I am a casual weekend user of gear like this. If you need something for daily studio work with very heavy gear mounted on top, you will want to upgrade. For my purposes, I am happy. It is easy to tote around and assemble when needed. The build quality and metal construction are quite durable. Everything moves smoothly and cleanly and there is a good amount of control over the resistance to match to your particular needs. I’ve used better performing heads in those categories but I’ve also had to spend a lot more. The hardware and components operate as expected and lock down securely when needed. It’s comfortable in the hand even on long shoots with lots of motion. I got nowhere near the weight limit stated but I don’t have any reason to question it based on my experience so far. It is a nice setup for heads in this price range.

This is a mini Fluid Head so its quite small however it is also nice and smooth in both pan and tilt, and will return to center via its built in spring mech. I have tested others in this price class and many times the tilt is not smooth while on this one you get the best of both worlds it pans and tilts smoothly with a medium type drag at its loosest setting and It pairs up perfectly with a Mono-Pod because of of its small size (See Pics) ...The head is completely made out of metal, I would say a die cast aluminum while its not machined, one cant really expect that at this price point, it does have pretty good fit and finish, and because its not plastic it should seem a bit more rigid and last longer then others made of plastic.Its nice that they choose to make it compatible with a standard Arca-Swiss plate.not some proprietary size so often seen. The plate locks up tight and slides nicely if you loosen it a bit for adjustment. And releases fully by pressing the button on the side after you unlock it.I know I am nitpicking here but I feel the lever that locks the pan tilt handle should have a small spacer as it hits the handle because its too close, yes you can ratchet this lever but I still see it as a design over-site.Never the less I think I like this better then what my lower cost tripod actually came with. It works quite well, so if your looking for a compact smooth fluid head that's reasonably priced you may want to give this one a shot.

I have a miniature tripod that uses a ball head and it is terrible to adjust, and a gorillaPod that pushes the boundaries of acceptable when it comes to adjusting. Crazy enough, but I did end up using both for video shooting and with relatively decent results, in situations where the camcorder / camera image stabilization couldn’t have hidden the level of my skill. Having a fluid tripod head on these is a game changer, now I am getting my money worth out of miniature tripods. I only tried the miniature tripod with this head and the weight of the camera keeps it steady, all parts are precisely manufactured and there’s no play anywhere, the panning is smooth making for no jitter in the frames. Huge improvement for a mini tripod, totally worth the admission price in my opinion.Compared to a full-sized, prosumer tripod fluid head, this mini head shows its limitations: there is a single level of fluidity, no control over this. The handle bar is really short, which makes it fit for mini tripods but also gives less fulcrum and thus less precision in panning. The quick change plate is small – sure, think mini tripods, but I would appreciate a second, large quick plate when the mini tripod gets a full sized DSLR on top and I want to make use of the max range, 8.8 lb load for this fluid head. The bubble level is beneath the quick change plate, have to take the plate out to make adjustments – I get it, space is at a premium on such a small device, but… really… big bite out of usability for the bubble level.Overall, this fluid head is quite a few notches above just “a good value”, and it makes a huge difference in usability for mini tripods, though with some limitations. Rounding up to a 5 stars rating.

Full Disclosure: I received this product at no cost through Amazon Vine.Anyone who has used a real professional fluid head tripod knows that such a device is essential to get real smooth pans and tilts. They are also heavy, big, and can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.This unit, which currently sells for less than $30, and even less with a coupon, is an option for a lightweight camera, or a cell phone camera, without investing in, or paying for, the real thing.Whether it is really a "fluid head" I cannot say. It does not perform as I am familiar with professional fluid heads. On the other hand it is small, light, and low cost.You will not get perfectly smooth pans or tilts from totally stopped—it is possible to make it look jerky, and it takes some practice and tweaking of the control levers to start from total stop without a small jolt—but you can make it work. It is definitely better than a standard non "fluid" head of similar size and weight.So here's what I like about it besides its size, weigh, and cost:• Standard Arca plate connection to camera, and it comes with a nice plate.• The screw for the Arca plate has a built in D-ring twist so you do not need a screw driver or Allen wrench to install it.• It fits on a standard tripod screw, so no adapters are necessary.• It appears reasonably solid and well built.Here are a few minor complaints:• It does not really feel like a true fluid head (but then again without the size, weight and cost of a real one.)• There is no carrying pouch, even though the directions on the box say to "Please see it in the carrying bag."• I generally prefer the Arca plate to mount perpendicular to the lens. This one is parallel, which I find gets in a way a bit, but on the other hand gives you a little bit of room to move the camera back on the plate, and the plate back on the head a bit to compensate for the weight of the lens.All in all, if you just want something to bring your pans and tilts up a notch, with a relatively light camera, this is a great way to do so, especially considering the cost.

I wish the handle (pan bar) was longer (or extendable) for use with a telephoto lens. (Wildlife videos). But other than that, I see no significant cons in this compact, lightweight fluid head as part of a lightweight portable video kit. The pan and tilt movements are well damped and smooth. It looks well made and sturdy. At around $30, I consider this to be a good value. I have many tripod heads to choose from, and I like this small video head.Overall I am giving it 5 stars.LIKES:- Compact and relatively light weight. (278 grams, without the included quick release camera plate)- Built-in Arca-Swiss compatible quick release clamp.- Tilt movement is spring-loaded. (It helps when pointing the camera up or down from the level position. The spring rate is not adjustable. But this is true for basically all video heads in this class.)- The pan bar (handle) is easily switchable between right and left hand use. (Some prefer a right handed pan handle, others - like me - prefer it on the left.)- The pan handle angle can be adjusted, as in most larger heads. This also means the handle position can be adjusted so it does not stick out when carrying or for packing. (Earlier I reviewed a similar compact video head, but that head had a fixed handle. This design is better.)- All 3 knobs (the tilt adjustment knob, pan adjustment knob and the pan bar lock knob) can be pulled out and repositioned for clearance. Nice.- A bubble level on top. (A common feature. Easy to see and use.)- All movements are smooth and fairly well damped for a small video head.- There is a 1/4"-20 inch threaded hole on the side of the QR clamp, for attaching accessories. (A thoughtful extra feature.)- Overall, compact and lightweight. But it feels solid and sturdy.(Very minor) DISLIKEs:- I wish the pan bar (handle) was longer or extendable. (Some compact video heads feature extendable pan bar. Longer pan bar is very useful for smooth camera movements with a long telephoto lens.)- No 3/8"->1/4" thread adapter is included. (The tripod head mounting thread is 3/8"-16 inch. Most tripods use a matching 3/8"-16 threaded bolt, but some smaller tripods use a smaller 1/4"-20 thread bolt. For this reason, many tripod heads come with a little thread adapter, but not in this case. So if your tripod uses a 1/4"-20 bolt, you will need to buy an inexpensive thread adapter to mount this tripod head. Just so you know.)A usage tip: I prefer to use my video heads with a leveling base under them. (For example: the smaller of the NEEWER leveling bases: ASIN B0B5DRSG88.) Use of a leveling base makes it super quick to level a video head like this one for video; no need to adjust the lengths of the tripod legs.)As measured by me:- Tripod head: 278g (0.61 lbs)- Camera plate: 40g (1.4 oz)- The base diameter: about 44.5mm- Pan bar (handle) length: 6 inches