Well the little Veledge tilt head failed today, the second day I had it. I tried to tighten it to sit straight on my handle, but it stripped the tip of the thread, with was a little too short anyway, so now it will screw into itself dis-assembled, but not assembled.
Plan B.
I bought two sets of Smallrig ball heads a few weeks ago and now is the time to review them.
I must admit to being surprised that, after the way they were marketed, they are essentially the same size.
For $10au you get two heavy, strong little mini ball heads, that would likely hold a small mirrorless camera body with little fear.
For $25au you can also get a pair of “heavy duty” mini ball heads from the same brand. These do feel like they will hold more, especially off angle as the slightly matt finish feels more “grippy”.
The cheaper ones feel more “glossy”, the dearer ones more rugged, but otherwise, if weight is taken into account, the cheaper ones seem to be better value at 20% the price.
The cold shoe adapter on each can come off. On the cheaper unit, it just screws off, on the dearer, you have to undo the standard 1/4” screw and it has the tightening hole on the lock, not just a knurled thread.
The two ball heads with cold shoe feet on, the heavy duty on my handle (for the 7” Feelworld screen) and the re-purposed foot from a cheap one on a weight from my gimbal-ear marked for the cage.
The main difference between the two comes down to the release mechanism.
On the cheaper one, the release only releases the stem, so once aligned, the only way to tip it sideways is in the one direction the cut-out is pointing. This can be a pain if you are using it for a monitor or the like as you have to hope the cut-out faces the way you want. If on the cold shoe mount there is some control, but really it comes down to luck.
The dearer ones rotate fully on their own base (but only in cold shoe mode, not screwed directly in), independent of the mounting alignment. This means I may be using one for my monitor, either forward pointing as above or in the cold shoe slot.
Is the cheaper one better value? I think it is for normal use, but if a deeper angle is needed, the rotating body of the dearer one is ideal.
The Ulanzi/Veledge tilt head was a good idea, but poor design and manufacture let it down.