Considering a fluid head - A7Riv and Tamron 28-200

Craig Gillette wrote:

Or similar bodies, lens weights, etc. Would the Manfrotto MV500AH or 502 Pro or similar heads be suitable? (I'm still studying things like how the fluid heads handle counterbalancing or tilt or pan friction drag or locking etc., to get a feel for how that all comes together. I wouldn't expect to be doing anything like adding cages, monitors, power blocks, etc., but maybe a mike? This would be personal fun not trying "content creating." Yikes.

I'm used to older pan/tilts and ball heads with stills and that motion control wasn't usually a big deal for a couple of stitched stills, etc.)

In a general sense, I'm figuring the $50 types are wallet emptiers. but I recognize the Manfrottos as a brand and general potential for quality, and then really not sure I should justify (?) something over $300 at this point as I start trying video.

Then just as information, what might be a reasonable non-extravagant "good enough" fluid head for something like the Sony 200-600? (Just interested, not in that market yet, the ball head I have does ok.)

I use two of the mvh500ah heads, and consider them to be the bare minimum for my video needs.

They are well made/sturdy, but very basic....with no pan or tilt drag adjustments.

On the Plus side {for my specific needs}, the built-in drag / balance-spring combination of the tilt action do a good job with my main telephotos, by allowing a smooth tilt, and also removing any serious 'droop' when manually focusing, and trying to frame and lock-down accurately onto the intended subject..... such as if using a telephoto with high magnification, in situations where there is no time to perfectly balance the set-up {such as when needing to quickly/frequently change shooting positions etc}.

Although the pan action is damped, i do wish it had some proper adjustment.

I don't find fiddling with the pan lock knob tension is a very effective way for tweaking the built-in pan dampening, so i adjust the drag resistance by shortening or lengthening my hand-position along the pan bar....it works ok, but not a substitute for a proper pan drag adjustment.

Another crucial Plus for my use of this head is the tilt lock being on the left side of this specific head...and therefore always close to my focussing hand {being either on the focus ring, or using my follow-focus attachment}, and the pan lock being at the back {facing me}

The head and sliding plate are a 'drop-in' type of design {compared to the more common 'slide-in' design}, which i need when using my main telephoto lens.....but not required with my other lenses.....or the two lenses you have mentioned.

One of the other downsides of the mvh500ah is it only 'safely' accepts the specific sliding plate that it comes with. Although some other Manfrotto plates {and Chinese clones} will fit it, the safety stops {underneath the plates} are not positioned in the same place as the ones designed specifically for this head.

Personally speaking, i have often thought of jumping up to a higher price/quality bracket of fluid head, but i have become used to the pros and cons of my two mvh500ah heads now, and i think they serve my 'overall' needs about right.

cheers.