SmallRig 3457
Compact Video Fluid Head
Specifications Recommendations
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Front. bigger. |
Back. bigger. |
SmallRig 3457 Fluid Head. (Arca-Swiss (compatible) plate, additional top pan control, supports 11 lbs/5 kg, weighs 18 oz./512 g, $99). I'd get mine at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at eBay, if you know How to Win at eBay.
This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
April 2022 Better Pictures Oben Canon Sony Nikon Fuji LEICA Zeiss Hasselblad All Reviews
Introduction top
Specifications Recommendations
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The SmallRig 3457 Fluid Head is a small tripod head used for smooth panning and tilting while shooting video.
This little head is great for iPhones and modern consumer video cameras.
"Fluid" originally referred to viscous liquid in which small paddles spun to damp the motions of large motion picture cameras. Of course fluid also refers to the smooth motion one gets with these heads.
This little head, like most modern small fluid heads, doesn't have fluid inside. Instead it's very highly damped.
The level of drag or damping is adjustable, and it locks.
It is counterbalanced with an internal spring. The internal spring always tries to return the tilt to the horizontal position, so as you tilt up or down this spring balances the weight of the camera. There is a front-back center-of-gravity adjustment so you should be able to balance just about any sort of camera. The point of counterbalancing is that it lets you tilt the camera up or down very smoothly without having to fight the weight of the camera in any position; it should just stay balanced.
Unusual in any fluid head is that this head has an additional damped pan adjustment on top.
This head, like most fluid heads, has no adjustment for Dutch or to level a horizon or for vertical shots. When filming you level your tripod and then everything stays level. Most video tripods have bowls that let us level the mount with a single lock rather than having to fiddle with three legs.
It doesn't let the camera rotate for vertical shots so we don't use it for stills, but here's a photo with a Nikon FM 35mm SLR on a small tripod for scale:
Nikon FM and 50mm f/1.4 AI-s atop an Oben CTT-1000L compact tripod. bigger.
Good intro top
Pan/Tilt Arm Extended. (shown on Oben CTT-1000L compact tripod.) bigger.
The pan/tilt arm comes off, and even better, simply collapses (telescopes) down into a nub for easy storage and carrying:
Pan/Tilt Arm Collapsed. bigger. |
Removable Pan/Tilt Arm Retracted. bigger. |
Brilliant always-there magnetically-captive 4mm Allen key for easy mounting and tripod adjustments. I wish every head had this!
Compatible with standard Arca-Swiss plates.
Comes with a second spare ¼″ × 20 TPI camera screw in the included Arca-Swiss (compatible) plate. Take it off and store it someplace; you can't really use this head with both screws present as shipped and as I show at the top.
Bad intro top
Nothing, other than not being free and not being Made in U.S.A., FRANCE, Switzerland, GERMANY, Austria, ITALY or similar developed country (from which it would cost $999).
Missing intro top
No case included.
Specifications top
Specifications Recommendations
Load Capacity specifications top
Holds 11 lbs (5 kg).
Tilt specifications top
+90º ~ -60º
Weight specifications top
18 oz (512 g).
Base Diameter specifications top
1.81" (46mm).
Telescopic handle length specifications top
5.51" (140mm) collapsed.
12.9" (330mm) extended.
Dimensions specifications top
4.09 x 3.05 x 2.44 inches.
104 x 77.5 x 62 mm.
Made in specifications top
China.
Price, U. S. A. specifications top
April 2022
$99 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at eBay, if you know How to Win at eBay.
Recommendations top
Specifications Recommendations
Not only for video, this little head is great for use with a small telescope so we can glide it easily around on a tripod:
With 20 × 50mm Telescope and Oben CTT-1000L compact tripod. bigger.
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