Gitzo - GHF2W 2-Way Fluid Head

This seemed like a lot to spend on a head but I’m very pleased with it. Lovely smooth action and it easily balances my mid-weight scope (Opticron MM4 77) so you can readily move with a fingertip action. Theres some weight to it but not excessively so and the rules of engineering mean it probably wouldn’t be as solid in use if it was lighter. There’s a fair amount of resistance but no stiction and only a moderate degree of adjustability but I’m very happy with how it is. A total revelation compared to the head that came with my Benro Wild tripod. There’s no spirit level but my tripod and levelling base each have one. Whilst it is Arca Swiss compatible, not all plates will fit - but the supplied one is really secure. I’m holding one back on quality as my first one of ... MoreThis seemed like a lot to spend on a head but I’m very pleased with it. Lovely smooth action and it easily balances my mid-weight scope (Opticron MM4 77) so you can readily move with a fingertip action. Theres some weight to it but not excessively so and the rules of engineering mean it probably wouldn’t be as solid in use if it was lighter. There’s a fair amount of resistance but no stiction and only a moderate degree of adjustability but I’m very happy with how it is. A total revelation compared to the head that came with my Benro Wild tripod. There’s no spirit level but my tripod and levelling base each have one. Whilst it is Arca Swiss compatible, not all plates will fit - but the supplied one is really secure. I’m holding one back on quality as my first one of these was an ex demo from somewhere else and the body parts were working loose and I couldn’t work out how I could access the screws to tighten it. But, so far, I’m very pleased with it.

Alex C's review of Gitzo GHF2W 2 Way Fluid Head

Pros: Gitzo GHF2W 2 Way Fluid HeadOne of the best birding telescope heads available on the market today. The counter balance control is brilliant and balances the whole set up nicely. If you can get it with a Gitzo tripod, definitely worth while set up for the keen birding enthusiast.The latest Swarovski ATX telescope with the Arca Swiss foot fits directly onto this Gitzo head without a plate.Cons: The counter-balance knob required warranty adjustment after 8 weeks. Everything was resolved and both the customer service and Gitzo warranty were superb.

At very low pan speeds, a bit jerky

I really wanted to like this product; it's very well built, seems sturdy and of high quality, it's pretty lightweight, and it fits without the connecting plate to my Swarovski scope. I also like the angle marker at the bottom. However, if I pan really slowly, which I do a lot when birdwatching, there is a slight jerk, so it moves not entirely smoothly but in small discrete increments. This makes it hard to follow birds flying. Panning vertically is much worse. I'm keeping it for now but if it doesn't get better I'll have to return it.

Brilliant head

I've tried out a few different tripod heads for birding and this is by far the best. It's well made, lightweight and both axis are smooth which is just what I need. It's simple to use as well. I also think it's better quality than the Swarovski version (and less expensive). An added advantage is the arca-swiss quick release which is compatible with by Swarovski scope so I don't need to use a plate.

Gitzo Quality

I'm still amazed at how cheap this was ($260 at this writing). It's a Gitzo product no doubt about that. This is a marked improvement over the previous version that used the proprietary Gitzo plates.I had no problem locking it down. Sure you can get it to move if you have leverage and force it. But in the real world it is not an issue for me.Great thing is it takes standard Arca type plates, which is hard to find in a fluid head. I'm using it on a Gitzo Leveling tripod. It's a great match for that. I'm going to buy another for my RRS ground pod for use with spotting scopes.

Good for birding scope, not perfect for photo / video

This head works fine with heavy scopes like the Kowa 883 (I have one) -- contrary to the last review. When you mount the scope the first time you might have to move the plate a few millimeters forward or back to initially balance the setup -- this is standard for any head / device connection!Cons:- It doesn't truly lock fully solid, but is good enough for birding, and even long exposure photos, if you are able to not jerk the camera between aligning the shot and triggering it.- The pan and tilt is not that fluid, esp. for video. Example: when you pan from point 1 to point 2, you have to 'overpan' slightly and then the scope will 'bounce back' a degree or two (unless there is no tension on the pan, but isn't that the point of a fluid head?). This is acceptable ... MoreThis head works fine with heavy scopes like the Kowa 883 (I have one) -- contrary to the last review. When you mount the scope the first time you might have to move the plate a few millimeters forward or back to initially balance the setup -- this is standard for any head / device connection!Cons:- It doesn't truly lock fully solid, but is good enough for birding, and even long exposure photos, if you are able to not jerk the camera between aligning the shot and triggering it.- The pan and tilt is not that fluid, esp. for video. Example: when you pan from point 1 to point 2, you have to 'overpan' slightly and then the scope will 'bounce back' a degree or two (unless there is no tension on the pan, but isn't that the point of a fluid head?). This is acceptable for scoping but bad for video.A major pet peeve of my own:- Without an adapter, this head eventually unloosens itself from my pricey carbon fiber Gitzo traveler tripod because the the bottom plate of the head, top plate of the tripod, and the carbon fiber neck on which the top plate rests are not constructed/machined to maintain tension with one another. This is a horrible experience that should have been found during testing. I solved it through the addition of a quick release plate + arca adapter, but this pricy workaround should NOT have been necessary. It's certainly not necessary with my other non Gitzo tripod. Well, at least it makes the tripod head faster to remove.I still suspect it's the best birding scope head at this price point.

It's nice, but . . .

It's a nice fluid head of a simple, clean design and a moderate size, but I would agree with another reviewer in noting the inability to fully lock the panning and tilting functions. With my unit, I am able to come CLOSE to locking the tilt, as I can tighten it to a point where it still moves, but only with some force. On the other hand, I cannot seem to tighten (by hand, anyway) the panning control to prevent panning.I plan on keeping the unit despite these issues since it is compact and light, and it otherwise works well.

Nice lightweight bit of kit

I've bought this to complete a new tripod set up for bird watching. It's very lightweight and feels solid and stable in use. Accepting it is designed for lightness for the price and Gitzo name I am a bit disappointed that some parts are plastic and not alloy. It would be only a small sacrifice in weight to have made the main adjusters metal, and likewise the arm clamp. Only time will tell if these prove vulnerable to wear and tear. Right now I am very pleased that with this and the Calumet carbon tripod I bought I've saved 1.25kg from my former set up. That's pleasing in itself. Other than the plastics (which I'll probably not rue in cold weather) im pleased as punch.The counterbalance system is rather good once you've set it up properly, saves fiddling with the ... MoreI've bought this to complete a new tripod set up for bird watching. It's very lightweight and feels solid and stable in use. Accepting it is designed for lightness for the price and Gitzo name I am a bit disappointed that some parts are plastic and not alloy. It would be only a small sacrifice in weight to have made the main adjusters metal, and likewise the arm clamp. Only time will tell if these prove vulnerable to wear and tear. Right now I am very pleased that with this and the Calumet carbon tripod I bought I've saved 1.25kg from my former set up. That's pleasing in itself. Other than the plastics (which I'll probably not rue in cold weather) im pleased as punch.The counterbalance system is rather good once you've set it up properly, saves fiddling with the main controls in use and ensures stable viewing angle. Clever stuff. I am not sure why you wouldn't use it all the time but there is the option to disengage it - perhaps for video. The action is buttery smooth.The Arca clamp is perfect. I have other Arca compatible kit and it's much better than the old Manfrotto head and plate system I was using before.Good bit of kit, can't wait to get to use it more!

Sleek design, but . . .

I would give this fluid head 1.25 stars, actually, because it is relatively light in weight and sleek in overall design. The problem is that neither the pan nor the vertical control will lock down, no matter how hard the two locking wheels are turned. At this moment, in fact, I am unable to remove it from a tripod because I cannot First lock the pan movement.I would not recommend this fluid head until these important issues are fixed.

Use with larger spotting scope for birding

I bought several video and pan/tilt heads for use with the Kowa TSN-883 spotting scope for birding. This one had a few major issues that made it not practical for birding. The plus side is the quality was very high, so if using for video or a smaller spotting scope it might be a good option. But with the larger scope, it wasn't able to balance correctly so the scope wanted to tip backwards all the time, even if I slid the ARCA plate all the way forward. The tilt control feature was not enough to overcome the weight either. The other issue is that I thought there was supposed to be a single knob to lock pan and tilt at the same time, but it was two knobs located on the left side. The knobs were a good size though and easy to operate. I do think that the scope tended ... MoreI bought several video and pan/tilt heads for use with the Kowa TSN-883 spotting scope for birding. This one had a few major issues that made it not practical for birding. The plus side is the quality was very high, so if using for video or a smaller spotting scope it might be a good option. But with the larger scope, it wasn't able to balance correctly so the scope wanted to tip backwards all the time, even if I slid the ARCA plate all the way forward. The tilt control feature was not enough to overcome the weight either. The other issue is that I thought there was supposed to be a single knob to lock pan and tilt at the same time, but it was two knobs located on the left side. The knobs were a good size though and easy to operate. I do think that the scope tended to drop a little though after I locked the tilt. I ended up going with the Sirui VA-5 instead, which eliminated all of the issues except it does still have separate lock knobs for pan and tilt. Other good options were the SmallRig lightweight video fluid head (smaller size but not as good quality as Sirui), and manfrotto 128RC (similar issues as Gitzo and no ARCA plate, but the knobs locked tighter).