Manfrotto Nitrotech N8 Video Head

2019-03-06T12:08:34

N8 is so smooth, and I found it easy to setup. I did read the manual. The trick is to adjust the gas piston, as you turn, watch the piston direction. It will take a lot of turns the first time but just watch the piston go up or down, and you will never turn it the wrong way. I got this in a kit with flowtech 75 sticks, I hope this combo will last. Once I master using the N8, I don't see myself ever upgrading my video head. It is a bit heavy for only a GH4, but when I buy a 70-200 telephoto lens, and add all the other video equipment, this should feel solid. Thanks you for the Kit!

thomas k.

2017-05-23T17:21:29

I've used quite a few fluid heads, Manfrotto and a few pricy Vinten products. I am picky about feel and balance. Problem is many heads have fixed counterweight springs making a good balance for tilt near impossible especially if you prefer a light touch of the drag controls. Changing the accessories mounted on a camera for a shoot aggravates getting the head to balance. Heads with continuously variable springs are the only way to achieve a precise balance. But they often have limited range, so you have to match the head to your specific camera load and buy a different head if your load becomes significantly heavier or lighter. I own a Manfrotto 501 fluid head which came in two versions. I bought the one with counterweight spring for lighter camera loads. It has proven over the years to be a very versatile performer with a wide adjustment range for counterbalance. It came stock with two telescoping pan arms. I still love this very solid head even though it has two minor flaws. It is heavy and requires a 100mm ball socket tripod. And the drag clutches have only four settings, off, low, medium and high. I find low to be a bit tight for my taste and the other settings excessively tight. The Vinten heads tended to either have too light a counter spring range or two heavy for the weight range of the cameras and accessories I use. But at least they had fully variable drag control. This brings us to the new Nitrotech N8 fluid head. It is lighter than the 501 and it mounts on a smaller 75mm ball to flat plate adapter. It is also an open body style head which though lighter does not give you a feeling of robustness. However, it seems to nevertheless be well made and quite sturdy. It has continuous drag control from very light to stiff. And it has a wide range tilt counterweight spring mechanism using a gas shock cylinder and cam mechanism. Setting it is a bit more fidgety than the 501 head as there is a bit of a dead band near fully level where it may not perfectly balance until you shift the camera's position a bit while re-adjusting the counter-spring control. But when you do get it right, it is a pleasure to use. And unlike the sometimes compromise balance of far more expensive Vinten heads you don't need to compensate by dialing in a tight tilt drag setting. The camera slide has been refined as it has rulings on one edge to make it easy to reproduce your camera's position setting for load balance. And the slide with camera attached can be instantly released from the head without having to slide it off. The pan and tilt locks are all left hand accessible as are the drag adjustments. The rotation direction for setting drag is a bit unintuitive. Same for the slide release mechanism, it may take some practice especially if you are accustomed to more conventional heads. It has the usual illuminated bubble level but the illumination is quite poor and the pushbutton and battery mount feel cheap and fragile. Unlike my 501, the Nitrotech N8 comes with only one pan handle and it is non telescoping. if you need a telescoping pan handle you are a bit out of luck as manfrotto does not yet offer one. But wait, here's what you can do. Buy the 509HLV handle and replace its screw mount knob assembly with the one from the stock handle that comes with the Nitrotech N8 head. It is a much longer screw which is required to mount any pan handle to this head. One reason for the longer screw handle is the dual threads on both sides of the head that can be used to mount accessories in place of pan handles. Overall if you need a fluid head that can provide great balance and excellent feel for a wide range of digital video cameras and accessories without breaking the bank, this is the one. Of course, time will tell if it'll hold up as well as my 501. But that's a moot point as there is nothing else in the Manfrotto line that can replace the 501 except for this Nitrotech N8.

Ira W.