Excellent review! Thank you, just picked up a few sets for a high school film program.

That head is amazing!

@ScottDumas

4 жыл бұрын

Definitely is! :)

@billyoung9538

3 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas I'm considering getting this, but there have been reports of the two different drag control knobs not being consistent and reliable with the rubber slipping. Have you found this to be the case?

Good review! thumbs up and subbed :) My gear isn't that heavy, but I think this might just be the smallest video head with adjustable drag for both tilt and pan. amiright?? yes? no? *: P*

Thanks for the great review Scott. Have you tried the E-Image GH06? If so, how would it rate against the K7?

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

Hey, thanks so much. I've only tried it very briefly on a tradeshow floor, and it is very nice for the money, but the quick release design and super rugged build quality of the K7 is killer in my opinion. I would love for it to have just a little bit more resistance especially on the pan axis, but I'm very happy with it. That being said, if the E-Image is easier or significantly cheaper for you to get, I don't think you'd be too disappointed with it.

@bentonpix

3 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas I had a feeling you were going to make those distinctions. The quick release features on the K7 are very appealing, but I'm trying to get as close as I can to that "spoon through honey" feeling like I get on my vintage O'Connor 50D (around $500 on Ebay), but in a much lighter head and one that has variable counter balance. I'll probably never get close to that feeling in a less than $2k head, but I'm trying to get as close as I can on a tight budget and the GH06 looks like one of the best contenders in that price class.

The release point that you refer so is common with compression type fittings. I'm the machinist world, there is a break point on a collet and then you have to unscrew for a bit more and then a release point. I'm sure that's what's happening here, at least with the telescoping handle.

@ScottDumas

2 жыл бұрын

I've actually been getting into woodworking a bit lately and found exactly the same thing on the collets for my routers, which sounds exactly like what you're talking about... so it definitely makes sense :)

Can you mount the K7 to a tripod with a center column? Or is it only for a tripod with a bowl mount?

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

The head itself is flat bottomed, so you can mount it to any tripod, slider or other rigging, which is definitely a nice benefit.

Just worked with this k7 head today and although the gimmick accessories work good this head is sorely lacking in the drag adjustment and range, the adjustment knobs are difficult and hard to adjust and would be a detriment on a shoot which is the main reason you buy a more expensive head . Handle, counterweight and quick connect are good but do not make up for the lack of basic functionality. Also when panning the start of the motion sticks and is not fluid as you would expect for this price range, i guess you edited the start of the pan out.... Good review but these points need to be addressed honestly, i can understand why so i will help you out here.

@skymakai

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your thoughts. Unfortunately, I've noticed all of Scott's reviews avoid negatives and should be tagged as advertisements rather than reviews.

How would you rate the drag and tilt tension whenever starting and stopping a tilt or pan?

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

It's been pretty good in my experience, haven't seen much trouble with backlash etc as long as it's properly balanced on there.

Is a twin leg tripod like the teris stiffer than thicker single leg ones like this? What are the pros/cons

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

In theory if all else was equal I think the twin leg design is more rigid against flex especially when panning- but there are definitely other factors and the TC9, for example, were made specifically for video setups so are stronger than single leg photography tripods. Generally, single leg tripods also don't have the bowl design for video heads, so twin leg designs are more common- but again, the TC9 and a few others from iFootage (and others) are made for that purpose. There are no mid or floor level spreaders which could also be a negative if you really put a lot of stress/flex on it, but in my use I've had no issues whatsoever with the TC9. Depending on the design, some video tripods are easier to adjust height while there's a camera on top, but that really depends on design. That may not be all of it but generally I've loved the TC9, it's a bit more compact and easy to bring along. Not small, but it feels very transport friendly.

Great video! You're one of my favorite reviewers. You mention that your camera rig weighs 5.5kg and you had the counter balance set to 3. According to iFootage website graphic, that head only has maximum 5kg of counterbalance. So I guess that the head can actually counter balance more weight that advertised? It's strange because iFootage has a graphic that says 7 lb max payload and 5kg of counterbalance, but then they have a graph that shows up to 7kg of counterbalance on setting 4. I wonder how my Pocket 6K rig which weighs 6.5kg would handle. Also, what lens focal length did you use for your pan tests? Thank you.

@ScottDumas

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the kind words :) I actually did not notice that 5kg payload graphic- I'll have to double check that because it was also my understanding that it was a 7kg counterbalance. I'll see if I can find out for sure. As far as actual performance though, the center of gravity of your rig will also play a role... so a 5kg rig that is fairly low profile and has a center of gravity only 50cm high for example will be easier to counterbalance than a taller rig even if its less weight sometimes depending on the height. Some brands will release more detailed graphics for how the height affects the max payload and state clearly how their specs are determined, but I'm not sure if iFootage has this available or not. I'll check into that too. That's part of the reason I like to keep the weight low on my rig, instead of large batteries on high top heavy monitors etc. As for the pan tests, I was using a zoom lens I believe but I think I was around 100mm or so for most of those tests. Thanks again and if I find out any more I'll reply to this comment again :) Cheers!

@willvazquez3218

4 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas thanks for quick reply. That's pretty smooth performance for such a long lens. I think I'm going to roll the dice and buy one of these heads

@ScottDumas

4 жыл бұрын

Hey! Just wanted to get back to you that I found out the counterbalance is indeed up to 7kg, the 5kg must be up to a mistake in translation. :)

@willvazquez3218

4 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas Awesome! Thanks for inquiring and getting back to me. It makes the head even more attractive. Cheers!

iFootage K7 vs Trix(Teris?) V80, 120, V6 Whatever. If I could choose only one option in my life, which one would be good? Thank you for your great review.

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

Teris TCE is closest in price I think, and it's a hard choice for sure. The K7 uses standard manfrotto plates, so cross-compatibility is a bit better, although the clamp style can sometimes be tricky with SLIGHTLY different sizes of plates (you can adjust it with a hex wrench to fit them all, but if you make it wider, narrow plates won't lock in tight, make it tighter, wider plates won't fit in etc). Generally, it works well though haha. Teris is a different plate altogether though. Teris has more standard stepped drag and counterbalance adjustments, with slightly easier to use locks on the pan and tilt axes. K7 has fine controls of course, but the locks are a little smaller and sometimes tricky to get your fingers on by comparison. Not a huge deal at all. K7 is all metal, TCE is not- K7 has a flat bottom so it works well with sliders too, TCE does not. The TC9 legs from iFootage are also great- more compact for bringing on location, still solid and the quick release bowl design is very very nice. It's really a toss-up but depends what you're looking for. It sounds dumb, but out of all of this I'd consider the plate cross-compatibility the most significant difference in real use. Hope that helps!

@win1earn

3 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas Really Really Thank you!

I heard somewhere that the K7's safety catch only works with the provided ifootage plate. Can you verify this with a standard Manfrotto plate?

@ScottDumas

4 жыл бұрын

I tried it with what I had on hand- the plate from the Zhiyun Crane 3S, the original Komodo K5 plate, the plate from a Cayer tripod head and the plate from the Glidecam DGS (all manfrotto style) and all of those worked with the K7's safety catch no problem. The only thing I could imagine you might run into with certain versions of the plate is if the width is very slightly off for the clamp, but it has a good amount of range you can actually adjust the tightness there too so it wouldn't be a problem (unless you had 2 different width manfrotto style plates haha) Hope that helps!

Baffles me that all tripods (prosumer/pro) do not have illuminated balancing bubble. Such a huge difference so for such a small add on for them to design and manufacture. Sure, a small pen light achieves that but remembering to bring one on every shoot and have it handy is a pain.

@ScottDumas

2 жыл бұрын

I agree 100%. An illuminated bubble is a HUGE pro and I wish I saw it more often too.

I'd worry about the feet on those legs, since the screw is exposed to the mud, water, etc, that would be encountered outside. Other makes have a spike that screws out from the bottom of the feet; a better design. Have you managed to compare the head to other offerings? What were you using previously? I'd be worried abut longevity, support, etc. from an unknown company.

@ScottDumas

4 жыл бұрын

I myself don't often shoot in mud or water so haven't had any problems, but I know other photographers who do and haven't heard any complaints from them about the spike design so far. Not necessarily the most elegant part of the tripod design though haha. I've owned and used heads from a range of companies including iFootage's own K5, a cheap Cayer head, a few from Manfrotto, a few from Teris, Secced and more expensive options from Libec, Cartoni and Sachtler ...while the design is different the performance is very solid with the K7, even compared to those other high end choices. The biggest differences are basically the number of counterbalance steps (K7 is average or above for the price range but lower than some of the expensive ones, and I've used a few continuous counterbalance systems as well which can be more accurate but take more time to adjust) and also the range of the drag. The K7 is on the low end for that, but again, average for other choices in a similar price range. The Teris or Secced choices were probably the best *performance* for the money, but customer support isn't necessarily as good, nor is worldwide availability compared to the others I mentioned. iFootage is less known for tripods specifically, but a fairly well known company in general with a good reputation and support. I've used a number of other products from them that have held up very well over the years, so I trust their construction without hesitation :)

@RobinParmar

4 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas Thanks for the detailed reply. I don't trust consumer brands like Manfrotto one bit, but need to keep costs reasonable. So far been looking at the lower-range Cartoni and Sachtler. There's also this Australia company Smooth Camera Gear making unbelievable heads. One of the harshest environments for a tripod is a beach. To get a nice shot of the surf it's common practice to place the legs in water, but the sand can play havoc with gear. Even though my use is only occasional, a Manfrotto tripod fell apart up the side of a hill, revealing the cheap plastic innards. The Feisol legs I bought as replacements are still standing up well. Even after an accident where I lost my camera to the salty Atlantic!

@RobinParmar

4 жыл бұрын

By the way, I should say I love your production of your video. So many people on KZread act like cheerleaders on camera and have music running throughout. So annoying! The one critical comment I can make is that the hyped title music seemed inappropriate. Take that for what it's worth. EDIT: I see from your gear list you use a Zoom F4, which I am familiar with, and a Deity shotgun, which I have never heard of! Was that your setup here?

Base Diameter - 92mm Then do I have to use a 100mm half-ball?

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

Nope, it'll just screw on so a 75mm half bowl like the TC9 legs have will be fine.

I bought this tripod legs few months ago and they do not have the screw mounts as yours.....I do not understand it. They flexing a bit too much for my taste. I bought them for the speed of the quick change from fluid head to slider .....they are guite nice. I bought it to combine with head from SCG T6 fluid head and I believe is best combo up to 1000€. Maybe I should make a video. (I would but having to much work at the moment 🙈) Hi Scott.

@ScottDumas

4 жыл бұрын

I'm guessing the one you bought is the TC7, which is a bit smaller and I think has skinnier legs, hence more flex. The TC9 is still on pre-order and is larger, more robust and has a higher payload. Also, apparently, a slightly different design in the details :)

@ondrejjanoska660

4 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas that makes it clear 😂🙈

@billyoung9538

3 жыл бұрын

How do you like the SCG T6? I was originally looking at this K7, but I worry about it's drag control design. Several people have said the base drag is fiddly. So I've been thinking about stepping up to the SCG T6, but there are only a few reviews thus far and none are as thorough as Scott tends to be.

@billyoung9538

3 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas I was on the verge of getting the T7, but have been talked out of it by a few people due to some apparent issues with the drag controls. So I don't want to risk it, but I'm wondering if you have considered reviewing the SCG T6 as it looks like it's a really good head for the price ($496), and It's slightly less expensive, but more feature rich (like 8 steps, 7 +0, of counter balance) than the E-Image GH06. They even have a full carbon fiber tripod kit, the SCG T6CF2, for $696 and an aluminum variant for $646. Quite possibly one of the best budget pro level tandem kits out there. It seems right up your ally. ;)

​ @Scott Dumas How has this held up over time for you? Do you still find it to be the best option in this price category, or would you think something like the Benro BV6 or the new S8 Pro are better options?

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

It's held up like a rock, and I've given it quite a beating. The quick release system is really really nice, and I love the quick bowl design too. I do wish it had an illuminated bubble level but that's about all I'm really missing. Maybe a LITTLE more drag at times could be nice, depends on the camera you're using I guess. I haven't used the Benro options myself but I know they are very popular budget options. I'd love to try them out so Benro, if you're reading, feel free to get in touch! ;) Judging on my experience alone though, this is a rock solid choice that's fast and convenient.

@billyoung9538

3 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas That's very encouraging. I talked with one individual who returned the K7 for the Benro BV6, and recommended my going with that; however, there aren't a whole lot of reviewers out there that test these budget heads for the important stuff, like for example how the backlash, drag options, build quality and feature niceties compare to well known more expensive heads like Sachtler, Cartoni, Vinten, Mathews and OConnor as well as the budget brands like Benro, iFootage and E-image. So people can get a reference of what things they are compromising on for what they are paying. That is one of the reasons I really appreciate this channel. You have often done side by sides of the budget vs the the pro, and it makes it much easier to judge if the value option is worth the cost savings. Right now I'm at the point where I'm not sure if I want either a Benro or a K7 head because of the mixed reports I get. So thus I feel like I want to move up one cost tier which opens up options like the E-Image GH06, SCG T6 and Sirui BCH-10 or even a little higher than that with the SCG T8, Sirui BCG-10 and Entry level Sachtler, Cartoni and even used Vinten heads. I don't use my gear for profit, most of the time, so every coin counts, but I also don't want garbage that I'm going to regret purchasing in a year. I'm trying to find that comfortable quality/price balance. You're channel has been one of the best for this type of experience.

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

@@billyoung9538 what kind of camera do you use and what type of work do you do? I’ve owned/used $2000-3000 tripods forms Sachtler and Cartoni, and there are certain benefits (the FSB-8 and new carbon fiber sachtler legs were my favorite) but for a fraction of the price you get 95% of the performance with something like the iFootage. Backlash and smoothness have been very good for me, better than some others, but again it’s hard to say specifically about the other models you mentioned. Again the K7 has worked well for me in that regard. Paying more in my opinion should get you more counterbalance steps, and maybe more drag... but often the flat bottomed K7’s usefulness on a slider and quick release manfrotto style plate outweighs that. Again- depends mostly on what your type of work and gear is. And how perfect your expectations are in that last few percent of difference from the big boys

@billyoung9538

3 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas I use multiple cameras depending on the project, and it will likely change in the future. Currently the smallest is probably a Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, and the largest is a rigged Red Gemini. The work varies, when there isn't a pandemic, but ranges from field production to home studio to actual studio work. Note I do work with a local Media Center that deals with TV, Film & web productions and often provides the bigger cameras and tripods. Unfortunately scheduling conflicts/mishaps in the past have lead to situation where gear compromises have occurred, and the only viable solution, locally, was personal gear. I have a couple older, basic video tripods I've had for years, but I was given a nice pair of 75mm Suiru sticks this year, but no head. I believe something in the 6Kg to 10kg range with fill my needs, but, like everyone, desire the best head to fill my needs with out breaking the bank. The most important things to me are: 1. As buttery smooth as possible. 2. good consistent drag & options 3. as ridged build quality as possible 4. good counterbalance & range options 5. as close to a 10kg payload as possible. Price ranges

@billyoung9538

3 жыл бұрын

@@ScottDumas Update. I went for the K7. Someone in a discussion pointed out that If I don't like it for this tripod I can always shift it over to one of my others as it's more than likely going to be better than those heads. While it had occurred to me the potential to use the head on the slider, a bonus, but likely limited use. Upgrading one of my other, older tripods if I outgrow/ don't like it as much as the ones from the media center has major appeal, and it sovles the problem now with out spending and potentially throwing away decent amounts of unexpected money. This also comforts me as I can now plan for a much better head in the future knowing this one will still get used.

Removing comments? Why are you not saying anything negative about it, even when asked in the comments? If it's a sponsored video you should say so.

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

Did I remove a comment? In all the years I've done this the only comments I've ever removed are spam postings of obscene links etc. Not sponsored- they provided the head for the review because I asked, that's all. No money, no approval of content etc.

@skymakai

3 жыл бұрын

​@@ScottDumas Oh, weird. You did say the knobs feel like they need to be over tightened... You didn't say anything about the pan/tilt knobs feeling loose and having a lot of play. It's hard to determine and match the pan and tilt drag. It's what I'm experiencing and reviews on B&H describe. I wish you would have addressed it. I totally agree with you that the iFootage Tripods could be improved by allowing the feet to be replaced. And the K7 drag could be quite a bit stronger.

@ScottDumas

3 жыл бұрын

@@skymakai I agree the drag could be stronger, but I don’t have much issue with loose knobs myself. Mine is pre-production and I did have one sticky point with the tilt knob (opposite of it being loose...), I gave them that feedback and was told it would be fixed so didn’t dwell on it. Sorry to hear the final version seems to have issues I didn’t come across.