Why I Use Fluid Heads for Still Photography. 

You just need an L-bracket and a good fluid head and that's it. Now I tend to shoot wedding formals with a tripod so to make every single photo level, and even if you didn't level perfectly you just fix the first one and then apply it to the rest in lightroom. I even got the same fluid head.

This guy is a name bingo full house . Christian name for a surname and surname for a Christian name

Awesome man

Hudson, I have been studying your panorama course at ON1 and especially the no-parallax segment. I have acquired the MVH500AH fluid head and am wondering if that can be used in place of the panning clamp (assuming I can manage the mounting of the camera/lens). Haoge makes nodal slider that is compatible with the 500AH and I can mount an Arca Swiss clamp to that gadget for the L-bracket. It seems to me that the center panning axis of the video head would be the same as the panning clamp. I realize this won't allow the more advanced pano setup but it would allow me to get started. Your thoughts?

I agree with you 100%. I hate ball heads, they are made for stills. The fluid heads are so versatile. You need to increase your audio, I have my volume cranked up and can barely hear you. Thanks

Hudson, I recently set up a similar outfit with the Manfrotto head, Desmond adapter for the bowl, Benro COM37C legs. For doing panos, I was wondering if you have a horizontal click stop between the fluid head and the bowl adapter or are you just eyeballing it. Just something with degree markings would help if making a multi-row pano. Thanks

Hi - great video and very inspirational. I have a RRS tripod, what do I need to attach this fluid head to a ArcaSwiss type plate to fit, without it falling off or becoming loose?

One can use this same Video Head on a "normal" tripod without the ball base. You will need to get a Levelling Base such as the Sunwayfoto (which I use), but the combination of your tripod and a levelling base will be a very cheap option.

Ball heads are great for taking portraiture, geared heads for almost everything and it is indispensable for applications that need precision, gimbals for super telephoto lenses, pano heads for panoramic stitching and fluid heads for smooth camera movements. The counter-balance of most fluid heads, except for the very expensive and extremely heavy ones, will not be able to handle heavy super-telephoto lenses such as a 400 f/2.8 or a 600 f/4. By comparison, a lightweight gimbal head such as a Mongoose head will have no problem. Also, fluid heads do not have the same wide range of motion as ball heads do. If you need a tripod head for stills that is both fast and accurate, you can try looking into a hybrid geared head such as a Swiss Arca D4 or something similar. I've seen a few cheaper Chinese knock-offs of that too.

definitely in on fluid, and was reviewing Manfrotto; curious your thoughts on the best one to pair with my just received Fuji GFX100 - I have benro carbon legs, Linhof ball+ quick plates etc. but you are making me rethinking the kit - also adding a tbd monopod for places where form factor does not allow a tripod. - thanks for your thoughts cheers

Just wanted to shout out a big THANK YOU Hudson! for turning me onto the fluid head option. After watching all of your videos and thinking hard about it, I consolidated all of my tripods into one set up - an RRS 24L + RRS Ta-2-LB leveling base + Manfrotto MVH501AH head + Kirk MVH500-BQRV2 A-S adapter. Yes it was expensive, but I use it for EVERYTHING -- landscape, long lens birding w/600mm and for video work. It works so well that I've sold my traveler, Series 3 and Series 5 tripods and Wimberley head. Shooting just got a little easier with less hassle thanks to you!

Thanks to your videos, I have renewed my 14 year old tripod and now I have a new Leofoto 284CEX and a fluid head with an L-bracket and an adapter to orient the camera correctly on its axis. Your videos have been of great help and now I just hope I can go out to test it properly.

Great rundown of the pros and cons of using a fluid head for stills, all my questions answered. Thanks.

I'm a long time photographer new to video, and searching for a fluid head has brought up a bunch of questions for me. You just answered them all in 11 minutes! This makes so much sense and is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks for the helpful info, I'll be subscribing!

Thanks! I was about to pick up a gimbal setup, but now I'll go with the fluid head instead!

Thanks for the great demonstration. This is definitely going to make me reconsider my long time allegiance to ball heads for still photography. .Especially since I end up having to carry a separate tripod and fluid head for the camcorder.

You’re so right! I do it for the last 40 years. Good video, thanks!

Thanks for the tip on the acratech leveling adapter. It's just what I needed.

I have been trying to make up my mind about what head to get. This video answers my question. Thank you.

Thanks for a thorough explanation of the fluid head. I'm sold!