K & F Concept 3 Way Geared Head Overview • How does it work?

I tested out the K&F Concept 3 Way Geared Head. I have been enjoying their Gimbal Head for several months and I think this new geared head is a nice counterpart. This geared head is more for landscape photography while the Gimbal is more of a wildlife photography head.
K&F Concept Gimbal Link: bit.ly/46vO26F
Geared Head Link www.kentfaith.com/KF31.047_3-way geared tripod head?tracking=6566aa38d59c5
You can easily navigate to the Geared Head from this link.
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[@bobdrawbaugh4207]

That’s a slick head Phil. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like it. Thanks for reviewing it.

[@PhilThach]

Thanks, Bob!

[@WernerBirdNature]

Hi Phil, thanks for illustrating how this concept works. Seems like it's more affordable than it looks at first sight ;-) Last year Jan Wegener and Duade tempted me to a get Flexshooter (Jan just talks again about it in his last video) and for me this was a real game changer ! It's lighter and more compact than this geared head, but it also replaces my gimbal for birding! When you correctly balance the camera, it even holds position without locking. But you can lock it if you want. The internal springs do a great job of balancing the tilt, while allowing easy panning. And the outside ball allows to set it spirit level, or switch to portrait for people like me who don't have an L bracket. This week, I got my 100-500 back. Looks like Canon did replace the lens foot, but there has been some discussion between my Camera Store and Canon: my dealer first sent it back to Canon, because it could still slip a little and Canon replied it was impossible to completely avoid any slip. Nevertheless, now I can again use the lens foot for turning when detaching the lens from the camera. Before the fix that was no longer possible which was annoying because also the zoom ring wasn't very suitable to screw the lens out ;-)

[@PhilThach]

I have heard of the flex shooter. It looks like a really really really nice option. I think Arthur Morris might use one too, or I know he did at one time.

[@WernerBirdNature]

@@PhilThach It's not cheap (I paid like $700 including euro taxes and shipment) but you should really give it a try and make a landscape and a birding episode out of it ;-) Since I have the Flexshooter, my gimbal is on gardening leave, awaiting his promotion to become a Duade-style ground pod 😛

[@PhilThach]

I think for $700, I'll stick with what I have! :)

[@WernerBirdNature]

@@PhilThach Just looked at B&H where they start at $579, but the lever version at $629 allows faster swapping lenses. Anyway, in the end you need to agree with your wallet (&Heather) .. mine rejects shooting with multiple brands of photo gear while for you that's a smart way to broaden your audience ..

[@davidsaylors]

That is a god send for landscape shooters. I can only imagine how nice it was the first time you dialed in a composition and it stayed like you set it. I have had the exact same experience with ball heads.

[@PhilThach]

I still haven't gotten around to using it yet, I don't do nearly as much landscape work as I'd like to. I hope to use it with my new D850 for landscape work soon. I bought the D850 for landscapes and so far I used it twice, once for birds and once for sports. LOL :)

[@ses4vols]

Great review! I will keep it in mind. I haven't noticed the droop out of my tripod. I will have to pay more attention next time.

[@PhilThach]

Thanks, Stephen!

[@MrTmiket0007]

Thanks Phil for sharing another wonderful video like always 👍

[@PhilThach]

That you!

[@jas813631]

Just got this today from Amazon. $118 on sale and it is high quality.

[@PhilThach]

Nice!

[@danwilliams5335]

Not sure I heard you mention how great these heads are for flower photography. I use mine all the time in my garden.

[@PhilThach]

That is a great point, Dan. Thank you!

[@adrianalfordphotography]

Nice review Phil. That certainly would help speed up things getting the right position. Know that feeling about the "droop" with bigger lens set ups. Cheers for sharing 🙏

[@PhilThach]

Thank you, Adrian!

[@dfusselman]

I have a Manfrotto tripod head similar to the K&F Concept - although it's probably heavier- and I love it for astrophotography and landscape photography.

[@PhilThach]

I'm excited about using it.

[@rcarder2093]

Another similar geared head is the Sunway Foto GH-PRO II. I purchased it for the eclipse. I've also used it for landscapes and flowers. It seems to be a little more compact than the K&F one. Both great products without breaking the bank!

[@francoishoule3647]

I have it, and I love it.

[@PhilThach]

It’s a really nice piece of gear for sure! 👍

[@PhotoGearFun]

We are geared head brothers. I got mine a bit ago and love it. I guess Phil's and K&H Geared head go together. Great demo of how the head works. I love mine for macro. Cheers.

[@PhilThach]

Yes, I saw your video and sent an email to my contact at K&F saying that I wanted to review this head!

[@PhotoGearFun]

@@PhilThach nice! They are a great company to work with.

[@kentfaithwendyzeng]

The ability to precisely frame shots without movement from a geared head seems like a real game-changer for landscape photographers.

[@PhilThach]

It really is!

[@TimChilders]

I hate most of my ball heads because of that droop problem. I solved it with the Platyball, but this looks much better (and cheaper). Thanks for sharing!

[@PhilThach]

I can't wait to try this thing out. Thank you!

[@L.LGodwill]

Thanks

[@PhilThach]

Thank you!

[@maxhighstein]

It's all fun and games with the CD3W until you need to shoot a portrait. Flip it over, and there's no way to adjust the up/down camera tilt using the 3 knobs. You have to twist the camera on the mounting plate, at which point it starts to unscrew. Please correct me if I'm missing something or using it wrong.

[@PhilThach]

I highly recommend using an L bracket for portrait/vertical photography with any tripod head including this one.

[@maxhighstein]

@@PhilThach Thank you, Phil. That's the answer I didn't know, and the one I need.

[@maxhighstein]

I went ahead and ordered an L bracket, discovered it covered up my camera's ports, returned it, ordered one specifically for my camera, and discovered the seller didn't actually have stock of it. Then I realized that I already have a very handy Z-Flex bracket I've used for various things, like mounting lights at an angle. I put that on top of my CD3W, and fixed my camera sideways to that. It works beautifully! Flips right over from landscape to portrait, and I can still use all the functions of the CD3W. I also learned about some ring-style holders that are very nice, but a bit pricey. My Z bracket was $40.

[@martinhermann]

Thank you very much for this convincing presentation. I'm toying with the idea of buying this 3-way geared head. I would like to use it for macrophotography together with the weMacro Slider for focus stacking shots. I have a question about this: The slider has an Arcaswiss profile on the underside. Is it possible to mount the slider rotated by 90° on the 3-way geared head? Will that work?

[@PhilThach]

I’m pretty sure you have to put the arca Swiss plate on the gear head in only one direction or two if you count exactly backwards. But, you can just turn the tripod or the tripod head 90° to achieve the same result.

[@martinhermann]

PhilTach OK, thanks for your quick reply.

[@sophietucker1255]

I’ve had two different geared heads and both gave out in less than a year.I used them with my Hasselblad 503 CX with nothing larger than the 150mm lens and a Nikon F3 with nothing larger than the 300mm lens. The Benro I had would always sag and never hold a setting. The K&F had one of the three gears just give out and just spin without any movement. Both are just junk in my book. I’ve gone back to my old Manfrotto 3047 3 way heads modified to take Arca Swiss plates.

[@PhilThach]

Mine has been great so far. No issues.

[@MazharulIslamDipu]

do it work panaromic?

[@PhilThach]

Yes.