Outdoorsman's Jim White Pan Head 2.0

[Josey Wales]

Does anyone have any experience with this tripod head? Outdoorsman's has sold the original version created by Jim White for years, but recently revamped it and is selling the 2.0 version now. I'm curious how it compares to the Outdoorsman Pan Head and the Benro S2.

Jim White Pan Head 2.0

Overview In honor of a great man and with help from folks like you, we're proud to have taken the Jim White Pan Head to its next evolution. The Jim White 2.0 is compatible with Arca-Swiss and the Original Jim White Plates, so you can enjoy all your favorite accessories with the benefit of a...

outdoorsmans.com

Thanks-

 

[fightthenoise]

I have the same question and figured I’d bump your thread instead of making another. I have the pan head but want to switch to arca swiss plates. I’m hoping the Jim White is as good as the pan head while taking arca swiss plates because I love the pan head.

 

[outward]

Nothing but good to say about my JW 2.0. The adoption of the arca-swiss plates is the whole deal to me being a photographer (day job). All my gear has arca-swiss on it. Initially I planned to get the Pan Head and carry around a separate adapter for Outdoorsmans -> arca-swiss but that's really unnecessary. If you have existing arca-swiss gear or want to run the a-s plate system for any reason, I'd fully recommend the JW 2.0. Functionally, I think the only noteworthy difference will be the tilt knob being on the handle (JW) vs on the body (Pan Head). For stability, I've run 7 pound cameras and 80mm spotters on the JW 2.0 with no problem. Tension adjustments, overall weight/bulk, quality of manufacturing...all top notch.

 

[ohiohunter81]

I bought and used one this summer and had it on a September elk hunt. I really enjoyed using it and the panning was very smooth. The main reason I bought it was to switch between a camera and Binos and the arca Swiss made it very convenient and quick. I may be interested in selling it as it is just to much head for what I use it for in Ohio. Feel free to PM me if you are interested or have any more specific questions!

 

[maverick351]

Nothing but good to say about my JW 2.0. The adoption of the arca-swiss plates is the whole deal to me being a photographer (day job). All my gear has arca-swiss on it. Initially I planned to get the Pan Head and carry around a separate adapter for Outdoorsmans -> arca-swiss but that's really unnecessary. If you have existing arca-swiss gear or want to run the a-s plate system for any reason, I'd fully recommend the JW 2.0. Functionally, I think the only noteworthy difference will be the tilt knob being on the handle (JW) vs on the body (Pan Head). For stability, I've run 7 pound cameras and 80mm spotters on the JW 2.0 with no problem. Tension adjustments, overall weight/bulk, quality of manufacturing...all top notch.

Curious how much that head can be like a fluid head or is it all loose and floppy. Im not sure how the tension on it will react as fas as movement on pan and tilt

 

[outward]

Curious how much that head can be like a fluid head or is it all loose and floppy. Im not sure how the tension on it will react as fas as movement on pan and tilt

That's a good point to comment on. The Outdoorsmans heads (other than the newest Fluid Head) are not fluid heads. They operate off of knob tension and resistance is adjusted with the pan knob or tilt on the handle. They are well machined with tight tolerances so for a non-fluid head they are very smooth, but there's still no comparison to a true fluid head. If you completely loosen the knobs, the head will be "loose and floppy" as you put it. For me, that's acceptable given the advantages of lighter weight and more compact size. Tradeoffs to everything I guess. For bino and spotter use, I'm happy with the tradeoffs and love running the JW 2.0. Its plenty smooth for those needs IMO with just the right tension adjusted with the knobs. But if I'm doing video work where I value smooth pans and tilts or proper weight counterbalance for different camera setups (my day job) I will always use a proper fluid head. For that I have Manfrotto 504HD, 502AH and 701. Those are all quality fluid heads and smoother than the Outdoorsmans (other than their new Fluid Head) but many times heavier and much bulkier. If fluid style action is important but you want to minimize weight, I'd opt for the Sirui VA-5. That's a very good fluid head for the money and outside Outdoorsmans about as light as you'll find. It also utilizes area-swiss plates.

 

[maverick351]

That's a good point to comment on. The Outdoorsmans heads (other than the newest Fluid Head) are not fluid heads. They operate off of knob tension and resistance is adjusted with the pan knob or tilt on the handle. They are well machined with tight tolerances so for a non-fluid head they are very smooth, but there's still no comparison to a true fluid head. If you completely loosen the knobs, the head will be "loose and floppy" as you put it. For me, that's acceptable given the advantages of lighter weight and more compact size. Tradeoffs to everything I guess. For bino and spotter use, I'm happy with the tradeoffs and love running the JW 2.0. Its plenty smooth for those needs IMO with just the right tension adjusted with the knobs. But if I'm doing video work where I value smooth pans and tilts or proper weight counterbalance for different camera setups (my day job) I will always use a proper fluid head. For that I have Manfrotto 504HD, 502AH and 701. Those are all quality fluid heads and smoother than the Outdoorsmans (other than their new Fluid Head) but many times heavier and much bulkier. If fluid style action is important but you want to minimize weight, I'd opt for the Sirui VA-5. That's a very good fluid head for the money and outside Outdoorsmans about as light as you'll find. It also utilizes area-swiss plates.

Very valuable information. I do really like the more compact size and weight of the JW2.0 verses some of the other heads out there. I also dont like long handles that every fluid head I've found comes with. I am really only going to be running binos on it for hunting and some digi scoping. Much like you said tradeoffs. My biggest concern is it being loose and the binos falling or flopping forward or backwards when I take my hand off the arm and of course steadiness as you pan and tilt but I'm not doing professional quality photography with it. Just nervous as I just had a head flop forward and cause my tripod to tip and binos to fall and ruin a lens. You hear reviews both ways about the heads becoming grindy from dust. I may have to take some time off work and get up to outdoorsmans and check it out.