The Best Tripod and Head For Landscape Astrophotography!

I have been using the Leofoto VH30-R for more than a year. I primary shoot landscapes and have been in rain and close to salty water quite often. I do not experience the flaws you have with yours. Before buying the Leofoto I looked that Acratec. While that is a very good head, I find it way to expensive especially here in Europe (added customs and VAT costs). I personally can recommend the Leofoto head (and their tripods too for that matter).

I want to buy rhino version of this benro with photography head. Can I attach s4pro video head also?

Acratech do make nice but expensive heads. But nothing is perfect and it nearly 'killed my camera! I bought an Acratech GXP ball head with a nicely engineered quick release arca-swiss mount for just over £500 via Bob Rugby at one of the NEC photography shows. It's a 'skeleton' design ball so lightweight for it's size, smooth, can be used inverted as a levelling base and (at a push) will function as a gimbal head too. BUT it's essential that you torque down the ball lock sufficiently to avoid any 'sudden drop'.

Of course that sounds obvious. But it's far from easy on this Acratech head. The locking knob has a plastic/rubber hand interface with a small degree of 'give'. Not the most reassuring or ergonomic I have used. It's quite easy to think you have tightened enough to hold OK. But in practice with a heavish camera/lens I have found the ball to suddenly slip and crash to it's limit of travel. This happened when locked and apparantly stable, only giving way 3-4 seconds after tightening and moving away from the camera/head for a brief moment. This has happened now on 3 separate occasions and makes me distrust it's capability and design. I have several much cheaper heads that don't have this nasty hidden tendency to just slip, unexpectedly. I still use but need to almost overcrank the locking lever to be certain of holding.

First time this happened, the shock of hitting the stop momentarily compressed the QR spring, such that my camera 'popped' out of the arca-swiss mount and fell 5+ feet onto a concrete deck. The metal lens hood was crumpled (thus avoiding most of the energy) and probably saved my camera and lens from worse damage. I'm not saying it will happen with any Acratech head and maybe my exposed ball was a little dirty/dusty. I can't say with any certainty why this happens. I'm normally pretty careful and look after my kit, but accidents with this head just seem to keep happening, and for a £500+ head (now £575 special order at WEX) that just shouldn't happen. I still use the head but nowadays with a degree of extra caution not really needed with other 'well designed' kit. So, remember, you don't always get what you pay for with premium kit. Just saying!

شكرا لك على الفيديو و الشرح كنت جد مفيد.

Great video Alyn! In panning I know that one can use a nodal point slider to eliminate parallax. But isn't that only when you are panning level and looking straight ahead? If you are pointing at an angle upwards, or if you are panning a second row of photos, how do you deal with the nodal point movement as it would fall behind the tripod head? thanks!

Very interesting video! As a landscape and product photographer, I've been using Leofoto products for a few years (LN-254CT, NB-34, LS-365C, LH-40), and find their build quality to be up there with "the big boys", i.e., Gitzo, RRS, etc.). I don't often shoot near salt water, so have not experienced the issues you have, but I think that they would perform well if maintained. I too, considered the Acratech head for panos, but since I don't do them often enough to justify that particular head, I find that the Leofoto LS-365 tripod (no center column) plus the LH-40 ball head combo is supremely solid and robust (max payload 44 lbs). Once locked down, nothing moves at all...Looking foward to testing it with an eventual Nikkor 180-600 f/5.6-6.3 telephoto. Thanks again!

Head and tripod are just generic ones ... not especially suited for "moving" stars.

Not a fan of the laser alignment, to be honest! Laser pointers ruin timelapses for everyone around you while one could have just looked through the polar scope. Hope that nobody gets the idea to use this on La Palma... btw: Laser pointer usage is forbidden there above 1400m on the rim of the caldera.

I have a Canon 700d stock what lens and basic tripod do you recommend. For a Biginner?

Hi Alyn, I bought the Acratech Leveling Base and Panorama Head. Do I need any additional adapter to mount the Star Adventurer on top of the Acratech Panoramic Head? Btw, do you also use a ZV plate in this setup or not? Thanks!

Hey, Alyn! Do you usually have problems stitching panoramas without controlling nodal points?

Hey Alyn- I bought a set of your signature Z and V brackets. I paired them up with a small pano base. I mounted a Rokinon 35mm and ZWO 2600 camera on them. They were very wobbly and sometimes moved under the weight of the camera. Any tips or did I waste my money?

Leofoto has 10 year warranty btw …

Just some quick thoughts from a noob within astro: Use more B-roll for the details you talk about, it was hard to see and understand. Although you got a nice cinematic look, it get very dark filming black gear. So I didn't finish your film, maybe I'm slow. Your plan for explaining these things are good! Hope this helps!

Guess what ! I encountered your MSM plate a few weeks ago to try finding an alternative way to lighten up my astro gear, although I haven't bought it due to my limited budget, and recently I wanted to get a new tripod, and I came over the idea of a leveling base , and so coincidentally the tripod I searched all over the internet and finally decided to go with is exactly the one u are suggesting ! I guess we really have some similar taste 😂

Great video. Is it possible to use the Acratech to flip the camera into portrait mode as is possible using the slot on a ball head? New to all this…

I really wish you would've listed the gear in the summary

Another great review vid Alyn and much appreciated. Acratech Head - have you found that you can do precise PA when mounting the Star Adventurer with Telephoto Lens?

How accurate is that leveling base though, like if you need really precise long lens astro

Hi Alyn does the Benro Tortoise 34CLV Levelling Tripod have a bubble ? Thx

süper

Been there, done that. Using the Manfrotto 500AH? fluid/video head. Great for landscape but shoot wildlife & keeps the camera/lens from flopping/smashing down if I forget to tighten it when walking away from.. A bit heavy for long hikes. Probably wouldn't want it for a multiday hike. Acratek also has the long lens head simular to the Pano head but no degree markings on the tilt. Acratek probably has the best quality to weight in the business.
Anyway, I was checking out your gear list & wondering. Do you still think that 24mp sensor is the sweet spot for astro/night photography, & have you tried any of Sony's higher mp cameras for night/astro? Thanks for any replies.

While this looks like the dream setup, I have found another that works brilliantly… and actually has some features the Acratech does not for about 1/4 the price. The Sunwaufoto dd64si indexed rotator with the Desmond DMH-2X1 Monopod Tilt Head. I do realize it doesn’t have the build quality of the Acratech… but for someone who is an amateur and doesn’t have the budget… it works brilliantly. I also find a levelling head useless when used with a 2-way head. As it I very simple to get a perfectly level tripod using the levelling sensor open the camera and a simple technique that ensures perfectly level panning every time. And reduces the weight for long hikes.

"No parallax point" ... you mention the Acratech two axis head + silent corner adapter. Is it possible to place a camera in a vertical (ie 90 degree to horizontal) and maintain the no parallax point?

Hi Alyn, thank you for the video. Can you likely show some tips on how to use such a setup with a small star tracker (Move Shoot Move)?

Love your book!

I've been using a geared head to mount my tracker, and it makes Polaris a snap to dial in super accurately. 10/10 recommend.

I’ve been using a Manfrotto 410 for a while. Great and fast, I put a level on it. Great way to go. PS loving the book.

Hi , have you had a look at that platypod head , looks interesting .

I've used an Acratech Pano head for about 12 years.
They were originally designed to support big, 'long lenses' (as they were known), but I figured out that with a leveling base and nodal rail they could do anything a big, cumbersome pano rig could do. Since then I have found that (as a landscape photographer) the biggest advantage is the speed and accuracy with which I can work. I am convinced I have got many (tripod) shots of fleeting light that I would otherwise have missed out on.
Tips:
The 'secret' to their remarkable efficiency is the bubble level location, combined with the 2 axis operation.
I use a nodal rail for 'normal' shots as this helps greatly with camera / lens balance and setting up / fine adjustments.
Don't forget to lock the tilt! As the tension knob can temporarily 'hold' the camera in place.
The clamp screws are super quick, reliable and a pleasure to use (the result of precision engineering).
I disassemble and lube the panning base from time to time.
If you do buy a LLH (Long Lens Head, which does the same job), get the 'indexed' clamp so you have the option to use a rail - in the correct orientation.

Awesome video as always. Thanks for the info and comparisons

Love that Arcatech head, but it’s just out of an (amateur) price range. So I lug my bulky Benro geared head around.
The more affordable options are the Leofoto, which some have good success with and others not. Seems to be par for the course with off-shore manufacturing where sometimes the alloy is not 100% the same batch to batch. I see it in other industrial stainless steel applications where for some there’s no rusting and others report rust spots on the same equipment from the same manufacturer.

The only other one that allows to rotate the top is the SunwayFoto DT-03R, which is even cheaper than the Leofoto.

Just thought I’d share for those on a more restricted budget.

You will experience Parallax Error if you use a zoom lens with your method.

I swapped from a ball head to the Acratech Panoramic Head two years ago after a run of bad luck with ball heads. I usually take decent enough care of my equipment....well, for a landscape photographer anyway. All my ballheads began to stick horrendously after being locked down for more than a few seconds, so I couldn't make small adjustments after the fact without having to break the ball free. I swapped to a FLM Tripod and put a leveling base on, I couldn't go back to a traditional ball after this, though I have been looking at wildlife gimbals for my other projects.

If the tripod below the head isn't leveled, and you rotate from the base of the head, the rotation will be skewed. If you use a geared head with a rotating base on top you don't need to level the tripod, nor do you need a leveling base. By leveling the top platform of a geared head, anything you attach to it will be leveled. Rotating from a base on top of a gear head with a leveled top platform solves the skewed rotation problem. (And, as Alyn importantly points out, it gives you options for mounting on top, because some devices require transverse mounting - like a camera in an L-bracket - and others - like long lenses - require mounting parallel to the LOS.)
I use a Benro tripod with a Benro geared head, with a RRS rotating mount on top. I shoot a lot of panos and never worry about the tripod. I just level the top of the geared head (including the rotating platform, to which my camera or lens is attached), and I'm ready to go. I turn the head so it is pointing in the general direction of my subject and then leave it. I then level the top of the head using the roll and elevation controls. With leveling complete, I use only the tripod head's elevation control and the rotating head to work my subject. (Using the tripod head's roll or rotation control after leveling will take the top of the head out of level.)

I’ve got the head along with the flm tripod and levelling bowl. It’s superb and quality pays off

Tempting!

Great video of the different heads Alyn, I really appreciated it. I am also reading your excellent book. I am a bit slow at reading but going through it from cover to cover slowing so I don't miss anything. On pages 117 & 118 I feel that the diagrams are mixed up. On page 117 both chart should be Invariant, and on page 118 they should both be Variant. Is that correct?

I was looking into 2-way pan/tilt heafs, and the one that Sirui makes is also very good. There's a decent amount of friction on the tilt and my 150-600 works almost as well as a gimbal. I also paid less than $150 USD for it

Love gear review vids! Keep up all the good work man 💯

Nice comprehensive overview, Alyn. I've been using that same ArcaTech set-up for about 4 years now for astro but with the addition of their leveling base (plus a nodal rail for pano's). They are a quality family-run company and nice folks to deal with. Well engineered. Each piece is hand-tooled. Build quality is superb. A little weighty, but collectively very versatile and virtually indestructible. Worth the extra $. And I love their lever-lock Swiss-Arca plates.

All well as the Acratech it is one of the best and certainly the most expensive heads in the market. but you conveniently (?) forget that the Leofoto has a friction knob as well, which means the camera would not fall easy as you said for the ballheads and it is less than a 1/3 of the price... As for the "squeaky" noise your head looks that have been under heavy work (!)... I don't own any Leofoto gear except 3 spikes for my Gitzo tripod and not any kind of affiliation with them but I think you have to be a bit more careful when you review and recement any gear...

Turned into the QVC channel and if I hear 'run and gun' one more time I'll implode. You're not in a war zone fer chrissakes. Ps normally I enjoy your videos but this product placement winds me up. I guess you have to earn a living from this gig though

Another fantastic video Alyn. Very informative and made for some additional decision making for myself as I would like to upgrade from my current setup. Thankyou.

Excellent survey! I've been a fan of geared heads for several years, especially the Benro GD3WH. I love everything about it except the weight. I've tried both Sunwayphoto geared heads and the Manfrotto, but I keep returning to the Benro.

Great and useful advice Alyn That last combo you showed looks perfect. I generally manage with my MSM tracker on a V plate and the camera on a Z plate and ballhead for wide angle images, they work great.

I'd love to hear you compare a few different tripod brands, particularly because I know you're a Benro guy... not to say Benro isn't making great tripods, but because there's probably some bias there, no? I'm currently using the iFootage TC7 and love it. It seems to have pretty much the same features as the Benro you're using. In some ways the Benro seems superior... like the bowl head locking mechanism and wieght/sandbag hook. The only negative I have about these tripods is the limited leg positions. I'd love a couple more so that I can widen the legs just a little more. Also, while they're a little bit heavier, I find the iFootage Komodo video heads to be great for photography. I don't know why more people don't talk about using these lightweight video heads. They work for panning and tilting without the issues of a ball head.

Great video, as always. Clarified my thoughts and just ordered leveling head for my 42-year-old Slik video tripod (hubby figured out how to get the old video head off that I have been trying to work with). Thank you for your great info that you share with us

Hello,Mr.Wallace! I'm living in Romania,a hungarian and very nice and informative video about the amazing night sky. From a mobile phone point of view, I would like to ask if the hydrogen filter can also be used for mobile phones, that is, is it possible to achieve the effect of highlighting nebulae and giving real color to the stars and planets? Thank you in advance for your reply and good health for further beautiful and successful work! Greetings from Romania!🙏

Did you try a Benro Polaris?
Does panoramic shots and Star tracking (no polar alignment needed). It might be worth a look.

I have not been able to get a really long single exposure with 200mm, but that may be on me. I can get shorter exposures though.