Andoer Tb81X Tripod Ball Head 360 Degree Rotating Panoramic Camera Quick Release Ball Head for Tripod Monopod Slider DSLR Camera with 3Pcs 1/4" to 3/8" Srew Adapters Max. Load 8Kg/17.64Lbs

Hubby's review:Finally found a clamp that will work with the L bracket I bought. My first purchase was a Fotga 60° Two Handle Hydraulic Damping Three-dimensional Pan Head+Quick Release Plate for Tripod Monopod, because I wanted the 3 way adjustments. Then I discovered it is too much trouble to go vertical. So I decided on an L bracket. I ordered the Fotga Universal Quick Release Plate L Bracket only to find out that the L bracket rails are too thick for the clamp on the Forta 3-way. So next I ordered the Desmond Dual Channel Arca & Slidefix Compatible 50mm Clamp with Adapter for Tripod Head, but found out that the clamp on this is too narrow to clamp the L bracket properly. So determined to find the clamp that would work, I ordered this one and believe it or not, it works! The L bracket sits in the grooves perfectly and securely.Now that I got that out of the way, lets talk about the ballhead. The plate that comes with the clamp has to be lifted out because of the stop screws on both ends. It doesn't have a locking pin in the clamp. But of course, the L bracket can't use a locking pin, so not having a locking pin is no biggy for me. It comes with 3 knobs, which are all rubber coated, one for rotation and the other two for tension. And because the tension knobs are opposite each other, you are able to use either hand to make your final adjustment. With the two tension knobs, you can snug one knob to that close adjustment and use the other to tighten the final position. I like keeping one knob slightly loose so I can move the camera. As far as the tension goes, I put my Canon 5D with the 28-135mm lens on the ball head, and set the angle at 30 degrees both horizontal and vertical for 15 minutes; no movement at all. Tightening is more like snugging, very little twist of the knob; stops the ball in its track.I know this is a long winded review, but the idea is to help someone to only have to make a one time decision if you were looking at these products. A Canon full frame camera will be sitting atop this ball head. Most of my shooting will either be with the camera level, using the L bracket, or with the tension slightly loose, so I can control the camera with my hand. I don't expect Manfrotto quality, but at this price who can complain.

For the price, if you don't need a rock solid ball head that will hold a heavy camera setup at any angle, then this is a nice ball head that is reasonably smooth in operation and seems built quite well. It's unfair to compare this to my Really Right Stuff BH-40 head which is $300+, but to do so I'll say this one lacks the buttery smoothness and precision of the RRS head. More importantly however, if you twist the two opposed locking knobs down tightly, you can still move the platform with your hand....it will be very snug but movable nonetheless. With my RRS head, I observed the same thing after tightening down the twist lever to lock the ball. The difference is that upon observing I could still move the platform with my hand, it was still relatively easy to twist the lever of the RRS had to further tighten the clamping pressure on the ball until it was immovable. With the Andoer head, tightening down the two knobs enough to lock the position of the platform simply wasn't possible and one big reason is that the knurl on the knobs is provided by a rubber ring around the knob, that ring simply sliding once the knob is tightened to the limits of the friction fit between knob and rubber ring. If the head was more expensive, I'd probably not give it but 2 stars, maybe 3. But, at this price it's still a highly useful ball head if you know it's operating limits.

The quality of the ball head is good but not perfect. I saw someone complaining about sloppy paint job and finishing touches. I would agree with this statement. My ball head has very tiny dents in few places. But it is visible only when you look very closely at it.The ball head holds my cellphone without a problem. It can hold my Canon Mark II with a 24-70mm lens. I am not sure I fully trust it will keep heavier cameras in place.It feels strong and durable. It is on the heavy side, but I guess it makes it more steady. It is easy to adjust. But the camera mount rail doesn't slide too smoothly. It locks in place with ease.If you overlook all the imperfections of this ball head, it is still a decent piece of equipment, especially for the price.Most likely in the future, I will get a more solid brand, but for now, it does the job.

I will upload a video example of how this ballhead function.I've bought many stuff from Andoer and they always seem to work well for a very long time, this is no exception. Before I got this, I own a cheap $30 tripod fluid head, however it's extremely lacking for the content I do. The pan motion on this ballhead quite amazing, it's really fluid and with a quarter, it locks to place. In fact most of the knobs only need a quarter of a turn to lock in place. The fluid motion makes it so easy for slider movements to get that parallax motion making little mistakes (retakes). This ballhead can take heavy loads, I lended my Canon 5D MKIV to a friend before taking these photos, though it really can support the weight of the Canon 5D MKIV with a 70-200mm 2.8 USM with ease. There are 2 locking knobs for the ball, however I actually like to keep the smaller one loose and let the bigger knob be in charge of the locking position. This is apparently Version 2 so it's most likely an upgrade to the first version as a response the older reviews, where some had troubles. I've took this out on a couple of shoots, so I will also show more examples of it when I am back home.Overall this is a great piece of equipment, it's small for bags, and a heck lot better than the fluid tripod head that squeaks when torqued down.

Robuste . Permet une rotation "visqueuse" ajustable très pratique et agréable.Passage de la position portrait à la position paysage très facile (pratique).Niveau à bulle pratique.Platine permettant de désolidariser très rapidement l'appareil du pied.Je recommande.

Bastante util y practio para la fotografia , la pieza es bastante maciza y lo suficiente para sostener telefotos grandes

Generally the unit is made very well and is of heavy construction. On mine the ball release screw is a bit tight to nip up and the jaws don’t open far enough to get the arca Swiss plate on my camera in but it slides in from the side no problem. Once locked the ball is solid no creeping at all. For the price it’s a great piece of kit !👌🏻😁 the transaction was faultless and speedy deliver as always !

I only used it with very light cameras so I cannot comment on how it would work with heavier setups. But for my use case, I have no complaints.

En déballant cette rotule, on est tout d'abord surpris par la qualité "visible" de l'objet. Ce dernier est essentiellement en métal (sauf les molettes et les niveaux bulle) et l'alliance de couleur noir/doré a de l'allure.Et puis ensuite on l'utilise... ce qui révèle un certain nombre de minuscules défauts, assez embarrassants quand même:- L'anneau gradué, au pied de la rotule, semble indiquer que celle-ci a été conçue pour effectuer des panoramiques vidéo très précis. En fait, non. Lorsque la rotule effectue une rotation sur son axe de base, des aspérités (défauts de finition) empêchent que le mouvement soit parfaitement régulier, et ça se voit à l'image. Oubliez les panoramiques.- Malgré deux petits ergots qui semblent indiquer le contraire, le plateau attache rapide n'est pas pourvu d'une sécurité anti-chute. Si vous le serrez mal, il glissera et tombera. Il ne coulisse pas bien (la peinture étant un peu épaisse apparemment) et il faut littéralement ouvrir à fond la pince de la rotule pour le faire entrer. Puis resserrer à fond cette même pince pour que le plateau ne risque pas de tomber.- Par ailleurs, il est doté sur le dessous d'une sorte de petite "poignée" (en fil de fer) pour visser votre appareil. Mais ladite poignée est à la fois difficile à déplier... et difficile à faire entrer dans son réceptacle afin qu'il soit ensuite possible de fixer le plateau sur le sommet de la rotule. Ça n'a l'air de rien, mais vous verrez, dans la pratique, ça devient vite énervant.- Le pas de vis permettant de monter cette rotule sur un trépied est de 3/8", ce qui est assez classique. mais méfiez-vous quand même de ne pas chercher à le monter sur une vis 1/4 (format utilisé pour la fixation des appareils photos eux-mêmes). comme on en trouve souvent. Vous aurez alors besoin d'un adaptateur mâle/mâle 1/4-3/8 (personnellement j'ai acheté  Smarstar 1/4" à 3/8" Adaptateur à vis mâle ).- Cette rotule est assez lourde, ce qui la rend (relativement) impropre, par exemple, à une utilisation sur monopode.Donc? Bref? Quoi?Les Chinois produisent aujourd'hui des articles de précision d'une qualité bluffante pour un prix très modeste.Cette rotule n'appartient pas à cette catégorie.C'est un joli objet, passablement inadapté à un usage professionnel ou même simplement "sérieux".Pour un usage amateur, ou si vous êtes un photographe occasionnel, elle pourra vous rendre de grands services, surtout si vous n'oubliez pas de serrer à fond l'attache rapide.Dans l'absolu, je n'aurais pas donné plus de 2,5 étoiles (tout au plus) à cet accessoire que je trouve beaucoup plus joli que pratique... ou même fini.Mais, à 20 euros, le rapport qualité prix est correct. D'autant qu'elle est jolie et qu'elle possède deux niveaux à bulle (un pour les plans horizontaux, l'autre pour les photos en mode portrait). D'où les 4 étoiles.Pour trouver mieux, il faudra payer plus cher.Mais la dépense supplémentaire peut être justifiée, alors réfléchissez avant d'acheter. Smarstar 1/4" à 3/8" Adaptateur à vis mâle