Best tripod head for spotter

[100percent]

FYI and a question...
I was not happy with jerk and slop in outdoorsmans micro pan head so, I called them a few days ago. I thought I wanted a fluid head to remedy. Joe told me the original pan head would likely be the ticket. I insisted on a fluid head and he sent a .

Manfrotto MVH500AH

It is perfect in every way except weight and bulk. This thing is too much (boat anchor)!!! My thoughts are to send it back for the outdoorsman pan head unless you guys can tell me about a much smaller fluid head.
Ended up with outdoorsmans new fluid head! WOW!!! Happy! Happy!

 

[Camera Land]

We can ship to you. Call me if you have any questions

 

[Stoke_82]

Joel

I will be calling. Post count #18. 7 more till I could have PM'd my response.

Cheers

JT

 

[1shotgear]

I would run a sirui VA-5 Ultra-Compact Video Head. I run this video head with my camera and a Swarovski BTX with the Modular 95mm witch weighs about 5 pounds and it runs it like a dream. It takes the weight just fine and the bearings are super smooth. Would recommend to everyone.

 

[dingle]

Anyone else have experience with the Sirui VA-5? Without trying it out, I'm thinking about picking one up used, figuring it probably performs as well as the Manfrotto 700RC2, or Benro B2 ball head in the lower end head market.

 

[Salmon River Solutions]

I picked up a VA-5 and used it for spring bear this year. It’s awesome. People are right, when they say it’s heavier and bulky. But oh man, it’s so smooth and easy to use. By far the best I’ve tried.


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[LaHunter]

I've got the Sirui VA-5 head on top of my Promaster tripod. Very solid setup for my 65mm spotter. The head adjustments are very smooth with no slop that I can detect. When you lock the head down to 'stay on target', the view stays on target well. I've been happy with this setup and have no plans to change any time soon.

 

[jbid62]

Has anyone tried the Promaster SPCH20? It looks considerably smaller, and is considerably lighter, than the VA-5, and pack weight is becoming more important to me every year!

 

[TomJoad]

Resurrecting this thread. Like jbid62 I'm interested in any members who have actual experience with the Promaster SPCH20. I'd also like to know if Camera Land is still offering discounts on this to members. Their links attached to this thread are all broken. thx!

 

[DPReef]

Any thoughts on the standard ballhead that comes with the Promaster Tripod?

About to order the tripod one and curious if the ballhead would "work" as a rifle mount from a seated position. I cant decide if i should get a VA5 or even a leveling head to shoot off of as well as for spotting scope. My rifles are around 7.5lbs so i dont need anything too far above 10lb capacity i assume.

 

[WesternHunter93]

Another vote here for the Sirui VA-5 it is super smooth and works well with my 10x42's to my Swaro 85mm and anything between.

 

[Hogyotedeer]

I’ll second the Manfrotto 128s. They work very good for spotting scopes. Hard to beat for under $100.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

The ball head that came on my Promaster 525 from CL is simply labeled Promaster Guide GD525CK. Not sure if it is helpful, but I have nothing bad to say about it. It's no RRS but it works well enough. I would say the legs are the limiting factor in that set up.

With that said, I am on the VA-5 party wagon now. A bit heavier but it's a joy to maneuver once the legs are planted.

 

[DPReef]

The new XC-M 525C tripod comes with a XC-M H30 Ball valve. I'll be testing it out when it comes in - anyone have experience with it?

 

[TxAg]

Resurrecting this thread. Like jbid62 I'm interested in any members who have actual experience with the Promaster SPCH20. I'd also like to know if Camera Land is still offering discounts on this to members. Their links attached to this thread are all broken. thx!

I picked up an SPCH20 a few weeks back and pretty impressed with it. Weight is great and the controls are tight with fluid movement. My biggest optic is a 50mm Nikon spotting scope, so I'm not pushing it as much as some of you with bigger spotters.

 

[Jake P]

New member here, and it was this thread that convinced me to give the SPCH20 a try.

I ordered it from Amazon simply because as a prime member and the fact that Amazon was the fulfiller of the order I know that I can ship it back without question or cost should I choose.

The fit, finish and overall quality of the head is very nice. I own many ball heads and fluid heads since I've been into photography and videography for many years. The overall build quality of this head seems to be on par with some far more expensive name brand gear from Manfrotto and others.

The fluid resistance/action of the pan and tilt works very smooth (with a caveat). The scope I am using is an older Nikon 82ED Angled and it weighs in at over 4.5 pounds. With that much weight on top, the tilt fluid resistance is mostly overcome and the friction resistance is left to do the job of dampening the movement which is not as smooth as the actual fluid resistance as you would get in a more substantial head. A lighter scope will likely not challenge the mechanism quite as much.

The actual weight of the head is an issue, as mine weighed in at 17.5 ounces total with the included plate and 15.4 ounces without the plate. The advertised weight is 14.4 ounces, so all in it's a little over 3 ounces heavier than advertised. I have no idea how they came up with the advertised weight?

I decided to try this head based mainly on price and weight. Weight didn't pan out (no pun intended).

Overall I am so far satisfied with the purchase, but not feeling as good about it as I had hoped. I have yet to take it into the field and put some hours behind it glassing, so I intend to report back when I have done so. At the price I still think it's going to be hard to beat this head. Time will tell.

Edit: I should note that the scale I am using to weigh the head is a very accurate electronic for which I have various known weight verification weights with which to confirm accuracy. It is within .1 ounces accurate.

Update 9/10/20: I've used this head and have decided to return it for exchange. The tilt dampening was so little that it felt as if there was almost none. I had hoped that I just had a bad head, but the second head is no better. I will still keep it as I cannot find anything lighter or cheaper. I will just have to learn to work around the almost negligible tilt dampening.

I have two other pan and tilt heads, both Manfrotto, so I am not without comparison as to what a good head should be. The smaller of my two Manfrotto's is their MHXPRO-2W, which weighs about 12 ounces more than the SPCH20. 12 ounces is enough to make me want to live with the SPCH20's shortcomings. The dampening on the MHXPRO-2W is outstanding!

 

[Joby619]

Based on the info in this thread, I just ordered a promaster spch20 from camera land. I already have the befree and hope this will be a nice addition to my line up.

 

[Montana Craig]

I have a Promaster SPCH20 I purchased from cameraland a year and a half ago. I put a vortex 65 razor on it and have had no issues. I could see putting a heavier spotter on it could be too much for the tilt dampening.

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[Joby619]

I plan on using my vortex 65 razor and my 12x50 razor binos on it. I’m really lookin forward to trying it out. Currently using a befree but have a few things I’m hoping the promaster does better.

 

[Joby619]

I received my promaster spch20 from cameraland (thanks joel) and I believe it’s leaps and bounds better than my befree. My vortex 65m spotter would just topple over if it had any tilt because the befree does NOT have any friction knobs. The promaster has what feels like a spring loaded tension and it has adjustable friction which allows my spotter to be used and moved at any angle.

Some may argue that the befree has a screw type friction adjustment, but that screw is really meant for locking down the angle and would actual grind and cause metal shavings if used as to add friction while being moved.

I weighed my promaster without the plate on my wife’s food scale and it came in at 15.2oz while the befree was 13.7. I did not weigh the plates, but the befree plate is considerably larger and the promaster uses arc Swiss which mated with my field optics bino adapter without the use of a plate.