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For the past near-decade I've used nothing but ballheads. This is great for 35mm and works okay for medium format, but when I picked up a 4x5 Crown Graphic it just wasn't practical anymore. I needed something with independent XYZ movements and something that could be adjusted incrementally since the format size increase made keeping the subject and film plane parallel extremely important if I wanted to keep my straight lines straight. It was also important to me from a compositional point of view. If I'm going to spend 15+ minutes taking a single photo then I'm going to go through every degree (literally) to make sure the composition is perfect.
After some comparison shopping on PoiAi Rd, Taipei (the closest competitor being a slightly cheaper Gittos, but not liking the unstandardized Gittos QR plate system) I picked up one for NT$4500 (~US$137, below the B&H Photo selling price of US$205) and an extra QR plate.
First impression: well made but heavy.
I got home, popped it on my 190Pro legs, and threw it all into my tripod bag. A week later it went with me to Lanyu (Orchid Island), Taiwan.
Overall it performed better then I hoped it would. I would quickly position each access using the quick release knobs, then fine-tune using the geared knobs. Both the QR knobs and geared knobs for each access are integrated, so there are actually only 3 (XYZ) adjustment points. Each access has it's own angle scale (degrees) and there is a single, circular bubble. These came in real handy since Lanyu is a volcanic-born island with thousands of years of typhoon-wear, so much of the terrain is rocky and very uneven. the 410 supports 5kg (~11lbs), which is more then enough for my 6lbs 4x5 outfit. At no time and at no angle did I experience drift.
Really, the only bad thing I can say about it is that, compared to the ballheads with which I have experience, it's heavy.
Would I recommend this head for 35mm users? No. It's inconvenient and, since each axis moves independently, doesn't have the "freedom" that 35mm shooters usually require. I would definitely recommend the Manfrotto 410 to medium format and smaller large format (4x5) users as it has the control that fine composing requires and yet can also be adjusted quickly and easily.
Rating: 8
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