Pro Moviemaker April 2022 - Web

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MINI TESTS

SMALLRIG LIGHTWEIGHT FLUID VIDEO HEAD £93/$99 smallrig.com In recent years, I have made it my mission to find the smallest, lightest tripod and head combination to go with my mirrorless camera, to avoid damaging my dodgy back further. But not just any combo will do. It has to be one that offers real performance, in that it goes high enough, can quickly be locked securely into place without the legs slipping, and has a real fluid- damped head that doesn’t droop. My carbon-fibre Manfrotto Befree Live tripod and head combo has served me well. Until I was tempted by the even more compact, yet vastly more expensive, Peak Designs “The fluid-damped tilt is smooth, and its resistance is adjusted or locked by a solid lever on the left side. The right has an extending handle”

carbon-fibre Travel Tripod we tested in the last issue. But I needed a real fluid head to fit on top. I came across the SmallRig Lightweight Fluid Video Head. It even uses the same Arca- Swiss fitting as the Peak. The SmallRig head is very compact, has stunning features and only costs £93/$99. Considering its build quality, performance and spec, they could easily charge two or three times as much. It’s a top-quality product. At just 104mm/4.1in tall and weighing 512g/1.131lb, it packs a lot of tech in a tiny package. The base has a small spirit bubble to ensure it’s level, and a damped, panoramic pan movement marked in degrees. There’s a second, undamped 360° panoramic movement just under the camera plate, too. The fluid-damped tilt is smooth and resistance adjusted, or locked by a solid lever on the left side. Next to that is a ¼-20 thread to accept standard accessories. The right side has a lovely foam-covered handle that can be extended out to 330mm/13in, or pushed back in to 140mm/5.5in. The camera plate mechanism is mounted to a sliding plate, so you can adjust the counterbalance of your camera and lens combo. The movement is only 70mm/2.8in, but in combination with the camera

BEST THINGS COME... The lightweight head is very compact, but well-designed and built

plate adjustment, this gives a total of 100mm/3.9in, so you can get the centre of gravity nicely balanced. Under this plate is a partially-hidden hex key tool that’s magnetically attached to stop you losing it. This can be used to tighten up the camera plate. The head might be small, but is perfectly formed, with all the adjustments you’d need and very smoothly-damped fluid action. It doesn’t slip, and is far more precise than some of the inexpensive heads on the market that use plastic in their construction, too. As long as you understand its payload limitations and can live with a non-Manfrotto camera plate, it’s ideal. PROMOVIEMAKERRATING: 10/10 Amazing value, robust, yet compact fluid video head Pros: Solid, well-built and small Cons: Arca-Swiss does not suit all

SPECIFICATIONS Material: Aluminium Head Fitting: Flat

Camera plate: Arca-Swiss Base diameter: 46mm/1.8in Tilt : +90°/-60° Folded length of handle: 140mm/5.5in Extended length of handle: 330mm/13in MaximumPayload: 5kg/11lb Dimensions (wxhxd): 77.5x104x62mm/ 3.1x4.1x2.4in Weight: 512g/1.131lb

TOP SPEC There is an accessory port and a pan head marked in degrees

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