Fluid head for the proletariat

Joined
Aug 20, 2020
Messages
334
Location
North Louisiana
TL;DR - If you want a cheap fluid head to try out, hit amazon for the Ulanzi U-190 at less than 50 bucks.

I found myself wanting to try out a fluid or panning head for my binos, and a future spotter. Browsing around, I see that like everything else, these items are available at any price point that could conceivably be justifiable. Now as an experiment, I didn't call up RRS straight away. For this one I'll have to slide a little coin to our sworn enemies across the pacific to get this done on a budget. I try to buy American when that option exists, but alas to err is human.

Enter the amazon search bar wherein I discovered the lower end of available fluid heads. Many of the promoted items in the sub-50 dollar range were described in the reviews with rather unbecoming language. Plastic. Sloppy. Foreign Excrement. To name a few.

Naturally these were passed over. Now enter the Ulanzi U-190. The product photographs showed a beefy and clearly metal (a specific as one should be) set of control knobs and a compact affectation. Buy it now subsequently smashed. After an agonizing interval of literally nearly 72 hours, the kind folks at the USPS delivered the small box of chinese hypocrisy to my doorstep. After closing the curtains to make sure the neighbors didn't see, I unboxed it and am pretty impressed what small fingers in those sweatshops can turn out.

Attaching it to the center column takes a light touch, else you'll deform the base under the panning joint and cause rough movement there. A little locktite blue will make sure there's no heartache down the road. The tilt function operates about as smoothly as I think I could expect. I'll be giving it a workout to see if it loosens up any. Initial assessment is positive after glassing up some bluebirds and a fox on the highline. Can be made to work really smoothly with a light touch with a little tweaking of the knobs.

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After the eval period, I promise I'll call up a reputable patriotic company and buy more than I need of something as penitence for my poor conduct.


Also. Since you didn't ask- the binos are Loopy BX-4 10x42s. Total white hot deal. See the pic below of a group of elk just a blond one over a mile away. Doesn't look like it, but I could pick out the bulls and a spike at that distance. I've used a lot of SLC 15s, but corn shuckins those BX4s pack a mean game for the cash.

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Anyway, rifle opener is in october and I'm foaming at the mouth already, so more on the topic later even though most of you'd rather I didn't.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 21, 2021
Messages
34
What tripod did you mount the Ulanzi U-190 to, and how is it working out for you? I've read a lot of positive reviews on the Sirui VA-5 fluid head but would rather spend under $100. After your write up, I tempted to try one of these cheaper China specials. The pan head is quite stiff on the Vanguard Vesta 233 tripod I just bought, so I'm looking for alternatives. Thanks for the write up!
 
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