Sachtler Ace XL

[Mohammed Almedfa]

I was wondering if anyone had any experience or thoughts regarding this tripod head? Or whether another alternative is a better choice, even if going up in budget somewhat?

I am coming from a pair of Manfrotto 504HD's and am looking for something superior.

Also does anyone know whether this head will fit on the Manfrotto 546 legs? They are both 75mm bowl, but a reviewer on B&H reported incompatibility between the Ace XL & some legs from other manufacturers.

 

[Ben Scott]

I wouldn't put a Red on a 75mm tripod. Tried with many times and it is never good enough.

Cheapest useable 100mm tripod used to be the manfrotto 509HD but I think Benro has some better and cheaper ones out now. I use a Miller Compass 25 head with Miller carbon Solo legs and it is great for the type of jobs I do where the payload is still never really any more than about 10-15KG.

 

[Mohammed Almedfa]

Thanks for the advice Ben, I will look further into the models listed!

 

[Kwan Sheung Chi]

I used a Sachtler Ace L before and sold it very quickly, too much backlash. The old Sachtler FSB-6/8 heads are much better, and not hard to get one used for good price.

 

[Mohammed Almedfa]

Thanks Kwan!

 

[Philip Lima]

+1 on the FSB-8. I use that with my weapon kits on a regular basis and it handles it well enough. It's a great solution for traveling if you're trying to keep things light.

 

[BrandonChristensen]

I have an FSB8 and while it's relatively new, I really like it. I've used the FSB10 a ton and it's also awesome. You can get great deals at BH in the Used section on FSB10 heads.

I wanted Flowtech 75's, though so FSB8 was for me.

 

[Dan Kanes]

I really want to try one of these out:

http://amzn.to/2ET5vtW

Seems pretty novel and capable for a cheap head.

 

[Mohammed Almedfa]

Thanks for the pointer on the B&H used section. I hadn't even realised it existed!

Any consensus opinion between a Sachtler FSB-10T & the Miller Compass 23?

 

[Guy Staley]

I had purchased some other products from Chinese manufacturer Sirui in the past and been extremely impressed with their build quality. They released a line of video heads that I had been eyeing for a a while now, so I finally pulled the trigger on Amazon figuring I could always return it if it wasn't up to snuff. Suffice to say I will NOT be returning it. Easily worth 3 times the cost:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014QWQKVU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=b0oygiWBp5o

Absolutely love this head. Seriously puts Manfrotto anything to shame. Equivalent of a Sachtler 18. Comes with a 6 year warranty to boot.

 

[Mark Andersen]

I wouldn't put a Red on a 75mm tripod. Tried with many times and it is never good enough.

Cheapest useable 100mm tripod used to be the manfrotto 509HD but I think Benro has some better and cheaper ones out now. I use a Miller Compass 25 head with Miller carbon Solo legs and it is great for the type of jobs I do where the payload is still never really any more than about 10-15KG.

Oops, I put my Red on a Gitzo with a 75mm ball all the time, especially when traveling. In fact once in Costa Rica I had the Red with a 600mm Canon on a small 75mm ball head. Its all about balance.

 

[Homer Dulu]

Thanks for the pointer on the B&H used section. I hadn't even realised it existed!

Any consensus opinion between a Sachtler FSB-10T & the Miller Compass 23?

I haven't used a Compass 23, but I recently bought the FSB-10T with the carbon legs and I'm really happy with it. Very smooth panning and tilting, and the legs were stable. Agree with the 75mm heads slipping - I used to have a Manfrotto 502HD head and it was really frustrating.

 

[Ben Scott]

Oops, I put my Red on a Gitzo with a 75mm ball all the time, especially when traveling. In fact once in Costa Rica I had the Red with a 600mm Canon on a small 75mm ball head. Its all about balance.

And did you pan and tilt with in the shot?

 

[Mohammed Almedfa]

Thanks for all the insights, helped me realise a 100mm bowl / higher weight capacity head would be well worth it. I ended up going with a Miller Compass 23 set with alloy Solo legs (Going to replace them with the Manfrotto 536 CF Legs) as the local Miller dealer was offering a sizeable discount on their existing stock, and no longer had Compass 25 or Solo CF legs available.

Looking forward to putting it into use