Great Low Cost Video Head : Benro S6

the form, weight and price make this head appealing. i consider the miller ds-10 the bar for a tiny, lightweight head, though it has the disadvantages of a hefty price tag and being fixed to a 75mm half-bowl. but it just feels great to me. i'm not a huge fan of the 501hdv, or even the 503, so if the s6 is a lateral move from a functional standpoint, i think i'd lose interest quickly. i'm going to give one of these a try once b&h has them in stock again, but for owners of the s6, would you consider it a better head than the 501hdv?
 
foundnyc said:
but for owners of the s6, would you consider it a better head than the 501hdv?
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Yes, I find the Benro S6 head to be better than both the Manfrotto 501HDV and the 503HDV heads, mainly for the counter-blance mechanism that actually works properly.
 
TheDingo said:
Yes, I find the Benro S6 head to be better than both the Manfrotto 501HDV and the 503HDV heads, mainly for the counter-blance mechanism that actually works properly.
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Like so many others, I am trying to decide between the Benro S6, the Manfrotto 502 (or possibly going "all out" for the sachtler). I understand all the benefits of the Benro but I am concerned about the lack of pan drag adjustment on the Benro compared to the Manfrotto seing as I find that I pan much more than I tilt. Unfortunately, the Benfro S8 is not available in my country (and it might be too beefy for my 5Diii+70-200+monitor anyways.)
I will go to the shop and play around with a few different options but I thought I'd ask you guys as well :)
I am a relatively new in the field, struggling to make the transition from hobby to full-time (low-end) pro.
My budget is VERY limited , but atm I am more worried about regretting the S6 kit in the long run than getting the Satchler Ace M on credit.. any advice?
Benro A3573F-S6: 260€
Manfrotto MVK502AM 470€
Satchler Ace M 600€
 
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This is interesting. I am shopping for a head now. Was disappointed until I read this thread. Does anyone know anything about the H line? The H8 looks about the same as far as Load Capacity. I guess there must be a lot more to the H8 than the S8. I will have to do more research. Thanks!
 
What impressed me with the Benro S6 when I first got it was that it could properly balance my DSLR package so that I could simply let go at almost any angle and my camera would reliably stay pointing in the direction where I let go. This is something I've never been able to do with any of the $500 and under Manfrotto video heads. ( I always had to lock-off the Manfrotto head because I could not get it to balance properly )

The Sachtler ACE is a more refined head, with two levels of pan drag ( versus one for the Benro ), but it still shows a tiny bit of kick-back when you let-go of the pan handle.

No idea on the Benro H series, but it looks like they are trying to emulate the higher end Sachtler heads. ( too expensive to just buy on a whim )

Also, Benro now makes a S8 head, but I know nothing about it. It looks like a beefier S6 head.
 
TheDingo said:
What impressed me with the Benro S6 when I first got it was that it could properly balance my DSLR package so that I could simply let go at almost any angle and my camera would reliably stay pointing in the direction where I let go. (...) The Sachtler ACE is a more refined head, with two levels of pan drag ( versus one for the Benro )
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So how do you feel about the pan drag on the S6? (some reviews indicate that it is very loose.. Have you noticed any deterioration in the fluidity and drag over time? I am very close to pulling the trigger on the Benro. It arrived in the shop today whereas the Sachler Ace is on backorder with a 4 week+ delivery time. I will try and/or buy the Benro tomorrow and I'll be sure to report back here )
 
I got the S6 head and aluminum tripod kit for $300. It is vastly smoother tilt than my old 501. Pan action seems ok. I must have got a good one by all accounts. Kit is very steady and light. 6.9 lbs. total. The Carbon Fiber legs kit is only about .9 lbs lighter. The integrated ball leveler works very well. Keep in mind that the kit has a center column which will affect how low you can go. My plans were to cut the column down but it is so nice I decided to not mess with it. Benro said it would only invalidate the warranty just for the column portion. For low shots I am going to get the Varavon Short Baby Tripod and ball head. So far I see only one con and that is the bubble level is clear instead of yellow which makes it difficult to see if you don't have good closeup vision. I plan to use this with the GH4 that I have on order.
 
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Rune Abro said:
So how do you feel about the pan drag on the S6? Some reviews indicate that it is very loose. Have you noticed any deterioration in the fluidity and drag over time?
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The pan drag on the Benro S6 seems fine and it hasn't loosened up for me over time. This is a $160 head, so you do get what you pay for. The Sachtler ACE head is smoother, and the extra drag may come in handy for slower pans, but you can still get very good results with the Benro head.

I recently bought a Libec RH25 head, which has extremely smooth panning motion, but the head won't balance with anything less than 5 lbs on it, so you have to trick-out your DSLR with a cage and other accessories to get the weight up to at least 5 lbs. ( Libec says 4 lbs is the minimum, but 5 lbs seems better for me )
 
just picked up the S6 kit today and my initial impression is very positive. Gonna take it out tonight to shoot a local performance to test it a bit more.
The main issues I have noticed that I will be testing more are the following:
(i) Mounting the 5Dmk3 + 70-200 2.8IS II the counterbalance doesn't seem strong enough to do much, even at "3" - don't know if this is to be expected.
(ii) Panning to the left works nice and smooth whereas panning to the right results in a slight backlash upon letting go of the handle. (this worries me a bit)
Apart from these 2 points everything seems smooth and sturdy and to my utter satisfaction :)
 
Rune Abro said:
(ii)Panning to the left works nice and smooth whereas panning to the right results in a slight backlash upon letting go of the handle.(this worries me a bit)
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After using the head for several hours this behavior remains prevalent that is, if I let go of the handle after panning to the right, the head jumps back a tiny bit.When panning to the left, the head remains exactly where it is when I let go of it.
This skipping behavior is very problematic when panning in a long shot as the "skipping" movement becomes visually noticeable.
I have read about this being a problem with some cheap heads and I specifically chose the S6 over the S4 based on several reviews stating that this problem was present on the S2 and the S4 but NOT on the S6.
Is there any chance that this problem goes away after being "worn" a bit?
EDIT: If the behavior was the same in both directions, I would be more prone to assuming that this issue was within specification, but seeing as it is not symmetrical I fin it rather odd. The issue described above is present after balancing the head perfectly using the spirit level.The problem becomes less prevalent if I offset the head a bit but this seems like a bad workaround as it makes the level useless.Besides,no matter how much I offset it, the problem never re-appears on the reverse side, again indicating that this (probably) is not a leveling-offset issue.
If the head had adjustable pan-drag, I imagine that the issue could be countered by increasing the resistance, but alas, this is only present on he S8. The total weight of the camera+lens 5D +70-200 2.8 IS II is 2.5 Kg. The issue is also present with lighter cameras and without anything mounted.
EDIT2: Starting to wonder if the problem could have to do with leveling and that actually stem from a misaligned spirit level leading me to shoot with an unbalanced head. I will look into this later :)
 
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The S6 uses springs to maintain level for the tilt but not the pan which is friction. There is no tension or jump back when letting go of the handle on mine during a pan. What you described with the S6 is very strange.

According to Adam Wilt review of the S6

"The S6 head was the best of the bunch. While its pan drag remained fixed, the tilt drag was completely and smoothly variable. I could take it entirely off to allow lightning-quick tilts, dial it way up for molasses moves, or adjust it in between to perfectly harmonize with the pan drag. Neither pan nor tilt suffered from excessive elastic springback, nor were they plagued with noticeable stiction; I could move the camera smoothly from point to point, and after a second let the pan handle go without the camera moving back of its own accord."
 
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@ Mark Williams, Yea I bought it after reading reviews like the one you posted which is why I find it so odd.
Could I get you to try and offset the leveling a bit on yours to see if it behaves the same in that situation?
Rune Abro said:
EDIT2: Starting to wonder if the problem could have to do with leveling and that actually stem from a mis-aligned spirit level leading me to shoot with an unbalanced head. :)
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Rune, I just tried it with the level offset the maximum. It stays where I stop the pan. Actually, when I pan there is a fair amount of resistance and stiffness. This is even with the thumbscrew loosened quite a bit. There is no way there is any type unevenness. It is smooth yet very tight and I am actually hoping it will loosen up a bit after some use.

If you can I think I would return it or contact Benro. I have sent them a few emails and they are very responsive.
 
@Mark
What temperature are you working in? (I see snow in your avatar :D) I am currently around 20-31 degree celcius and it occurred to me that the temperature of the oil might account for a much lower resistance which in turn could make the head more prone to elastic springback? Also, how much load do you have on it?
 
After using the tripod with different loads now and playing around alot with balancing, I have arrived at the hypothesis that the springback appears as a consequence of VERY low drag friction. If the head is even slightly off level to either side, the springback appears to the same side. That is, the springback seems to be triggered or enabled by gravity and thus, my question is now not if the head is off-spec in terms of springback, but whether is is off-specc in terms of too little pan friction/drag. Next week, I will be flying to the northern hemisphere and there I'll get a chance to see if the problem is prevalent once the lower temperature increases the viscosity of the oil and by effect, the drag of the pan. If so, then my head is either off-spec (too little pan-drag) or the S6 simply has too little pan-drag for smooth slow pans in hot climates. Obviously, this would not have been a problem if the head feature a pan-drag adjustment...
 
I just purchased the Benro S6 kit and I've noticed a weird issue when I'm panning. There's a scratching sound (like when you rub something on sand paper) coming from inside the head when I pan, unless I loosen the pan lock all the way. I know technically the pan lock is just for locking, but I was trying to tightening it a little bit so that there's a bit of resistance when I pan. The scratching happens when I pan either left or right and it's inconsistent. It makes it almost impossible to do a slow smooth pan. Does anyone else have this issue?
 
Thanks for the reply TheDingo. I took it back to the store yesterday and asked if I could get it replaced, but the replacement also had the same issue, so I ended up just getting a refund. It's a shame because I really liked everything else about it. Guess I gotta keep searching...
 
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