Benro GD3WH Geared Head Tête de Trépied à 3 Voies

This is an excellent tripod head and I wish I had purchased it a long time ago.

I use this head with a compact 4x5" large format camera. One control on head protrudes above the level above the camera base. In this particular case, there happens to be a hole in the camera baseplate which allows me to use my head, but I have at least one camera which can't be used with this head. I consider this a serious design flaw. Even though I can use this tripod head with the camera I intended it for, I can't recommend it.

Bought this to replace a ball head for architectural photography. When shooting architecture, especially interiors, precise alignment of the camera is often critical, and a ball head makes this very challenging. Many geared heads are very expensive, this is a much more affordable option and ideal for non-professional work though I have seen many pros in the field use this one. The fine positioning is excellent, though like any geared head it is slow to adjust so is not suitable where quick movements are a priority. Note that the head does not require 'locking down', it stays in whatever position it is moved to with zero play on my sample. Excellent value, does exactly what it was designed for.

A clear step-up in many situations from a standard ball head. Fairly easy to adjust in larger movements (the quick release mechanism can be a bit stiff) but very easy to make finer adjustments (using the three knobs). The mechanism for attaching and releasing a camera on my previous version (not from WEX) broke, and I am hoping this one proves more durable.

I was very disappointed to find the position of the knobs made this impossible to use on my gitzo tripod as the tripod top plate is very wide. Please add a warning to the description.