Video/fluid head and bowl tripod seem to be a good match…

I’ve been wanting to get a beefy(ish) tripod lately but didn’t want to spend RRS money on one. I stumbled upon a local Facebook marketplace place listing for a tripod that ticked all the boxes, but the seller didn’t want to separate the tripod from the Benro S6 fluid head he’d listed it with. After some minor negotiation he offered the rig at a price I’d have been happy to snag the tripod by itself at, so I picked it up. I expected the flat adapter to be on the tripod under the head when we met, but I was pleased to see he had the bowl with the tripod even though his pictures didn’t show it. Originally I’d planned to buy a 52mm ball head for this new (to me) tripod, but the inclusion of the bowl made me pause before hitting the buy button on Amazon. The fluid head only offers tilt and pan, but no cant adjustment. This makes leveling the cant a difficult operation via leg length, and that’s unacceptable. The bowl changes things because you can quickly level the base of the head with the bowl and the level on the head base, and lock it down. From there, all pan and tilt are handled by the fluid head and are silky smooth with cant remaining level for a full 360 degrees of rotation, as does the tilt no matter the axis. Though I've spent no real trigger time behind his combo, it seems very promising so far. the only negatives I can imagine is the limited load capacity of only 12lbs for the S6, and that it’s bulkier and heavier than the ball head I’d been considering. Also, the QR clamp isn’t Arca Swiss compatible. However, the guns I’m using on this are under the weigh limit, the bulk of the head isn’t intrusive, and I’ve ordered a QR clamp that is a hybrid design, accepting both Arca Swiss and picatinny on the same clamp. I think it’ll be a winner.

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That seems like it might be better suited for gun use than the S6 I have. It’s lighter and has a greater capacity rating than the S6. The S6’s counterbalance feature is wasted here because even as far back as I can push my gun, the weight bias to the rear greatly overpowers it. Not that there’s a problem with it being there, but if it adds weight and complexity I’d rather it not be present (like it isn’t on yours) at all. I do like the button style bubble level on the S6’s base for leveling with the bowl, but I have seen plates containing an offset level that would go between the tilt/pan head and bowl which aren’t too expensive.
 
That seems like it might be better suited for gun use than the S6 I have. It’s lighter and has a greater capacity rating than the S6. The S6’s counterbalance feature is wasted here because even as far back as I can push my gun, the weight bias to the rear greatly overpowers it. Not that there’s a problem with it being there, but if it adds weight and complexity I’d rather it not be present (like it isn’t on yours) at all. I do like the button style bubble level on the S6’s base for leveling with the bowl, but I have seen plates containing an offset level that would go between the tilt/pan head and bowl which aren’t too expensive.
I keep a touch of friction on it, maybe not the best thing for longevity but....I'll survive if I have to buy another.
 
Added a picatinny/arca swiss hybrid clamp to the video head and it’s just great. I had to wait for shipping from China since the only one I could find in the states was the Field Optic Research offering, and I wanted something lower profile. Took the chance on a 75mm Sunwayfoto version off of Ebay and it turned out to be very nicely made. My biggest concern was that once it was fine tuned to hold tight on either the pic rail or the Arca Swiss rail, it wouldn’t be right for the other. I’m happy to say that it clamps down just right on the ST rail I have on my M3 and on the pic rail (with the Arca adapter removed) that I have on the Wildcat in the original post. Hopefully I’ll get the same secure fit on the K&L Gravity Rail I have coming for the M3 as a replacement for the big ST one.

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