Posted by Steve King on 04/09/07 17:40

"GeekBoy" <ner@nerdy.com> wrote in message
news:461a5ecb$0$17180$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>
> "Smarty" <nobody@nobody.com> wrote in message
> news:MuydnWWQIMFNqofbnZ2dnUVZ_h6vnZ2d@adelphia.com...
>> Thanks Geekboy for the suggestion and I will check it out. I would like
>> to know how the head is designed. If have other tripods here without
>> fluid heads, and they just cannot do a really smooth pan or tilt. How
>> well does the Velbon 607 do?
>
>
> Acually for a rather inexpensive tripod wold say it does quite well,
> though do take in mind it is under $100 and you are not going to get the
> same quality something like a Bogen. But I am satisfied with how it pans.
>
>

Whether a fluid head performs satisfactorily is truly a personal preference.
If you want smooth pan at telephoto extremes I haven't found anything under
a few thousand dollars that is satisfactory. That doesn't mean that I don't
use lesser expensive tri-pod head configurations from time to time, but they
don't make me happy generally. Of course, cost and portability are
sometimes even more important. As you are testing, pay particular attention
to the ability to smoothly start and stop pans and tilts. Many cheaper
fluid heads will pan just fine after you get them going. Unfortunately,
jerky starts and stops call attention to themselves. Sometimes this
deficiency can be overcome with operator technique. Sometimes not.

Steve King

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