Geared tripod heads for architectural, interior and cityscape photography
If you are serious about your architectural and cityscape photography, you would consider buying a geared tripod head instead of a traditional ball head.
So why geared head is considered best for architectural? This head give you a precise control over tripod camera position. They use knobs for front/back tilt and literal tilt position as well as panning positioning. Some offer panorama leveling plate as well.
There are a few companies that produce such heads and while I was searching for my own, I compose a list of them for you so you can make a well-balanced decision when buying one.
In this article I did not mention any Cinema Camera gear head not “fluid head” since our main focus in on the photo gear heads. Also there are a few Chinese brand that make same gear head but uses different names, so I didn’t include them here either. Let’s start …
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This is the best and most well-known company that produce fines of ball head and is one of the most expensive and exclusive geared head. The C1 Cube.
And they also have a smaller more compact head called D4 GP
The C1 Cube
The Rolls-Royce of the gear heads. This is quite heavy and very expensive gearhead considered to be the best in the business. Unparalleled precision unique design, sturdy, Swiss-made gear head.
Arca Swiss D4 GP
More compact. more lightweight, and less expensive but still quite a pricy gearhead from well knows company. I believe this is the most interesting read head around, due to design and functionality, but there are more affordable gear heads with the same design in the list.
Core 75 Leveler "Classic"
A leveler heads from Arca Swiss featured basically 2 modes with multiple add-ons. The is the Classic 75 model. The ARCA-SWISS Core 75 leveler tripod head is characterized by its high precision, simple handling and setup, all perfect for quickly leveling the camera.
Core Leveler 60
And this is 60 series. Again with a few add-on it could be suitable for many different cameras ect. The ARCA-SWISS Core 60 leveler tripod head is characterized by its high precision, simple handling and setup, all perfect for quickly leveling the camera.
A well know photo accessory company that produces traditional ball heads and also have geared heads. In fact, their geared heads are the ones that most architectural photographers use at the begging. They are cheaper than most and quite robust.
At the moment they offer 4 models. 405 , Studio, 410 and XPRO
405 Geared Tripod Head
Is a well-known gearhead. The usual choice for the beginner photographer and pro. Aluminium-based, strong but still lightweight. Not the most ergonomic one because of the design of the knobs. Featured Manfrotto's own plate (not Arca Swiss)
410 Junior Geared Tripod Head
A smaller version of 450 Gear Head. More compact and lightweight. Still not the most ergonomic and featured Manfrotto's own plate (not Arca Swiss)
Pro Geared Head
The newest addition to Manfrotto's range of gear heads. This head has its own website emphasising the importance of this head to Manfrotto. Lightweight and compact according to the website, still has a Manfrotto own’s plate on top.
Studio Gearhead (400)
This is the oldest Manfrotto gearhead, now out of stock almost everywhere but I guess you can find it used on eBay.
Another well know and respectful company offering gearhead. The one model they produce is GD3WH
Chinese manufacturer of many interesting camera accessories. They offer a few solid geared models. I actually end up buying a G4 head from that company.
All interesting models and I highly recommend checking out their other staff as well.
G4
The only “true” gearhead from this company is G4. But is the best gearhead I ever used. Well built, sturdy, great design and all the knobs working were well. Highly recommend.
LH-40GR
A bit strange that they called it a panoramic gearhead since it looks like a bullhead with a geared mechanism on top, none the less it might be a solution for some.
G2
This is what they called panorama geared bullhead. As you can spot it is a top part of the LH-40GR head. Still, I would not consider it a full gear head but could be useful in some situations. Also very compact compared to other models.
GW-01
The newest addition to the Leofoto gear heads family. It is a homage to the Manfrotto 405 head. offers the same great Leofoto’s known design and well build quality.
G3
G3 is the newer model successor of the bigger model of G4. Is smaller, lightweight, and more compact, but can handle less weight (12kg vs20kg on G4), Still has all features and build quality of the G4.
G20
Another small lightweight gearhead with a smaller angle of rotation. Similar to the G2 model.
G4 Pro
Last but not least is the latest version of the successful G4 model. The PRO in the model means it has a new top section with level bubbles (actually one thing I miss in the G4 head). Everything else is still the same as the G4 head.
RG-1 Geared Head MarkIII
A relatively new Chinese company with a very interesting range of photo types of equipment, including one impressive geared head called RG-1 Mark III. While you are on their website check out TSE Frame Mark 3
Yet another manufacturer from China. They offer a well-designed gear head GH-Pro II as well as a good range of other accessories for photographers and videographers.
And … you guessed it, one more Chinese brand. This one however does not have a dedicated website, so I would be carefully considering buying the head. However, they do offer GH4 gearhead. Some search engines came up with the same design and name of the head but the brand is called Fotobette or Sometimes Buddiesman, go figure ;)
Another Chinese brand that seems to do similar gear heads to Leofoto like GH4 (see Kakafoto), but this time they also introduce a different model called GH-2 (picture above). Again goes straight to the Aliexpress shop. Seems solid enough with mental knobs, but I have no experience using it. Also looks quite similar to Sunwayfoto.
Cambo Fotografische Industrie BV is a Netherland company with a series of 3 gear heads in their extensive range of photographic equipment. This company offers some unique accessories as well.
PCF GEARHEAD
A slightly bulky but interesting concept PCF geared head from the Netherlands.
PCH GEARHEAD
A one-letter difference in the name of the gear heads and you have a new product. Seems that it is very similar to the PCH model. The difference is in the pot section.
PCS GEARHEAD
Interestedly enough this is actually a new product. A bit odd if you ask me to have a new gearhead with handles in 2023, but one might find it useful.
GD3W
A Chinese brand that you can find on Aliexpress. Nice looking, a solid gearhead. Unfortunately, no information on that gear head on the main site, but a search at Aliexpress came back with a match.
BFC-01A
And yet another Chinese brand, that I never heard of :). Looks solid^ but is quite expensive compared to Leofoto G4 or G3 model.
Linhof is a German brand of camera builders with an impressive range of different geared heads to choose from
Large levelling head II
We start with this levelling head that looks very compact.
Linhof 3D Micro
I think this is the most interesting gearhead in the Lindhof range.
3-D Levelling Head II
Uniquely designed levelling head
Alpa Swiss is the company from Switzerland with great range of camera body and accessories, that offer one gearhead modular product.
Alpa Gon
The ALPA GON is a modular tripod head, consisting of the ALPA GON Module, the Pano Plate Module and the compact UNIQ/C dove tail tripod mount.
Korean manufacturer of camera equipment offer a similar designed geared head to a Arca Swiss cube, called MultiFlex.
GON 3D
I guess some AliExpress rip off of Linhof 3D geared head called Gon 3D at a third of the price. (I hope not a third of the quality).
ND 2
A rare find on Alixpress Swebo ND 2. You can’t find it in the search for this name, but here is the direct link
A rare find is a Luland Chinese company that produces a few geared heads including GS and uniquely looking CNC technical 3D head (image above) for large format cameras. I can only find a listing on E-bay but no company website :(
So, I hope this list will help you to choose the right geared head for your needs and budget. If I left something out or missed let me know in the comments.
Stay creative!
