Benro GD3WH Geared Head

[Manfred M]

I have been working around the limitations of my RRS BH-55 for a number of years now.

Ball heads are great for landscapes and portraiture, but even the very high end ball heads will droop just a touch. I had been looking at getting a geared head for a number of years for this specialty work, but unfortunately the only two options were the Arca-Swiss line (think $$$$ very high end and expensive) and the Manfrotto line with its proprietary plate design (yes, there are Arca-Swiss to Manfrotto conversion kits available).

I recently discovered Benro has launched a geared head that was quite affordable (I got mine for $CAD 250 on Amazon), which is quite light weight and uses Arca-Swiss plates natively.

I've just started running it through its paces and am impressed so far. Very light weight, reasonable capacity (6kg / 13 lb).

It has a coarse adjustment on all three axes ans well as the fine adjustments one expects from one of these heads.

[DanK]

Very interesting. I have used the Manfroto junior, which is the logical competitor, for years. This has a few clear advantages: lighter weight, lower cost (US $209 vs. 279), and an arca-swiss compatible clamp. I had to spend the money to add a Hejnar clamp to replace the proprietary clamp that comes with the Manfroto. The Benro also has built-in levels, but for my uses, that isn't a big deal: I worry about orientation relative to the subject. This isn't for landscape, after all. According to B&H, the Benro has 90 degrees of rotation, while the Manfroto has 120 (30 in the reverse direction), but I don't think that is important; I never even noticed it.

I noticed that the top knob extends above the clamp on the Benro. it doesn't on the Manfroto. Has that been a problem?

It would be good to compare them side-by-side. One issue is the threads used for the fine adjustment, that is, the ratio of turns of the knob to degrees. That would affect how well one can make fine adjustments at high levels of magnification. However, I'm guessing that the two are very similar in that regard. I wouldn't be surprised if the Manfroto was the inspiration for the Benro.

[Donald]

Brilliant geared head. I've had one for about 18 months.

[ST1]

Very interesting. I have used the Manfroto junior, which is the logical competitor, for years. I had to spend the money to add a Hejnar clamp to replace the proprietary clamp that comes with the Manfroto.
However, I'm guessing that the two are very similar in that regard. I wouldn't be surprised if the Manfroto was the inspiration for the Benro.

I too have the Manfrotto (410) with a Hejnar conversion. However it’s a heavy lump to carry around whilst out and about during Landscape treks.
The Benro looks to closer resemble the Manfrotto 405 head rather than the 410, it’s lighter weight makes it attractive as a potential replacement.
As well as the Hejnar conversion I have an L bracket permanently on my camera which is so much better for portrait shooting than using the rotation potential of the head. Having the head in portrait orientation means the camera is off to the side of the tripod which I found to be very restricting.



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[DanK]

I also leave an L-bracket on my camera.

I very rarely carry the Manfrotto. I do almost no work outside the house that requires such fine adjustment. When I do landscape and other outdoor work, I usually remove he Manfrotto and use a far lighter Markins ball head.


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[Manfred M]

I noticed that the top knob extends above the clamp on the Benro. it doesn't on the Manfroto. Has that been a problem?

It does not seem to be a problem. There is more than enough clearance between the camera body and the knob on head. I can fit a finger in the gap.