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Beauty and the Beast
A Review Of Benro’s GD3WH & Some Thoughts On Geared Heads
Benro TMA28C and GD3WH on Sgurr na Stri high above Loch Coruisk on the isle of Skye
Benro GD3WH and it's nearest contender, the Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head
A Review Of Benro’s GD3WH & Some Thoughts On Geared Heads
Benro TMA28C and GD3WH on Sgurr na Stri high above Loch Coruisk on the isle of Skye
Benro GD3WH and it's nearest contender, the Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head
When I heard rumours of a new geared head, I contacted Scott Bagley at Benro UK. Although a die hard ballhead user, I knew this could be the Holy Grail for many landscape photographers. The killer qualities would be weight, or rather a lack of, Arca Swiss compatibility and Benro’s reputation for quality design and production.
Little did I know how good the GD3WH would be. GD3WH, by the way, stands for Gear Drive 3 Way head.
Much to my surprise, it soon became addictive and the positives massively outweighed any negatives. Having used the Benro TMA28C and B1 Ballhead for quite a few months, they had become so natural to use; they just worked, did the job asked, were simple, light and compact. 8 weeks ago I would never have envisioned replacing the ballhead but it simply has sat on my desk neglected all that time.
The unconverted will ask, “so what’s the big deal with a geared head?”
The answer, in a word, is “precision.” A geared head allows you to fine tune the composition and frame your shot perfectly. They are much favoured by top end photographers shooting macro, architecture and landscape. The primary function of a geared head is to let the photographer make large or small incremental changes to composition in an easy yet precise manner.
Ballheads have a lot of positives; light and compact, easy to use, relatively cheap.The down side is having to adjust and get right all 3 axes of movement at once and even the best can droop slightly as they are tightened up. I accepted the negatives in return for the light weight and bulk but have suffered frustration both trying to set up the composition correctly and even worse looking at a computer monitor and seeing wonky horizons or converging verticals.
Little did I know how good the GD3WH would be. GD3WH, by the way, stands for Gear Drive 3 Way head.
Much to my surprise, it soon became addictive and the positives massively outweighed any negatives. Having used the Benro TMA28C and B1 Ballhead for quite a few months, they had become so natural to use; they just worked, did the job asked, were simple, light and compact. 8 weeks ago I would never have envisioned replacing the ballhead but it simply has sat on my desk neglected all that time.
The unconverted will ask, “so what’s the big deal with a geared head?”
The answer, in a word, is “precision.” A geared head allows you to fine tune the composition and frame your shot perfectly. They are much favoured by top end photographers shooting macro, architecture and landscape. The primary function of a geared head is to let the photographer make large or small incremental changes to composition in an easy yet precise manner.
Ballheads have a lot of positives; light and compact, easy to use, relatively cheap.The down side is having to adjust and get right all 3 axes of movement at once and even the best can droop slightly as they are tightened up. I accepted the negatives in return for the light weight and bulk but have suffered frustration both trying to set up the composition correctly and even worse looking at a computer monitor and seeing wonky horizons or converging verticals.
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