Manfrotto Nitrotech N8

From £450/$450

Unless you’re a director of jump-cut music videos, smoothness is vital for videography. Jerky pan, tilt and tracking shots just won’t do, and it’s no secret that you’ll need a quality tripod head to pull off such silky-smooth sequences. To this end, Manfrotto has come up with a unique fluid video head that incorporates a nitrogen piston for precise, continuous counterbalance of Nikon set-ups weighing up to 8kg.

The piston provides upforce to balance the camera so that it doesn’t drop when tilted, and it’s adjustable to match the weight of your Nikon. Variable fluidity on both the pan and tilt axis allows for smooth, judderfree movement that’s not only ideal for video, but also essential for stills photography of sports and wildlife, where the ability to track smoothly is a must.

The head also includes Manfrotto’s anti-rotation Easy Link connector for attaching brackets and accessories, such as an external monitor. A 75mm flat base mount with a standard 3/8in thread ensures maximum compatibility with different support combinations like a tripod, slider or rig. Everything’s topped off by a side-lock sliding plate mechanism that enables safe, quick and easy camera attachment, and that is long enough to balance a variety of lenses sizes.

The Nitrotech N8 head is available individually, or as a kit with a choice of four tripods, including two ultra-rigid models with twin-tube legs and anti-spread bars.

First impressions_ The Nitrotech’s piston is a small but revolutionary feature that gives this head the camera-balancing ability of a gimbal and the convenience of a three-way head.