Benro HD2 3-Way Panhead

I purchased this Panhead to use on my Benro Travel Angel tripod. I am an advanced amateur enthusiast photographer. First use of the panhead was for my wife's family reunion. I was the official photographer for a three-day event. I was very happy with the HD1. Everything worked fine, as advertized by Benro. The handles are easy to install and remove quickly for storage. (Keep the box, and you can store both the Panhead and a Ballhead.) I used a Panasonic Lumix GX7 with either the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 lens or the Olympus 17mm f1.7. (Flash was mostly off camera.) I had to constantly switch from small family groups of 3 to 6 up to and including the full group photo of just over 100 and everything in between. Removing the Ballhead and installing the HD1 was simple and painless. The HD1 panhead was always easy to move in all three directions, and the handles always locked tightly without excessive pressure. I did not experience any unwanted slack or movement with either handle or with the traverse knob. Very glad I tried the HD1 first. I don't need anything fancier yet.

I have the Benro ball head and it is quite nice. I really do prefer two separate axis controls like my old Tiltall tripod. The ball is nice and compact and light weight, but is a bit unwieldy to handle. I always feel like the camera is going to fall off. Again, I really like adjusting level and tilt separately, so thought I would add this head. The problem is as reported in other reviews. It is sticky when tilting up and down. The left to right leveling is very smooth, but the tilt is very jerky. Difficult to make small adjustments. Also, the handles are a bit cramped and do not allow for much tilting up. Why one axis works smoothly and the other is very stiff is beyond me. The design of both are the same. I am returning the item. Any suggestions out there for a better head? Thank you, Craig

I ordered this pan head because the one that came with the tripod (ball joint) wasn't really a good solution for moving subjects. The controls are easy to use, although I would have liked a bit longer handle on the horizonal axis( I would have given it a 5 if it was longer). The quick release works well, I haven't had a problem with it.

I dislike ballheads on tripods, but all the better tripods for cameras now come with them. I like the control of a panhead even when not shooting video. I tried several before I bought this and finally chose the Benro. It is well made, smooth as silk, handles my D7100 with a 400 mm lens. It weighs only a little more than one pound, but handles more than 11 pounds.Excellent product

I bought this in combination with a Benro Tripod (A-198). My enthusiasm for taking photos far out weighs my time to devote to it, and I barely used my new tripod before that day I found a little black lever on the floor of my office. "Where did that come from?", I wondered. And wondered. Then, I came to realize that it had broken off this panhead. It is the smaller, locking/safety lever that prevents you from accidentally flipping the main lever. I can still use the panhead without it, but I am disappointed that this seems to have broken off quite easily, and is unrepairable. Maybe 2.5 stars?

I purchased this head last year and am disappointed with its performance. Neither control arm offers smooth adjustments, in fact they're both quite "jerky", even fully loosened. I thought over time, things would soften up, but it's just as stiff and jerky as the day I bought it! Build quality is there, but not the performance.

Rock solid construction. Intuitive design. Nice idea to have the screw that attaches the quick connect to the bottom of the camera with it's own handle. No more looking for a dime or screwdriver to attach the quick connect.

Sturdy tripod head. Very large, but fits my FX DSLR very well.