Oben PD-117 3-way pan/tilt head ????

[stradibarrius]

Does anyone have experience with the Oben PD-117 3 way head? I have a Chamonix 045F1 and the reviews I have read have all been 4 or 5 stars.
What is your experience?
Thanks

[Ari]

I have no direct experience with the Oben head, but I once bought an Induro head that was a lot like the Oben head, same style and made with the same type of QR plates, and of the same type of materials.
I returned it within two days.
If I put anything heavier than 1kg on that clamp, the plate would wiggle around; it was made of some kind of plastic that fools people into thinking it's metal.
And the plate didn't really fit that well into the clamp to begin with; there were a lot of rubber bits, so not much stability.
The head was ok for heavier stuff (DSLR) but I returned everything as soon as I tried my wee little 4x5 field camera on it, as simply inserting or removing a film holder was an adventure unto itself.
You'd be better off getting one of the clunky but much more solid Manfrotto 3-way heads and using metal clamps and plates; they are often on the used market for about the same price as this Oben head.

[Ari]

You'd be better off getting one of the clunky but much more solid Manfrotto 3-way heads and using metal clamps and plates; they are often on the used market for about the same price as this Oben head.

Like this: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?119104-FS-Manfrotto-3047-Head-with-Five-Quick-Release-Plates