Review on 🎥 SIRUI VA-5 Fluid Video Head with Quick Release Plate - VH/VA-Series by Edward Taylor

long tripod collar lenses unless he had a poorly constructed Arca-style quick-release plate clamp. There is a potentially large market for a quality tripod head that meets the needs of ornithologists and other wildlife observers, including smooth one-hand pan and tilt ("two-way") while maintaining a horizontal horizon and compatibility with an Arca-compatible tripod will . "Quick-release plates that are becoming the de facto standard among wildlife and wildlife photographers. It's a mystery that there are so few of these on the market (are there?) -- the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that there are There are more bird watchers in the US than gardeners Spotting scopes are a standard tool for serious bird watchers and wildlife watchers, and of course they're also useful for some sports, stargazing, target shooting, and a variety of other outdoor activities Most wildlife watchers also regularly swap telescopes for some sort of telephoto camera out, both for standard uses in nature photography and occasionally for documenting rare species sightings or collecting scientific data (hence the need to include arca plates) that have become so standard for nature and sports photography that the cone arca is actually in The base of many "Supertele" tripods are built in. They are Manfrotto style and are used by vie Commonly used by bird watchers, but just as few photo-oriented heads (spherical, three-way, or gimbal heads) use video-style disks. I know many wildlife photographers who live with two incompatible systems, but always with a lot of grumbling. Popular ballhead designs are ill-suited for this application as it requires two hands to aim and control tension for smooth movement, and undertorque ballheads tend to throw in unpredictable directions, become off-key and often expensive devices to rattle. Popular gimbal heads work better, but they're big and expensive—too much for a spotting scope. The simple pan/tilt design used in many inexpensive tripods may work well, although smooth movement is more difficult, but most are too flimsy to rely on heavy and expensive optics. The Gitzo has had a quality fowl head for years, but its older design didn't use the standard QR system and only recently came out with a version that uses (some) Arca-style space. Like its competitor from Gitzo. (which is bigger, heavier and more expensive) this fluid head is made of high quality materials, has a solid construction and simultaneously pans and tilts smoothly (to follow moving objects) without jamming or skipping. The main problem with both is that they don't use the Arca version of the plates used by many other mid-range, high-end tripod manufacturers (Really Right Stuff, Wimberley, Acratech, Benro.) according to the published specification. (I think) Really Right Stuff as Arca-Swiss themselves never seem to have done it. The RSS specification used by many vendors adds non-slip removable screws at the longest points at the end of the long axis. They fit into slots machined into the ends of the head clamp and provide additional protection from gear sliding fore or aft off a loose scope or camera. Neither Sirui nor Gitzo are compatible with this system and require the removal of screws, resulting in the loss of vital protection for your equipment. The Sirui clamp has additional disadvantages. Unlike all other Arca-style heads I've seen, it doesn't have a movable cheek piece on one side (which is either bolted down or lever-tightened), allowing for both top-loading and tying down the cone via the full length allowed when tightened. Instead, Sirui has solid sides and uses a (weak) screw with a small shank on the inner end to just grab the tip of the cone. Therefore, the plates must be inserted from the front or rear to block any protrusions. The fixed jaws offer little play to accommodate differences between plate designs and the plate grip is very localized and weak. Some standard plates (including those from Gitzo!) do not grip at all, as do tripod legs with a cone instead of a cone groove on the underside. The result is unsuitable for group tours where multiple users can switch gear, and frustrating for power users who also have tripods with other quality heads (RSS and most other high quality ball heads, the classic Wimberley gimbal head and most others similar designs). I can only hope Sirui fixes the redesign issues, but I don't recommend this head to many potential users due to its incompatibility with other hardware. It's a shame, because otherwise the quality is high and the head is inexpensive. In the meantime, like many others, I'm still waiting for a quality video head that works with all other popular Arca-style brands, is lightweight, and is inexpensive.