this results in the horizontal plane being either loose or tight, with little adjustment between the two extremes. With the 701, the up/down movement is similar to the 128, but the horizontal movement is locked by a side-mounted bolt that applies friction to the mechanism from the side. I like the fact that on the 128 head, both planes of movement use friction plates to achieve the fluid movement, and tightening the plates causes them to be forced together so that more or less friction can be applied to suit your individual preference/purpose. When carrying it around it sometimes does slip a little, though usually this is because I didn't lock it down tightly enough. I rarely find that I need to angle the head to such an extreme degree for use with a scope. At such times the head can be angled down at around 45 degrees and locked so that it doesn't slip. I also use the head with a camera on occasions with a heavy-ish lens (50-200 F2.8-3.5-weighs about 1.5kg with camera attached) to shoot close-ups of butterflies and dragonflies. You do need to tighten it quite hard, but it does work! (with a Swaro 80mm scope-just under 2kg with case fitted and Q/R plate attached). On my particular unit (actually, I have two) I can tighten it down enough so that it doesn't slip when I carry it around over my shoulder. I am overwhelmed and would welcome anyone's opinions on any of the above. Also, there is no camera/optics store anywhere near me. I would hope that I can wait a decade or two before having to relearn all this stuff again. There are too many manufacturers, too much memorization, too many models, with naming that is too complicated. I have NOT enjoyed this search to find a tripod. I think something like a Manfrotto 128rc (3130?) head is not really strong enough from what I've read? I realize that there are hundreds of other possible options, but am listing these first.

SLIK TRIPOD HEAD 700DX PRO

Legs: Slik Pro 700 DX legs, 500 DX legs, Manfrotto 055's, Vortex STX-70's Slik Pro 580 DX combo: smaller in every way than above, but with better head, although still not fluid. Well reviewed for photography, but can't really find reviews for birding? Head seems to be not fluid-type? Slik Pro 700 DX combo: big, cheap, heavy, cheap, sturdy, and cheap. Here are the candidates I've come up with: Of course I want to spend as little money as possible, like everyone else. I think I prefer a 2-way head, but that seems to be uncommon. It needs to be sturdy, and I don't really care if it weighs a lot (well, let's draw a line at roughly 8lb. It will get rained on maybe several times a year. I want my new tripod to last for years, and to be flexible enough for whatever future needs I have (digiscoping?). or 1.8kg), and the crank has broken a gear tooth. The old Velbon df-40 just isn't enough tripod for my heavy scope (about 4lb.

Slik tripod head 700dx