Fluid Head with Leveling Base

Update: July 11, 2023.Smallrig got in contact with me about this fluid head and sent me a replacement. Wow, yeah the 2nd copy was significantly better and performs as I had hoped. To put it into quantifiable numbers, it took about 260grams of weight to get over the potential energy to pan the head with my sticky one. With my new one, it takes just over 50grams of weight. In use, it's like a night and day difference. Glassing an area is so much better with the replacement. Definitely recommended if you need a compact fluid head.Original review:My first fluid head but long time gear head. As a beginner birder, optics eventually become a thing. And sooner or later, binoculars can't resolve the elusive bird way off in the distance. So you turn to scopes. And scopes mean fluid head, so off came my trusty ballhead on my travel tripod. I am amazed how feature packed this thing is in such a small envelope!Armed with a Kowa 553 (1.8lb/.8kg), we wandered off into the rainforest. I did notice the sticky pan before in practice sessions at home, but it was hard to know if it was a problem that would endure or go away. I figured the fluid/grease would sort itself out. Yeah its a problem. As the angle of view gets tighter, that small judder dramatically messes with your ability to make fine pan adjustment and ultimately viewing the skittish avian fellow vs it flying off. The tilt smoothly accomodates, but the yaw... Judging by other reviews, there are a bunch of sticky pan units out there. Too high viscosity grease being used in the pan mech, a burr, too high preload, who knows.As for the weight rating, it held the mini kowa just fine, though it did droop unless the tilt lock was finessed carefullt. That was unexpected, but im going to assume the norm for a tiny fluid head like this. The counterbalance spring in this little guy is certainly small by design.The level system on mine was a bit gritty. Felt quite usable however. Ultimately in my use case it was set and never used so I cant say much more about it.So I give it 2 stars. Maybe 2.5. Sadly I tossed the box so a return is probably out of the question. :( I don't love it, but it does so many many things right in a wonderfully small package. A fluid pan not being one of them is a rather massive flaw in a fluid head though. I may dismantle the pan mechnism a swap out the grease for something with a lighter viscosity.

This head has a sturdy build with smooth movements. The tilting base is nice for leveling the axis. The knobs are tight and they stay clamped. However, the handle on the extendable arm is thin, and the arm only extends a few extra inches. If the handle was thicker, it would provide a better grip. The teeth on the L-plate are short and do not run the full length of the mounting plate, but seem to hold a camera in place. Also, the design of the plate release knob is not the same as the rotation knobs, which makes it difficult to turn and safely clamp a camera into place. The design is nice but skimps on thicker material where it's needed the most. All in all, it's okay and functions as expected.

I’ve been recording my son’s soccer games with my small mirrorless camera & kit lens for over a year now and I have nothing but terrible, shaky video to show off. I needed something to help me take smooth and steady video. This video head is exactly what I have been looking for. I’m able to pan left and right, tilt up and down…more importantly I need to be able to tilt AND pan at the same time while trying to follow all of the fast action of the soccer field. The movement feels so smooth. It works perfectly with my existing tripod and cage. I used to lug around a big bag of heavy camera equipment but now everything I choose to carry around with me needs to be light and compact but still made of quality material which this fluid head is and more.

Well designed and well thought through; details matter and they are appreciated. I love the size as will use this for travel and 'run n' gun'. Does not cause attention to itself and perfect for 'blending in' so as not to be noticed. Yet, little head delivers. I have not mounted a camera to it but I'm confident my small 4k pro camcorder will do fine. SmallHD is a trusted brand and they came up with a winner on this product in my opinion.