Leofoto Fluid Head BV-20K, Best Value in a Fluid Head?
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- čas přidán 17. 08. 2023
- LIMITED DISCOUNT CODE!
Use the affiliate link below combined with the coupon code to save 20%!
Link to the fluid head and discount code:
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20% DISCOUNT Code: WILDLIFE20
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fyi, at 15:45 the word is backlash, ie: when you turn a bolt, and it doesn't move, for 1/4 turn, that is the threads going from one land to the other, and the backlash is the space between this.
Scott, thanks for the video. This sounds like a good options for hybrid shooting. I will give a try.
Thanks for this descriptive video. Very helpful, planning to buy one and you video was exactly what I was looking for.
Glad it was helpful!
Love your videos and shows the amount of research that you have undertaken to reach your conclusions. I am also a GREAT fan of Leototo equipment.
I appreciate that!
Great review, Scott. Recently got myself the Leofoto LH-55 ballhead which is also at a great quality / value ratio. Am so far very impressed with Leofoto products and it certsinly won't be the last purchase!
Great review Scott! Will be selling my 502AH and have placed an order for the BV-20
It is a great head. It balances a 600mm f4 for sure. A manfrotto 504x dead not workkout well for me, bad counterweight. This one is great
Looks like a quality fluid head! I bought a Leofoto MP-364C 4 section monopod, per your recommendations and It has worked great for me! I use it all the time when photographing songbirds. I definitely recommend their products!! Thank you for giving honest reviews.
Great to hear!
Your various reviews are of great quality, bravo ! Regarding a cheaper and lighter Leofoto fluid video head, I will mention the existence of BV-15 with a weight of 1.3 kg and a balance load of 0-3kg, instead of 2 kg and a balance load of 0-4 kg for the BV-20. According to the size and length of their equipment, it could possibly provide much satisfaction to many photographers.
Looking forward for future technical of buyjng hints.
Thanks for sharing!
In your opinion would the bv 15 hold well a load of 4kg?
This indeed looks like a really nice fluid head. It just might be a Christmas present...
Superb review
Thanks for detail review😊
Glad you liked it
Thank you for this review and the code. Have been looking for a fluid head that supports 15+lb with an arca style plate and has a safety catch, Ended up ordering it. Waiting to see how it feels in person.
@bejijoseph
Have you been happy with this setup?
Maybe the slack is deliberate to allow for temperature variation, whether ambient temperature variation affects the head’s performance I don’t actually know! Excellent, helpful review Scott. I know Leofoto make quality products as we already have one of their tripod kits. We’ll certainly consider this head in the future. Thanks for sharing the review, cheers from the UK 👏👍😀
Possibly. I just try to point out everything I see so no one is surprised when they use the unit.
Thanks for the video review. I was looking for a new fluid head, lost my whole tripod due to theft. I had the Manfrotto MH500 but never liked the no counter weight flop, so it was time to step up to a better one. Used your discount code and ordered up this fluid head and a LS-364CL tripod with a level head while I was on there. Got a discount on the whole order so the was awesome, I appreciate that a lot. Your videos are a great resource and saved me money lol, bonus. Loved your monopod tomahawk set up as well.
SWEET!
@ona4day
Are you still happy with this setup?
@bbfoto7248 so far so good, I do miss the much lighter MVH-500 and the Kirk arca clamp. I also had some gel leak out in my super hot truck but it did not seem to effect the operation or do it again since.
@@ona4day
Thanks for the reply and additional details. Greatly appreciated!
I've been researching for a while, looking for the perfect model for me. This seems like it is it. I expected to have to pay a lot more! Thanks Scott!
Glad I could help!
@@WildlifeInspired Scott, I finally pulled the trigger on this and an RRS leveling base. Thankfully, your offer code was still good with Leofoto. Thanks again!
Playing around with it in my basement makes me think this will definitely serve my needs for a hybrid support system. I'm curious, do you find this fits your needs for fast action stills photography as well as a gimbal? I actually like a bit of resistance in panning while doing stills and the lowest level of resistance this head offers seems to be a sweet spot for me. I'm hoping that this will be the main head I will use without having to swap often. I will reserve the gimbal for the floating hide and other specialty applications. I'm looking forward to trying this out in the field!
@@OzarkBill Thanks for sharing
Greetings from NE Texas and thank you Scott for your thoughtful presentation and review. Well done as are all of your videos. I am keenly interested and wanting to try a video head as I have only used a gimbal head for my bird photography to date. I clicked through the affiliate link and the BV-20K is currently sold out. Hopefully more will be available soon.
Much appreciated! Ill contact them and see if they have more lined up!
Thank you Scott! I ordered mine from Leofoto and I LOVE IT!! Thank you for covering this amazing piece of kit.@@WildlifeInspired
It would be a good comparison to compare these heads to the flex shooter ball head
I was considering the flexshooter but are considering one of these fluid heads instead
Originally I was going for a gimbal head but in reality I need an all round head for photos only. Every time I think I have my decision made your next video gives me more options. Luckily I am in no rush as I am only interested in updating my current cheapish ball head
I just received one of these, and tried it with my heavy rig. It is no surprise that the counterbalance was a bit overwhelmed by the 35-ish pound setup. Panning and tilting were still very smooth, but letting go without locking off was not an option. I am confident that my smaller rig ( 20 pounds or so) will work perfectly with this head.
Thats a big set up!
A brilliant video Scott, very informative and helpful. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on the Benro WH-15. Is Benro superior to BV-20 in terms of performance other than the fact that Benro is more expensive. Thank you kindly.
Ive been tempted to try the leofoto fluid heads but, I have held off because I have three other leofoto products and have not been happy with them.
I have tried a few different fluid heads lately and just keep sticking with the manfrotto 502ah with the kirk arca swiss bridge.. Im actually surprised you don't have the kirk bridge on your 502ah. Its awesome bc it can be switched to perpendicular for doing video with a body and small lens. Makes the head so much more versatile.
Oh btw, I jumped the gun on my comment a couple videos ago about the gitzo 2way fluid head being a top bang for buck. It doesn't fully lock and the weight capacity isn't as strong as I thought. I made my comment between odering it and actually trying it 🤦♂️
That's fair ! The 502 wasn't strong enough for me and when I went to order the Kirk it was back ordered. Nothing wrong with that set up just made a cheaper adaptation.
That slack is known as back lash, it happens in screw threads where there is a tolerance between a nut and the thread. There has to be a certain amount of slop, or the nut won't turn. So the the tolerance has to be just right but that accuracy always comes with a cost. It isn't a problem when a nut and bolt is used to joint two things together but where it is used for positioning it is, things like macro slides. The initial back lash has to be taken up before the carriage will start to move. The further the nut has to turn, before this happens, is the amount of Back lash in the system,
Great video, hope you are feeling better too.
Appreciate that, if you get a chance Id love to see if you thing this was a bit much. Felt different than others I have used.
It is common with Leofoto products. They do cut corners to meet a certain price point. You also get higher sample variation with Leofoto. Gear backlash is not a given. I have a couple of Arca geared heads, and none of them has any. I also got the Leofoto G4 with an uneven gear action and small backlashes at certain ranges. Anyway, Leofoto products offer great value and there are minor details that some people do not care about. But they are certainly not at the level of the higher-end stuff in terms of machining tolerances.
I appreciate your reviews Scott. Question: if the pan lockout isn't 100%, with a big 500 or 600 mounted, what's going to happen on a windy day? Seems like it's going to wander left and right as the wind gusts? Thoughts?
I've been shooting with the Leofoto Fluid Head BV-20 for a few months now. I absolutely love it. However, I left in in my car when we had a recent heatwave. It probably got 120 in the car. I noticed some fluid leaking out afterward. I have not had a chance to test it thoroughly, but it feels inconsistent in the panning drag now :-( This leads me to believe this head may not have pro build quality.
Thank you for the in-depth review! The video at 22:42 panning across the sunflower shows some stiction at the start and some uneven speed. Maybe because it's such a short pan/tilt at close range? Could you post more motion examples using the BV-20K at longer range?
I can try but no promises, maybe ill do one of the quick "short" videos. I have been using it on and off but its my go to for video and using for photos a tripod now also.
I think most of the less expensive "fluid" heads are actually friction heads. I've taken a Manfrotto 502 apart and found that there are two discs with concentric ridges that interlock with grease in between them. Tightening the pan or tilt drag merely presses the greased discs together more. High end true fluid heads actually have a viscous fluid in them to dampen movements.
makes sense as those are usually designed for heavy cameras and no friction makes sense. Those coming from a gimbal might miss that frictionless component but its really not a big deal.
Scott great videos on photography gear and I used your video on the Leophoto Gimbal head to buy it. My question is will this video head replace the gimbal and even the ball head? BIF, Airplanes, Landscape and Astro are my main interest or does one need 3 types of heads? Sounds like I could sell the gimbal…
Knob version (what the K stands for in BV-20K) is sold out. I ordered the lever release clamp version (BV-20) - still in stock
good to know!
Thanks for the video. I'm starting to do some videos and this is handy. Leofoto also has a slightly smaller unit, the BV-15 that seem to be OK even for your heavier setup. Is there a reason, you didn't pick that? This one seem overkill.
How much heavier setups have you tried on the bv 15? Im considering it with a z9 + 400mm 2.8 but im afraid that it is too much
Scott, thanks a lot for the great series on gimbal head vs fluid heads and details on various fluid heads. I found this particular model very interesting particularly because it has Arca Swiss clamp. I have bought it immediately after watching this video. This enables me to seamlessly switch between monopod and tripod depending on my shooting conditions. Thank you for sharing your insights.
I also watched about you mentioning about leveling base. It adds another 300 grams to the total weight. While in the field, I always leave the tripod collar lose so that it can easily switch between landscape and vertical orientations. I feel that I can slightly rotate my camera to get it properly leveled instead of using leveling base. Your thoughts please?
if you pan while making video, you will need the base flat! You can adjust the legs to accomplish this and rotating the collar will help but if the base isn't flat and you pan, the horizon will be off (moreso in video)
@@WildlifeInspired thanks for the clarification
Hey Mate, could you review the new released Smallrig PH8 head (their first one with counterbalance etc)?
Scott, great review and I used your gimbal review to buy the LeoPhoto Gimbal based on the friction adjustment. Does a Fluid Head replace a Gimbal for Wildlife photography or mainly when video is main objective? Wouldn’t a Gimbal work, for I used my Gimbal setup in a Sunflower field for Painting Buntings. Is the counterbalance the main difference between Gimbal and Fluid Head? I was curious why they didn’t send their leveling base from Leophoto, would recommend their version or you just wanted to use the one you had on hand?
I had one so I didn't bother asking. The fluid will actually be pretty good for photos. It's just a little heavier
Scott, really appreciate your great gear reviews and all of the great content you put out here for all of us fellow photographers.
Quick question about the fluid heads. It should like the Leofoto is the best bang for the buck fluid head, but I'm curious of what you think of how it stacks up against the Sirui that you reviewed, regardless of price?
Thanks for your time and all that you do, Jim
I like the Sirui better overall. slight advantage. HOWEVER, it is slight and the Leofoto has arca compatible. SO that said if both were same price, I'd probably get Leofoto for photography and Sirui for video. Hope that makes sense!
@@WildlifeInspired Yes, it certainly does! Thanks once again!
Any tripod recommendations to pair with this head? I have a Smallrig AP-10 but I’m afraid the base of the tripod may be too small…
A very good looking head.
How do these heads go over time? Since they use fluid, do they leak over time or become less effective
I have thought of one of these but but worry about performance over years of use
I can't speak to that. But I'll do an update on it year(s) later
First of all thanks for video :) i have bought a Leofoto LS-365C+PG-1. It's a beautifull camo kit with gimbal camo. Like it a lot except for one thing: In cold winter weather the resistance to movement goes up ! Not a desirable feature at all. Has anyone tried this in cold condition like -10 or -20 C temperature ? Really hope it is not an issue although being a fuild head i suppose one can compensate using the knobs.
May I request you to kindly opine about Leofoto WN-03 Car Window Stabilizer.
Considering this video head...I have seen some rigs where you can adjust the height of the camera & tripod head without having to adjust the tripod legs. How could I do this? Is that a specific tripod that does that, or something else?
Thanks!
Thanks again Scott for this review, and all you do. I look forward to your videos and perspectives. I shoot a Z9 and a 500PF currently and am saving for a 600 f4 lens. Love to hear your perspective for on older Nikon 600 f4 and 500 f4 glass.
I own older 500 and sold a 400 2.8 f mount. I love the old glass (my 500 is very old and feels a little softer) That said, the newer Z glass is lighter and works amazing, NOT CHEAP! I'm guessing you get the f-mount glass used as about half the Z-mount equivalent new
Scott. With the lens and cameras you’re using in the video. YOU ARE A PRO USER. As such, why not use Miller or Sachtler fluid heads?
I use it very litte to be honest.... If I was primarily doing video, I would look at other options.
Hmm, this looks like it might be a more practical choice than the Flexshooter I was considering for when I get my 600mm (next year). Slightly heavier but more features, what says you?
I like this one for versatility. Flexshooter is really just better with size and weight
thanks for the review. i just got the bv-20 and tripod combo last night. like you mentioned, arca type clamp was the priority for me. was disappointed that almost none of the popular Italian brands make theirs arca compatible. some do, like Gitzo, but make it too tiny that the setup will look funny (imagine a Canon R3 with the RF 100-500mm sitting on a tiny fluid head). they were out of stock on the bv-20k, so i could only get the bv-20 with the quick release (i prefer the knob clamp).
anyway, what leveling base did you use in the video? would you mind sharing it? thanks again.
Where did you find a combo for sale? I see the BV-20 is backordered everywhere I have looked
@@johnrobertsonphotography B&H
@johnrobertsonphotography you were right. bv-20 was hard to find. Amazon didn't even have it. in order to get it, i had to buy the combo. hopefully the twin-leg tripod is decent.
Has anyone used the Komodo K5/K5S or the Manfrotto MVH500 for large telephoto lenses like the 180-600? Please share, cheers!
Seems like I'll never find adequate fluid head. Either they are not shipped in Europe/Eastern Europe or just have major bugs. I'm in shock how hard it is to find a proper head even by reviews or those i've tried. Just tried the newest Smallrig DH10 4165 which had issue when pannong at right. The advisor didn't even recommend me to try another copy but said it's probably just gow it is (?!?!?) Is it normal to be perfect for my needs and amazing with z9 +z800 on everything except the left to right panning... 🤷🏻♂️
That shouldnt happen unless there is no drag and the system if not balanced
Hi Scott I broke down and purchased the Manfrotto 608 Fluid head that utilizes the 504 PLONG RL mounting plate, what do you recommend for adding an Arca Swiss compatible quick release system on top of this plate? I couldn't find the P/N of what you show in your videos but wasn't sure if it would mount on the 504 plate system. Any help would be appreciated. - Jeff
You can try taking the provided Manfrotto plate with either of this. Just be warned this adds more points of contact, so while it should be no problem once set up, I would just be judicious if you think about carrying this. (make sure it has 2 mounts/sockets/threads). The length of the knob can come into play so I like the longer knob.
bhpho.to/45rVFLc (best brand and has long knob)
bhpho.to/3qx4Wmv
amzn.to/3YFmWaQ
amzn.to/3KJsjQj (much cheaper long knob)
amzn.to/3OAwKhu
@WildlifeInspired Thanks so much for the help, really appreciate it.- Jeff
Hi Scott, I'm a newbie, and I just tried BV-20, and both panning and tilting felt really stiff at first. After using it for a while, it loses some of its stiffness. Is that normal?
It will and I'd say if you are used to it being completely free, it will never feel like that. When you adjust tension on the panning and start moving it loosens up to almost frictionless.
hey Scott, can you tell me if you are still happy with this head, and if you still use it.
I use this regularly and have no issues. I dont think it will hold up to the extreme cold or heat as well as more expensive options. so if you are in extremes, look for a beefier option. day to day or normal temps, this works really well.
What budget tripods would you recommend to work with a head like this?
i havent tested much under $400 (you could try a robus model, I like them)
If you compare to Komodo K7, not counting arca compatibility, which one you like better? Thanks!!!
Bought the same its just the Leofoto is arca and the weight counterbalancing is really good!
Thank you, just ordered the BV-20 with the lever as well as balancing base for this head. God bless you, your videos are amazing, they taught me so much already!@@WildlifeInspired
would you like to compare it with e-image gh-06? thanks in advance
not sure I will get that one, I do plan on testing a couple more.
Now out of stock!
I know. I emailed them and told them to step up production. Lol.
Way to many ads
Scott....Thanks for taking the time to cover all the details of this Leofoto Head BV-20 Fluid Head...One question...Can the Arca Swiss clamp somehow rotate 90°, in order to attach a camera directly to this fluid head, where the Arca Swiss plate is on the bottom of the camera (to use a shorter lens for stills & video)..??
You would need an adapter of some sort. There are "nodal clamps" that I imagine would serve this purpose well.