You’ll see lots of discussions on various fora about which is the best tripod head. Lets start off with my three immutable laws of tripod heads:
Every single tripod head has to balance three qualities, you just have to decide which is the lowest priority and therefore you can (or must) compromise on
When you buy cheap, you end up paying twice
A good tripod head will last
Qualities
Weight. Stability. Cost.
More stable is heavier or more costly.
Cheaper is less stable and/or heavier.
Light or cheap is less stable.
One tripod head may not satisfy all your requirements - a gimbal is not much use for landscapes, and a ball head is not ideal for wildlife.
Bargain vs Total Cost of Ownership
When considering tripods and heads, I personally think most amateurs and enthusiasts dramatically under budget, because it’s considered to be an ancillary bit of kit where some money can be saved (see law 2).
But, a good tripod head should last for years. Unless you are constantly drenching it in sea water and/or don’t bother ever doing any maintenance (mostly cleaning!), a quality head should go on for years and years. Possibly much longer than some people will hang on to cameras and lenses.
I would say budget between £100 and £500 for tripod head(s). Spread that cost over 5 years, it’s possibly a small part of your photographic budget.
Types of heads
There are broadly speaking, five types of tripod heads:
Ball heads - the most versatile, most economic, most choice, high max-load-to-weight ratio
Gimbal heads - niche product for long telephoto lens, for wildlife and sports
Three-way heads - movement in three axis is controlled by locking/unlocking control knobs
Geared heads - a three-way head where two or three axis are controlled by geared controls
Panoramic heads - specialist heads designed to make stitched panoramas easier
Since I am mainly concerned about landscape photography, I am going to focus on those most suitable for landscapes, that is ball heads and geared heads (on the basis that a three-way head does not offer much advantage over a ball head).
I do have some experience of wildlife photography and gimbal heads though, so I’ll mention these later as well.
Ball Heads
Ball heads are extremely versatile and can be used for a variety of things. To me they are kind of jack-of-all-trades, but master of none. That’s not to say there aren’t some that are close to be masters in some areas. I’ve used a variety of ball heads over the years, including Arca, RRS, Kirk, Acratech and Sirui.
Time was when you had to spend quite a lot to get a ball head that didn’t sag or shift when you tightened it down, but today there are lots of good options. Unless you want to spend more money, I find the Novo Photo ball heads to be excellent performers at very good prices. I have a CBH-34 that is a great match with a traveller-type tripod, due to the slim body and the positioning of the controls. I also have their larger CBH-46 for use on a large tripod. They are precise and sturdy yet also quite compact and light.
Both these have friction control, a 360 degree rotating clamp on top (handy for quick panoramas) and have the same control layout, which makes for a lack of cognitive dissonance when swopping between the two. The latter can also be said of the Sirui K-series, which are also smooth and good value heads and are available in a range of sizes. They also have friction control but no rotating clamp.
Special mention for the Acratech GP heads, which come as closer than any to being an all-rounder. Able to be inverted for panoramic use, and used as a gimbal with smaller telephotos, they are also extremely suitable for harsh conditions, as the open design makes them much easier to keep clean.
Geared Heads
These are by far my favourite type of head for landscapes, especially if geared in all 3 axis. The extra precision is a real benefit for composing landscapes, the effect is to slow you down a little bit and really consider those final fine adjustments before you take the shot.
Unless you have the disposable income and inclination to buy one of the exotic Arca geared heads, I would simply recommend the Benro GD3WH (see my review here). There really isn’t anything I have seen between this and the much more expensive Arca heads.
Gimbal heads
I’ve owned a few gimbal type heads over the years, from the once ubiquitous Manfrotto MN393 through to the supreme Wimberley MkII.
Really though, you don’t need to look any further than the LensMaster RH-2. It may at first appear a bit ‘agricultural’ in comparison to the similarly-priced but sleeker competitors from the likes of Benro and Kenro, but in use it just works superbly, and there is no doubt of it’s robustness. The fact that you can strip it down, clean both bearings and re-assemble it again without tools in less than 10 minutes just adds to the attraction.
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