Tripod Head Comparison for Real Estate Photography

Tripod heads come in a few different varieties and in this article I want to talk about the three main types of tripod heads for real estate photography and the pros and cons of using them for real estate photography

Tripod Head 1: The Pan-Tilt or Three-Way Head

The Pan-Tilt head is probably the most common basic tripod head and the one most commonly found on cheap tripod kits, although it is fast being overtaking in popularity by the ball head, but we’ll get to that in a minute. The Pan-Tilt head, as its name suggests, allows you to adjust your camera along 3 separate axis using either the panning mechanism or one of the two tilting mechanisms. These heads often have handles with large grips which allow for easier tightening of the tilting axis but sometimes they also have smaller plain knobs which are harder to tighten but are more compact for travel.

Pros:

• Pan-tilt heads are cheap, and you can find them for as little as $50-$60 new.

• They often come bundled with basic tripods, so you can start shooting straight away and because they are bundle their price is often discounted.

• You adjust one axis at a time so once you get your camera level in one axis you can lock it off while you adjust the next axis

Cons:

• Pan-tilt heads have more adjustments then ball heads, so they have more points of potential failure.

• They often come with proprietary quick release plates which are not cross compatible with other heads.

• They often have long and bulky handles which can get in the way when your packing your gear away in a bag

• Making accurate adjustments is tricky with most pan-tilt heads as the tilt locking mechanisms don’t allow for fine adjustments with most pan-tilt heads with some exceptions.

• Shooting straight up can be difficult and requires you to use your head back to front.

Tripod Head 2: The Ball Head

The ball head has rapidly become the most popular tripod head for sale as of 2018 and a quick search on a popular camera store website shows that ball heads out number all the other heads combined by at least two to one. Ball heads allow you to adjust your tilt side to side and forward to back with one mechanism and are a much simpler design than pan tilt heads, so they are more compact and quicker to use.

Pros:

• Their small size relative to pan-tilt heads makes them easier to pack and carry around.

• Their compact single ball design means they can be made into small and even micro heads that can fit on a cold shoe.

• The simple ball mechanism has less points of failure than a pan-tilt head

• Quicker to adjust your camera into position, especially off level positions.

• Relatively cheap prices, not quite as cheap as basic pan-tilt heads but pretty close.

• The tension of the mechanism can be adjusted on most ball heads so that you can decide how much free play it has which can help with finer adjustments and also in stopping the head from suddenly dropping under the weight of your camera when the ball is loosened.

• Ball heads often come with Arca-Swiss style quick release plates which are universal over a lot of brands.

• Can act as a pseudo gimbal head when using them with long lenses and adjusting the ball tension to allow easier movement.

Cons:

• Ball mechanism is exposed to allow movement which can make it susceptible to impregnation by dust and other particles.

• The nature of the ball mechanism makes tilting your camera to 90 degrees unsafe on lighter tripods which can be overcome with an L-bracket at additional cost.

• Harder to make fine micro adjustments than some other head types.

• Can drop suddenly with heavy cameras if the ball tension is not adjusted correctly.

Tripod Head 3: The Geared Three-Way Head

The geared three-way head is based on the three-way or pan-tilt head design with the notable addition of a gearing mechanism in each of the 3 axis of the head which allows you to make both coarse and fine adjustments to each of the axis of movement. This improvement over the standard pan-tilt head design means that you can very accurately adjust your camera to a level position faster and more consistently than any other head design and this is the head type I recommend the most for real estate and architectural photography.

Pros:

• Quick and accurate levelling of all 3 axis without losing tension.

• Mechanism that allows both coarse and fine adjustments.

• Generally stronger heads that allow heavier loads.

• Very sturdy/strong mechanism allowing for shooting at 90 degrees without an L-bracket.

• More resistant to dust than a ball head.

• More compact than a pan-tilt head with long handles.

• Can get brands with Arca-Swiss compatible plates.

Cons:

• Generally heavier than either a ball head or a pan-tilt head.

• Some come with proprietary camera plates but approximately half of the geared heads now have Arca-Swiss compatible plates.

• Mechanisms can be tight especially the Manfrotto’s but do loosen up over time.

• Price, they are not the cheapest and start from around $200 for a basic geared head but the quality is equitable for the price you pay.

• The very high-end geared heads can be a bit fragile and require more careful transporting.

Conclusion:

The variety of brands and the affordability of entry level tripod heads now is nothing short of amazing. When I started shooting professional 11 years ago the variety alone would easily have been only half of what you can currently buy from any large camera store and my first tripod head was a basic pan-tilt head that came with my first manfrotto 055B tripod. I used it for 4 years before investing in my first geared head, a manfrotto 410 Junior which has served me very well since. For real estate photography you can use any one of these three heads and get acceptable shots, after all the quality of your photography is really more dependant on your skills and your lens quality then it is on a tripod head. However a good geared head will save you time and more importantly, frustration as you no longer have to struggle getting your camera perfectly level. So my recommendation for any real estate photographer is to invest a few extra dollars and purchase a geared head and you wont regret it.