Benro GD3WH Precision Geared Head Lightweight Magnesium Alloy, 3-Way Movement, Quick-Release Plate, and 360° Rotation for Professional Photography

I like the way you can make micro changes to the position of the camera quickly and very accurately, it is excellent for positioning star tracker units and aligning to Polaris with pin prick precision without having to twist a ball head screw tightly only to find it moves out of position when released, this geared head eleminates all those stresses associated with ball heads. Once you try this method you will never want to use a ball head again! The clutch release system is also a brilliant idea if you want a sudden large change in position without having to turn the gear over and over to reach the desired position, its fast and easy to do, though on a design point the spikey clutch grip piece i think would have been much design had it been based on a pressable locking button because they can be quite awkward to engage because the strong spring system they use, it has quite a lot of spring resistance (too much in my opinion) and a button system would not only make it easier but probably more compact too, which leads me onto the next dislike, the size! The unit is very bulky and i'm sure it could have been completely scaled down a bit so that it is less bulky in size, and finally my final dislike is that the camera swiss arca plate platform is slightly offset from the centre of the tripod which alters the centre of gravity to be more off balance, i would have much preferred to see the camera end up directly centred over the tripod centre for better stability and better centre of gravity. That all said and done with its pros and cons i can with no question at all definitely give it a 5 star review, i would still 100% recommend this geared head over any ball head system out there. Go buy it! It has made my camera tripod life a breeze. The Best camera related purchase of this year for me! It is a fairly expensive purchase but worth every penny its value for money, and compared to the competition it is actually very cheap by comparison. If a version 2 with these design amendments came out it would be totally unbeatable.

A bit faffy, large and uncomfortable to use quickly due to the heavy springs used on the rapid adjustment knobs. But otherwise works well. No play in any orientation, and holds the camera solidly in position.

For the last 20 years I have been a big advocate of ball and socket heads on tripods because they are really quick to use and just work really well. However, I took the plunge and bought this after watching a few YouTube clips and I've got to say I'm really blowing away with how it changes my workflow. It's all about the precision at allows, You can set a landscape shot up with your ball head really quickly, but find tuning the composition is never that easy and quite often you find that when you let go of the camera, it always moves slightly as gravity takes over from your hands. But with this head, And it's gear knobs, You have a different experience, especially when using one of those articulated screens on your camera body. Yesterday I was in the Yorkshire Dales doing landscape and rather than having to kneel down and look through an awkward view finder to get a lowdown photograph, I could pretty much stand above the tripod looking down onto the articulated viewfinder and with the three knobs ease the camera into position and perfectly compose the photo I wanted. No longer having to Neil down and look through the viewfinder. I can't really compare this to other geared heads because I've never used them, but I found this simple and quick once used to it, It is Arca Swiss so You can get tripod plates for all your camera bodies. Very cheaply. Oh I have used it for kitchen and bathroom photography jobs and it was brilliant for those too, very easy to get the camera perfectly level using these control knobs and with a tilt shift lens. You can really blitz these jobs and speed up your editing because everything is correct when you shoot it.

I am a landscape photographer and the Benro Geared head was recommended to me on a photography workshop by along with an L bracket to improve my composition skills. If you use a tripod a 'geared head' is I have found an essential pice of kit. You can pay a lot of money for a 'geared head' for your tripod but the Benro whilst being relatively cheap is manufactured to a very high quality. Its easily replaced the 'ball head' on my carbon Vanguard tripod without the addition of a spacer and locked securely in place. The Benro geared head (or any geared head) unlike a ball head offers precise adjustments to your composition in the field. It has certainly greatly improved my work flow. The Benro whilst a little heavier than a ball head is engineered to a high spec it is built to last. Precise adjustments are possible quickly unlike a 'ball head' The locking plate is also so much easier to use, allowing you to switch from landscape to upright quickly (using an L bracket). It is excellent value for its price and will last for years. It will also for a relatively small outlay will greatly improve your photography.

I really like this head and tend to use it over a std ball head when ever possible. It is just so solid, I'm sure the higher priced items of the same type may well be better but for the cost this is fine for my level of photography.

So a year on I thought I would write a review on this not inexpensive gearhead with the benefit of a lot of use. For context Im a landscape and astrophotographer so this mount gets a lot of use in some less than favourable environments and weather conditions :) My assessment is that this is an excellent mount which is super helpful for framing landscape and astro compositions, but it has one mechanical flaw which is the knob for the arca plate which keeps falling off. This has happened to me 5 or 6 times now the last time requiring me to hunt around in a field with a torch at 2am and -5 degrees...not a happy bunny. The issue seems to be that the screw that holds the knob in place gets loosened over time and as it is spring loaded can fire the knob quite some distance without warning. If found its easily fixed but these are very small parts and its only luck that i havent lost them thus far, but I do wish Benro had made this component a bit more enduring. Otherwise this is an awesome mount and well worth the money, just watch that knob :)

This is a very well made geared head and represents good value for money ,if it is a geared head that you are after. I've previously used Manfrotto 410 Geared Heads, and I did have a problem with one having 'play' in the head. The Benro I examined didn't exhibited this problem. However, I have been using Manfrotto Ball Heads for quite a few years and have always found them to be very well made and reliable. There is less to go wrong with a Ball Head, and the 468MG Ball Head with a Q6 plate weighs less that the Benro GD3 WH Geared Head, which I have been assessing. The Benro without a plate weighs 720g as against the Manfrotto at 674g. One problem I have encountered with the geared head (and this is specific to my particular tripod, which is a Gitzo GT2541, which has a centre column that needs to be swung into a horizontal position to take really low, close to the ground shots), is that the geared head ends up pointing to the ground and cannot be adjusted sufficiently, whereas this is no problem for the Ballhead, The geared head gives very precise movements in 3 directions, which makes getting the head absolutely level very intuitive, but after having said that, I've never had an issue with attaining the same with the ballhead. If you are set on a geared head, this one is certainly good value for money.

It is light, wow. The cheap ones on eBay are not the same, the real ones on general sale in the UK are made from Magnesium, hence the price, around £179, the ones on eBay are made from aluminium and weigh a lot more, and their price £100ish. Found one on eBay advertising Benro GH3WD .....magnesium, but when you opened up the description it said Material: Aluminium!! Just one thing, if using with a tripod similar to the Gitzo Systematic range then you need the adaptor to lift it as some control knobs are actually below the base of the head. But apart from that, fantastic precision controls and very very stable, you can even tighten the controls by turning the large quick release backward, it ensures no play. Just to point out that I have no issues with L Brackets or any Arca Swiss style QRPs, You have to turn the release knob on the head until it reaches the stop, where it tells you to pull, but while pulling you have to keep turning to fully open the clamp.