Gitzo GH1720QR Two Way Fluid Head

After hours of researching compact fluid heads online for a fluid head to eventually replace my Manfrotto 701 HDV which I've been using for years. I decided on getting the Gitzo GH1720QR Two Way Fluid Head for its compactness and weight. What most reviews don't tell you is the tilt function on this fluid head is very stiff. I thought that maybe because it is new or my Sony NX-80 which is only about 2lbs is maybe too light for this head? So I reached out to VitechGroup to see if there is a way to adjust the tension and their response was this."The GH1720QR is a fixed drag head. So the lock is either off, or on. There is no way to adjust the amount of tension, while still maintaining a smooth drag. "Have a wonderful day!Wow! not much help there I even searched forums to see if anyone else had this issue and it appears there are a few, but nothing that really helped. One person took it apart as far as he could and tried to grease the thing. That should not have to do that for the amount they charge for this fluid head. I'm not knocking Manfrotto or Gitzo they have wonderful products I own a carbon fiber Gitzo tripod and several Manfrotto tripods and monopods so I was really hoping this would work out. But I was wrong. Look, I know this is billed as a spotting scope in the description but that should not mean you cannot use this for DSLR or video camera. I will be selling this on feebay after just a couple of uses. Just purchased the Sirui VA-5 Ultra Compact fluid head hoping this will be the one? I'll do a review on that as well.

I bought this head to use with my 15x binoculars and 65mm spotter. Initially I was a fan as it seemed to support my optics well and I prefer a fluid head when panning. The lightweight, single tighten down for both pan and tilt along with the fluid head design sold me. After a few weeks of use the tilt function started to gum up and get sticky. Maybe it’s just a bad unit but the end result is it didn’t pass the test. Off to plan B.

A year ago my wife gave me a Swarovski 80mm scope for Christmas. For 25 years I have had a Manfrotto tripod and head. They were fine but heavy. I upgraded the tripod to carbon fiber. A lot of the weight was in the head. I decided that a great scope should have a tripod head designed with birders in mind. I picked up this tripod head. The BEST thing I could have done. The handle is designed for video so I took it off. When the tension is adjusted properly it feels like it is floating on a cloud. I can move it around effortlessly. The base of the head is numbered like a compass. This makes it easier to help others (with gitzo heads) put a scope on a bird, on big water. If this head does not work for you, it is the scope that is poorly balanced. All scopes are not equal. I wish I would have gotten it sooner.

Great product. Haven't had a change to use it much yet but it seems to support my Vortex 85 spotting scope well,

I would not buy this tripod head again. I purchased it to pair a Gitzo tripod (which I love) with a smaller (65mm) spotting scope for birdwatching. Even though it is billed as a fluid head, it does not pan smoothly. This makes it difficult to follow flying birds or scan a lake or mudflat. I went back to the heavier Manfrotto 3130 fluid head which works much better. My sense of why the 3130 works is because the plastic pucks inside the 3130 are 60mm or so in diameter vs the 20mm spindle of this head. The larger diameter of the 3130 just lends to a larger surface area which make for a more predictable and hence smoother drag.

I bought this panning head to mount a Swarovski 65mm spotting scope to a lightweight Gitzo traveler tripod, GT1542T. It's certainly small and light, and easy to use, with just one adjustment for both panning and tilting, and quick mount and dismount, but I'm actually not happy with it. It's control is acceptable (but not commendable) for pointing at fixed objects, but not for panning smoothly, especially at slower speeds, at any tightness setting. Much less so, than the Manfrotto 3130 panning head I am accustomed to (which is much bigger and heavier, but otherwise, I've been quite happy with) - a single knob for both tilt and pan control is easy, but I find that separate controls make much more sense, and are not overly confusing - tilt control almost always needs to be set much more tightly than panning control, with any long lens, like a spotting scope, which otherwise will drop suddenly upon release from high or low angles, if set for smooth and easy panning. I like to pan smoothly with flying birds, and to scan in a smooth, even fashion. It's just not really possible to do that with this head, and that, plus the small size and weight, for hiking and travelling, was what I was after. I plan to return it, and try out a Manfrotto 701 HDV, instead, which, since it is advertised for video cameras, I'm hoping will provide a smoother panning action.

I am using this pan head together with super light weight Sirui legs as a base to support a mid weight (about 3 lb) Swarovski birding scope. My goal is to reduce the the total weight as much as possible to be able to comfortably carry the scope around while still having sufficiently solid support.This head has proven itself as a solid member of the "support team". It can be quickly and firmly locked and unlocked with the wheel on the left. It does not allow for separate locking of the two rotation axes, but that is actually an advantage for my intended use. When unlocked, the movement is smooth with well adjustable friction. Its greatest advantage is the low eight of only 1lb. The total of the scope plus head and legs (2 lb.) comes in at 6lb which is still quite manageable.That being said, it seems somewhat pricey for what it is.