To use a fluid head tripod, attach your camera to the quick-release plate, mount the plate to the head, level the tripod, and balance the camera's weight. Then, use the pan and tilt drag and counterbalance controls to adjust the smoothness of your movements, allowing for seamless panning and tilting.

1. Mount the camera
• Attach the camera's quick-release plate to the bottom of your camera.
• Unlock the clamp on the fluid head, slide the plate with the camera onto the head, and lock it in place.
• Tighten the locking knob or lever to secure the camera.
2. Level and balance the tripod
• Adjust the tripod legs and use the built-in bubble level to ensure the head is perfectly horizontal.
• Unlock the tilt axis and slide the camera on the plate to balance the camera's center of gravity. The camera should stay level on its own with the tilt drag at zero.

A tripod head lets you reposition the camera quickly so you can frame the image you see in your mind’s eye and then hold the camera steady while capturing the image.There are several different types of tripod heads on the market. Let’s get into those types.

Ball heads are the most popular type of tripod head. A ball head features a main locking knob that loosens the head’s grip on a central ball. Once loosened, an attached camera can tilt, pan, and roll in any direction. Many ball heads also feature a panning base that allows a camera to be panned horizontally 360 degrees after the ball has been locked.

Fluid heads are unique 2-way heads that tilt up and down and pan exceptionally smoothly. They are mainly used to shoot videos. These fluid heads, sometimes called video heads, also contain a spring-loaded counterbalance mechanism that acts against the weight of your camera to hold the head in position while tilted up or down without the need to use the tilt lock. Video heads are labeled with a capacity range to let you know the range of camera weights that can be counterbalanced.

Monopod heads, sometimes called tilt heads, offer movement along a single axis when the locking knob is released. Tilt heads are usually used on a monopod and combined with a telephoto lens with a lens foot. When the lens foot is attached to the tilt head parallel to the tilt head’s axis of movement, you can tilt the lens up or down while keeping a monopod vertical. This is useful when shooting up or down at a steep angle using a monopod. Without it, shooting up at a steep angle would require you to crouch awkwardly, and shooting down at a steep angle is usually impossible.Monopods are often used by sports and wildlife photographers who want to maintain freedom of movement while still supporting heavy telephoto lenses.

A gimbal head like a Wimberley is a style of 2-axis tripod head that offers independent control and locking of the pan and tilt movement. Gimbals are designed for use with telephoto lenses and, combined with an Arca Swiss dovetail plate on your lens foot, allow you to adjust the fore/aft position of your camera and lens so that it is perfectly balanced. Once balanced, moving a heavy telephoto lens feels effortless, and there is no need to lock the gimbal head while you wait for your subject to appear. Tilt and pan are controlled by the gimbal’s movement, while the roll axis–your horizon line–is controlled by rotating your telephoto lens in its lens collar.