Good fluid head to support 5D2 w/ 85 1.2 or 70-200 2.8 II?

Hi all,

I have a great (to me!) Manfrotto 488 RC4 head for stills. Nice, solid feel. I like Manfrotto.

BUT! I want a fluid head for pans. I am building a number of dollies and want to be able to pan fluidly on the dolly and on the tripod. I'd like to stick to Manfrotto and I'd like even more if I could reuse my tripod plates (I have 3 for my 488RC4).

Any ideas?

I use and like a Manfrotto 3130 mini fluid head. It's known as the 128RC now, and is a great head. I use mine on top of a Manfrotto 3502 (now the model 438 ) leveling head, as there are only two axes of motion to the 3130/128RC head. The combination is superb.

Will it support say a 5D2 gripped with 70-200 II by the tripod ring on the lens?

JonK wrote in post #10728313
Will it support say a 5D2 gripped with 70-200 II by the tripod ring on the lens?

Yep. I use mine with a 20D behind a 70-200 f/2.8L IS and it works just fine.

My fluid head is usually mounted to my Manfrotto 3051 tripod (replaced by the very similar 058B) which is a very heavy tripod (weighing about 13.6 pounds with no head mounted). This very stable base may make the fluid head seem to work better than it would on lighter, more portable, platforms.

Mine's not a Manfrotto, but I use a Vanguard PH-32 Panhead. I'm so amazed of how fluid it is.

SkipD wrote in post #10728386
Yep. I use mine with a 20D behind a 70-200 f/2.8L IS and it works just fine.

My fluid head is usually mounted to my Manfrotto 3051 tripod (replaced by the very similar 058B) which is a very heavy tripod (weighing about 13.6 pounds with no head mounted). This very stable base may make the fluid head seem to work better than it would on lighter, more portable, platforms.

I'm hoping it takes the same tripod plate as I already have, though I guess its not a huge deal if it doesn't.

JonK wrote in post #10730298
I'm hoping it takes the same tripod plate as I already have, though I guess its not a huge deal if it doesn't.

Nope. All of my heads (except for my geared head) use the RC2 quick release system. The RC4 system uses a HUGE quick release plate which most of us find very awkward on EOS cameras and associated lenses. The RC2 system uses a much smaller quick release plate that is much better suited to the EOS family.

You could easily modify your 488 head to use the RC2 system if you wanted to, but the 128RC cannot be modified to use the RC4 quick release system.

I see - oh well, its not that big of a deal I guess. Wow so that little guy is $90, thats not a bad deal. Nice fluid movements? Any videos with it online? Seems cheap enough that's for sure.