I don't have the Airhead ballhead but I do have the 3 Legged Thing leaver clamp that I use on my Arca-Swiss Monoball p0 ballhead ($350 ballhead). I have a health condition that makes it difficult to put much pressure with my hands and I still find the 3 Legged Thing clamp very easy to use. I love the clamp so much I bought a second one for my second setup. I think you missed that you can adjust the width of the clamping mechanism using the supplied Allen wrench/Hex wrench. This allows you to adjust the clamp to any standard Arca Swiss type plate since Arca plates from different manufactures have a slight manufacture variance in width. By adjusting it you're also adjusting how much pressure is needed to release the clamp. The complaints you had about it being too difficult to release and the damage to the finish are alleviated by this 2 second adjustment. At the 3:47 mark of your video you can see the screw that you make this adjustment on which is right in the middle of the part that swivels. I hope that you consider giving 3 Legged Thing another try because they are a quality product. Cheers.
It should also be noted that not all Arca Swiss type plates have the two protruding screws at the bottom that you don't like. The Arca type plates are universal and many different brands make them. I have some made by Peak Design that don't have the protruding screws. If you search around you can find Arca type plates by a lot of different bands without those screws. I used Manfrotto ballheads and fluid heads for years and will never go back to Manfrotto heads because they are proprietary plates and the plates sometimes differ even from Manfrotto head to Manfrotto head.
For the prize of this AirHed Pro Lever it's great quality. I rather prefer Novoflex Q=Base II ("Schnellkupplung automatisch") but this plate alone is more expensive than the whole ball head! 🤔
@@lesarmishaw Greetings! I find that an L-bracket makes mounting the camera on any Arca-Swiss compatible tripod head quite easy and efficient, and eliminates the need for a QR plate. Enjoy your Winston!
@@stevetqp9152I have no need for an L bracket but I do need to grab my camera off the tripod for a fast response to unexpected wildlife. An Arca Swiss mount is just too slow. Manfrotto QR on a Three Legged Thing tripod is perfect.
Thank you for this interesting ballhead review and comments. Perhaps 3 Legged Thing has addressed these issues by now as I have the Leo 2.0 tripod with this ballhead on order., for use as a travel tripod. I was most impressed with the 66lb. load capacity of this tripod. Also, since I use an Arca-Swiss (Kirk) L-bracket on my camera I never need the QR plate that comes with most tripods. :-)
I'm about to make a purchase of the Three Legged Thing LEO 2.0 tripod with this exact ball head, however to save myself from installing and unscrewing the plate over and over whenever I use it I've decided to go for the L bracket for my particular camera and permanently leave that installed, that way it's additional protection for my camera on 2 sides and it's flat so none of the protruding issues you're having here and I can go from landscape to portrait without loosening the main ball head and having to re-level it.
As others mention, the tension on the lever is easily adjustable with the supplied allen key. The two small locking screws underneath the plate are easily removable if preferred. For the weight the load capacity is amazing. The only negative comment would be that if you have the clamp release lever on the rear side of the camera then the levelling bubble window is hidden below the lens and not really useable.
It looks like you can back out the clamping bolt on the QR lever with an allen key to make it less stiff. If you remove the bolts from the bottom of the plate will it sit flat?
Sent it back at the weekend, I guess loosening the clamping bolt would have helped but I would be worried the bolt would just get lost like the small one of the locking latch did. Not sure if that would have stopped the anodized surface from eventually rubbing away though. 2 extra holes could have been drilled in the plate to allow all 4 directions of clamping with the QR plate. I guess I could have tinkered with it but honestly, for the price I paid I expected better straight out of the box.
Have just bought a 3-Legged Thing QR11 Full Body bracket for my big heavy Nikon D3S, D3X bodies and I love it. I was previously using Giottos & Benro heads with standard detachable base plates, but I have very quickly adapted to using the bracket with Arca style clamp on the Benro B2 head. ps HATE that blue and orange! LOL 🤣
Sorry to say but your problems are user error. With the tripod and ballhead there is a detailed booklet explaining how to adjust the lever. So the question is: should 3 legged thing pay for your mistake?
Its still anodized rubbing against anodized regardless of how much pressure you put on the lever, its going to scratch very easily. Ceramic coating would have been better.
You also cannot replace the quick release plate with a third party version. Almost all brands and their quick release clamps/plates has a female grove of 5mm. Unfortunately, the one of the Airhed Vu, on top of the stem, has a 3 or 4mm male groove
Maybe check out the Sirui Lineup, mate. I'm using the ST-10X for travelling, and it has been doing great, it's just about 100g heavier than the 3 legged thing. My normal camera-lens-combination is about 4 to 4,5kg, and the ST-10X locks rocksolid in any position that you can imagine. Doesn't have a Quick Release though.
thanks for the suggestion, ill take a look at it but generally I need RC2 manfrotto adaptors as I use quick release on everything that attaches to tripod
Sounds like a one-off bad example, I have just bought one with a Tripod, mine is so smooth and light to release and lock, no marks whatsoever on the contacting metal surfaces, and the latch is easy to operate, probably because the release lever is so easy to operate.
@@ThisDesignedThat Your video was very helpful, I was deciding whether or not to get a Bucky… it arrive tomorrow. But yeah, I absolutely see why you were disappointed with their quick release!
@@jamesmassa1999 I think its partly user error as others have stated but coming from a Manfrotto this just didn't seem worth the extra £££. btw, I use something very similar to the smallrig adaptors. I use these - www.amazon.co.uk/UTEBIT-Release-Compatible-manfrotto-200PL-14/dp/B07D5ZF2TT/ I have about 6 of them and they go on every tripod, camera I own. It really does speed things up!
People that review items should first understand the items, you can adjust the tension.
I don't have the Airhead ballhead but I do have the 3 Legged Thing leaver clamp that I use on my Arca-Swiss Monoball p0 ballhead ($350 ballhead). I have a health condition that makes it difficult to put much pressure with my hands and I still find the 3 Legged Thing clamp very easy to use. I love the clamp so much I bought a second one for my second setup. I think you missed that you can adjust the width of the clamping mechanism using the supplied Allen wrench/Hex wrench. This allows you to adjust the clamp to any standard Arca Swiss type plate since Arca plates from different manufactures have a slight manufacture variance in width. By adjusting it you're also adjusting how much pressure is needed to release the clamp. The complaints you had about it being too difficult to release and the damage to the finish are alleviated by this 2 second adjustment. At the 3:47 mark of your video you can see the screw that you make this adjustment on which is right in the middle of the part that swivels. I hope that you consider giving 3 Legged Thing another try because they are a quality product. Cheers.
It should also be noted that not all Arca Swiss type plates have the two protruding screws at the bottom that you don't like. The Arca type plates are universal and many different brands make them. I have some made by Peak Design that don't have the protruding screws. If you search around you can find Arca type plates by a lot of different bands without those screws. I used Manfrotto ballheads and fluid heads for years and will never go back to Manfrotto heads because they are proprietary plates and the plates sometimes differ even from Manfrotto head to Manfrotto head.
I have just replaced the Arca Swiss plate for my old manfrotto plate on my Three Legged Thing Winston. So much easier to mount a camera in the dark.
For the prize of this AirHed Pro Lever it's great quality. I rather prefer Novoflex Q=Base II ("Schnellkupplung automatisch") but this plate alone is more expensive than the whole ball head! 🤔
@@lesarmishaw Greetings! I find that an L-bracket makes mounting the camera on any Arca-Swiss compatible tripod head quite easy and efficient, and eliminates the need for a QR plate. Enjoy your Winston!
@@stevetqp9152I have no need for an L bracket but I do need to grab my camera off the tripod for a fast response to unexpected wildlife. An Arca Swiss mount is just too slow. Manfrotto QR on a Three Legged Thing tripod is perfect.
Thank you for this interesting ballhead review and comments. Perhaps 3 Legged Thing has addressed these issues by now as I have the Leo 2.0 tripod with this ballhead on order., for use as a travel tripod. I was most impressed with the 66lb. load capacity of this tripod. Also, since I use an Arca-Swiss (Kirk) L-bracket on my camera I never need the QR plate that comes with most tripods. :-)
I'm about to make a purchase of the Three Legged Thing LEO 2.0 tripod with this exact ball head, however to save myself from installing and unscrewing the plate over and over whenever I use it I've decided to go for the L bracket for my particular camera and permanently leave that installed, that way it's additional protection for my camera on 2 sides and it's flat so none of the protruding issues you're having here and I can go from landscape to portrait without loosening the main ball head and having to re-level it.
Good advice! Thanks for sharing
As others mention, the tension on the lever is easily adjustable with the supplied allen key. The two small locking screws underneath the plate are easily removable if preferred. For the weight the load capacity is amazing. The only negative comment would be that if you have the clamp release lever on the rear side of the camera then the levelling bubble window is hidden below the lens and not really useable.
Thanks for the tips, If airhed ever do an RC2 version i'll give this head another go
Yup I'm having the same issues with the lever and adjusting allen screw for the fit is a pain. Not the lever I hoped for.
It looks like you can back out the clamping bolt on the QR lever with an allen key to make it less stiff. If you remove the bolts from the bottom of the plate will it sit flat?
Sent it back at the weekend, I guess loosening the clamping bolt would have helped but I would be worried the bolt would just get lost like the small one of the locking latch did. Not sure if that would have stopped the anodized surface from eventually rubbing away though. 2 extra holes could have been drilled in the plate to allow all 4 directions of clamping with the QR plate. I guess I could have tinkered with it but honestly, for the price I paid I expected better straight out of the box.
yes, that's how i use 2 different type of plates.
Have just bought a 3-Legged Thing QR11 Full Body bracket for my big heavy Nikon D3S, D3X bodies and I love it. I was previously using Giottos & Benro heads with standard detachable base plates, but I have very quickly adapted to using the bracket with Arca style clamp on the Benro B2 head. ps HATE that blue and orange! LOL 🤣
You can take those 2 little screws out from orange plate, I've done so installing it permanently on my Osmo Pocket 3 handle extender.
Sorry to say but your problems are user error. With the tripod and ballhead there is a detailed booklet explaining how to adjust the lever. So the question is: should 3 legged thing pay for your mistake?
Its still anodized rubbing against anodized regardless of how much pressure you put on the lever, its going to scratch very easily. Ceramic coating would have been better.
You also cannot replace the quick release plate with a third party version. Almost all brands and their quick release clamps/plates has a female grove of 5mm. Unfortunately, the one of the Airhed Vu, on top of the stem, has a 3 or 4mm male groove
Maybe check out the Sirui Lineup, mate. I'm using the ST-10X for travelling, and it has been doing great, it's just about 100g heavier than the 3 legged thing.
My normal camera-lens-combination is about 4 to 4,5kg, and the ST-10X locks rocksolid in any position that you can imagine.
Doesn't have a Quick Release though.
thanks for the suggestion, ill take a look at it but generally I need RC2 manfrotto adaptors as I use quick release on everything that attaches to tripod
Sounds like a one-off bad example, I have just bought one with a Tripod, mine is so smooth and light to release and lock, no marks whatsoever on the contacting metal surfaces, and the latch is easy to operate, probably because the release lever is so easy to operate.
could be, their products do look very well made, I was quite surprised how my copy performed though :(
Not sure if you'll see this but, try a small rig quick release. Best.
Thanks, will have a look at that
@@ThisDesignedThat
Your video was very helpful, I was deciding whether or not to get a Bucky… it arrive tomorrow.
But yeah, I absolutely see why you were disappointed with their quick release!
@@jamesmassa1999 I think its partly user error as others have stated but coming from a Manfrotto this just didn't seem worth the extra £££.
btw, I use something very similar to the smallrig adaptors. I use these - www.amazon.co.uk/UTEBIT-Release-Compatible-manfrotto-200PL-14/dp/B07D5ZF2TT/ I have about 6 of them and they go on every tripod, camera I own. It really does speed things up!
Thank you! Saved me a huge headache!
Glad it helped!
I have same head with twist clamp and is easy to use it’s called Airhed Pro not Airhed Pro Lever
Doesn't look NEARLY as cool when actually see it.