Benro GD3WH Geared Head

£200/$279 www.benroeu.com

By separating horizontal and vertical tilt across two separate axis, geared heads make it much easier than a regular ball head to get precise compositional control and camera positioning. This makes them a great choice for still life and macro photography. Benro’s new GD3WH offers +90/-30 degrees of horizontal and vertical tilt, and its gearing can be disengaged for faster setup, then re-engaged for fine-tuning the perfect composition. A trio of built-in bubble levels help ensure your Nikon stays level, and these are positioned around an Arca-style quick-release plate for maximum compatibility with other heads. Magnesium alloy construction keeps weight down to 870g, but is still tough enough to support up to 6kg of kit.

First impressions_

A geared head is our head of choice for testing in the lab, where absolute accuracy is required when framing our selection of testing charts. Benro’s new head looks like a commendable example of its type and still retains excellent value for money.