Koolehaoda Panoramic Tripod Head All-Metal 360º Panoramic Head with Indexing Rotator Compatible for Arca Swiss Quick Release Plate

Initial impressions: exactly as described in the listing. Very positive detents at every increment of rotation at all 4 settings. Of the indexing heads available, it was the cheapest by far (Oct. 2024) and a better design - which left me wondering about the quality... PRO Considering the price, the quality of the machining is surprisingly good and the design is clever. The concentric knobs is a unique feature - a single protrusion, not two. Wherever it is, it's will obscure part of the 360° scale. However, the whole point of an indexing head is that you don't need to refer to the the scale for each shot! You simply set the detent interval to ensure that there is more than adequate overlap. Came in a small (twin-wall corrugated cardboard) box, complete with everything promised in the listing. The index-lock (Red knob) works perfectly even when the clamp jaws are fully open and less than ¼ turn from locked to fully released. All the detents on mine are spot-on the index marks if the slight slack (see below) is taken up anti-clockwise. Bubble level is surprisingly accurate - if used to level my tripod, when the camera is then mounted and rotated 90° & 180° its internal electronic horizon is pretty much dead-on. The Head sufficiently small to leave it fitted to tripod and still be able to zip-up tripod bag (last photo). CON (nit-picking) There's about ½° float at each indexing point regardless of the angular setting. The head is supplied in a nice little pouch, while this is padded top and bottom there's no padding around the circumference which is perhaps more important. The thumbwheel for the angular settings is fairly stiff with the result that it needs a little jiggling to ensure it's actually on the setting rather than just off (no stops!). I'd rather have had a 10° (36 stops) setting in place of 90° (what would you use that for?) to give more flexibility - but for me it's not important as I've always taken shots for panoramas on fully wide (no zoom) with horizontal FoV of 60° (landscape) or 45° (portrait). INSTRUCTIONS Good. Reasonable size print, well illustrated with clear line drawings; the 'English' is a little odd and there are a few typos, but perfectly understandable - not that instructions are really needed. Set it all up on my tripod and had a good play with it before I even took the instructions out of the box! THE BOTTOM LINE Exactly what I wanted at a reasonable price. I expect to only use this for land/seascape photography. On a lightweight tripod, this indexing head solves all the problems with outdoor panoramas by facilitating: - elimination of parallax (by centring the lens pupil over the centre of rotation); - a level horizon in the same vertical position in each shot; - ensuring sufficient overlap between shots to allow stitching software (Hugin) to do its stuff ; - minimal time between shots so that clouds in particular don't significantly change or move between first and last shot. I've only had one brief excursion to try it out; left home in bright sunshine only to find when I got to a local viewpoint that heavy rain was visibly approaching fast from the south west. Hastily took a couple of panorama sets in portrait mode before retreating to the car as the first big drops started to fall! Back home, Hugin stitched them together perfectly - I should the have taken a 9th shot for the 360° set as there's a tiny (½°) gap between start and end. 15,821 x 3,137 = 49.6Mpx. Photos show my set-up with the camera on a L-mount clamped in the Panoramic Head's jaws. The marks on the L-plate were carefully scribed to coincide with the centre of the lense's pupil (with the camera snugged up at one end of the L-plate), so field-assembly is fast and easy. It's essential to really tighten the tripod screw, otherwise this head tends to come loose after some use. What I need now is some really dramatic mountain scenery...

It's a good strong clamp in a 60mm base size. The indexing works as advertised, although there is a little give in the actual location. Tightening the rotation lock solves this problem and gives a firm lock. Without tightening the rotation lock there is probably about a 0.1 degree giggle in the locking position.

This product is a good weight and looks and feels well made. Being able to use a panoramic base is helpful on top of a leveling base, or on top of a head without this feature. The real bonus is being able to attach acra swiss style plates, including 'L brackets' for vertical and landscaping shooting. A nice accurate bubble level is appreciated. My complaint would be that the control knob would be better positioned at the side rather than in front/reverse of the camera position. Using an 'L brackets' or mounting an DSLR requires doing so from the side in most instances, not from front to back. I think ergonomically, the vice needed placing 90 degrees to its position. This would also put the measurements counter in better view, so it is not covered from view. Time will tell. This is my first panoramic base so I see how it plays out.

レビューが無かったので書いてみます。 カメラを新調したので雲台も更新してダブルパノラマの自由雲台を購入したら中々使い心地が良いので他の自由雲台もダブルパノラマになるようにヘッドだけ買う事に。色々物色しているとこのパノラマヘッドを発見。 なんだこのダイヤルは？もしやギヤで回転する？と思ってみて買ってみました。 残念ながらギヤで回転はしません。 ただ赤いダイヤルで角度を設定するとその角度毎に軽いクリック感とともに止まります。まぁメモリを見ながら回転させればいいんだけど、30度づつとか15度づつとかクリック感と共に軽く止まるのでいちいちメモリを見る必要もなく楽ちんです。これ気に入りました！ ただ、パノラマヘッドだけにしては高い？いやまぁ普通のヘッドと比べると高くはないかもしれないがもうちょいしたら安いダブルパノラマの自由雲台買えたりするのでこの値段分☆1個減らしておきます。

Economico ma fatto incredibilmente bene. per fare foto panoramiche è perfetto, ovviamente deve essere messo in bolla,

rien à dire, c'est parfait

This product is quite well made, considering the price. Makes taking panoramas easier, especially at night (e.g. astrophotography), where you can't see where the camera is pointing. It just clicks into each predefined interval (e.g. 30 degrees). There is a little bit of slack at each click-stop, but it doesn't have to be exact, so doesn't affect your panoramas. Use with a nodal rail (slide) if there are any foreground elements, to avoid parallax and make it easier for your stitching software to produce a nice clean image.

Very cost effective pan head solution. Loved the dentents for degree increments.