[list] "fluid" & "friction" heads

[Dan Wake]

update

 

Fluid Heads

 

• Sachtler Ace M
• Sachtler FSB 4

 

Friction Heads

 

• Manfrotto 701
• Manfrotto 501
• Manfrotto 502
• Manfrotto 503
• Manfrotto 504

 

 

 

Can you help me to make this list please?

 

I need to separate fluid heads from friction heads.

 

I will update the list with your info.

 

I wish to understand and clarify with your help which kind of video head are better... friction or fluid?

 

....and what is the mechanical difference can you post some example please? schemes? 

 

Which are the best price/quality ratio tripods for both categories? 

 

Let's start to understand! :)

 

Thanks for your help!!!! :)

[HurtinMinorKey]

I have a Sachtler Ace M, which has a fluid head. It's by far the best tripod I've owned.

[Dan Wake]

I have a Sachtler Ace M, which has a fluid head. It's by far the best tripod I've owned.

 

Thanks for help list updated! :)

Can you help me to understand the difference between fluid and friction heads please? thx a lot! :)

[HurtinMinorKey]

As far as I know ( i do  not claim to be an expert), a fluid head uses the flow of viscous fluid to smoothly control the rate of panning. As you turn (or tilt) the head, fluid is forced through an opening. The wider the opening (which is often adjustable) the less resistance on the movement. 

 

With a friction head, resistance is determined by two washers (i think nylon usually) that can be compressed tighter together to create more (or less) resistance.  The use of solid friction makes the resistance much less smooth than a fluid head. This is why most serious video tripods use fluid heads. Friction heads are more commonly used in photography.   

 

Personally I think if you are serious about video, you should't skimp on the tripod. It's something that is extremely important for quality camera movements, and even more important, they last a lot longer than a camera body. 

[Dan Wake]

As far as I know ( i do  not claim to be an expert), a fluid head uses the flow of viscous fluid to smoothly control the rate of panning. As you turn (or tilt) the head, fluid is forced through an opening. The wider the opening (which is often adjustable) the less resistance on the movement. 

 

With a friction head, resistance is determined by two washers (i think nylon usually) that can be compressed tighter together to create more (or less) resistance.  The use of solid friction makes the resistance much less smooth than a fluid head. This is why most serious video tripods use fluid heads. Friction heads are more commonly used in photography.   

 

Personally I think if you are serious about video, you should't skimp on the tripod. It's something that is extremely important for quality camera movements, and even more important, they last a lot longer than a camera body. 

 

thank you for your explanation! :) I'm going to spend part of my budget to buy the tripod really soon. I'm really in pain because I have found two options and I do not know which to choose. the first one is the Manfrotto 525MVB + 501HDV at 390 euros (used from a friend so I trust in the conditions). the second one is the Sachtler ACE 530 euros (new). If you can help me to choose I would be really grateful I think I'm going crazy! :D  thanks a lot!!  :)

Dan

[dahlfors]

Most shops around here in Sweden don't sell Sachtler, so I have no idea about how those perform. However, when I got my Manfrotto 503HDV head, I tried panning and tilting both 501 and 503 heads in the shop. The 503 felt much smoother and concise compared to the 501, which made my choice easy.

 

So, my advice is to try to find a shop where you can actually try them out. Then you can probably figure out if the difference is large enough for you to want to save a bit of money from your budget or not.

[Dan Wake]

Most shops around here in Sweden don't sell Sachtler, so I have no idea about how those perform. However, when I got my Manfrotto 503HDV head, I tried panning and tilting both 501 and 503 heads in the shop. The 503 felt much smoother and concise compared to the 501, which made my choice easy.

 

So, my advice is to try to find a shop where you can actually try them out. Then you can probably figure out if the difference is large enough for you to want to save a bit of money from your budget or not.

 

I do not know if this rule applies to both fluid and friction heads.... my cinema teacher said that before using the video tripod we should do some circular movement with it (60/120/more seconds, it depends how cold it is). so doing those movements its mechanics becomes warm and it is more fluid. this is because external temperature may be cold and the mechanics needs to be warmed. did you have warmed a little bit them before the try? maybe the 501 seemed less fluid because of those reasons.

[HurtinMinorKey]

I do not know if this rule applies to both fluid and friction heads.... my cinema teacher said that before using the video tripod we should do some circular movement with it (60/120/more seconds, it depends how cold it is). so doing those movements its mechanics becomes warm and it is more fluid. this is because external temperature may be cold and the mechanics needs to be warmed. did you have warmed a little bit them before the try? maybe the 501 seemed less fluid because of those reasons.

 

This is phenomena will be much more noticeable on friction heads because the friction will generate much more heat. This is one of the reasons you stay away from friction heads for serious video. You want to the resistance to be as consistent as possible.

[jgharding]

In my experience fluid is just better. I own a 501HDV but often use hired gear. The Sachtler DSLR is great...

[dahlfors]

I do not know if this rule applies to both fluid and friction heads.... my cinema teacher said that before using the video tripod we should do some circular movement with it (60/120/more seconds, it depends how cold it is). so doing those movements its mechanics becomes warm and it is more fluid. this is because external temperature may be cold and the mechanics needs to be warmed. did you have warmed a little bit them before the try? maybe the 501 seemed less fluid because of those reasons.

 

Both had been inside the shop all day, so both should have had the same room temperature since they were placed next to each other. Good tip though, I will surely try to move mine around a bit more before using it.