3-way heads

A PAN-AND-TILT head separates horizontal, vertical and panning motions into three separate axes (hence ‘3-way’) giving you control that’s more sophisticated, subtle and user-friendly. When shooting architecture and landscapes, you can precisely line up your horizons and angles – they’re also useful for shooting in the studio. On top of all that, they’re great for video too, enabling you to pan vertically smoothly while recording.

But there’s a price to pay for this increased precision. Vertical and horizontal adjustments are made via independent levers, while panning is usually courtesy of a locking knob. So setting up compositions tends to be a slower process than with a ball head. They’re also rather bulky and heavier in comparison, and