Leofoto LB-75 Leveling Base with Butterfly Handle with 75mm Plate

I wanted to improve on my panoramas, and this item is a must have. Simplifies the process of leveling your tripod. This particular leveling base is robust, light weight and very easy to use. You can use two hands to level your head and with a simple twist of your pinkie finger, you can lock your tripod level.

I have half ball leveling devices of apparent similar design from Kirk and Really Right Stuff. They hold the weight of a camera with heavy telephoto attached when mounted in my full sized gimble heads attached on top of them when I rest their tripod legs on my shoulders for carrying. I bought a Sirui leveling half ball, which worked adequately when similar gear was resting upon it while the tripod was on it feet, only to allow the rig to droop as soon as I put the legs onto my shoulder. I believe that the Sirui type design, which is probably cheaper to build and much more common, is inherently weaker than the Really Right Stuff-Kirk one. Hence, when I recently bought a bargain Robus set of legs, I ordered the Leofoto LB-75 to sit on top, below my tripod head. Unfortunately, it demonstrated a propensity to lock up too tightly when tightened by hand. After leaving it positioned in a strait up configuration for a month, I was unable to loosen the adjustment ring without hammering it loose with a mallet. (Fortunately, my technique did no damage to the base.) I have retightened it by hand somewhat less tightly than before to see whether it will lock up again. At any rate, I am disappointed that the base has so far failed to work --up to the standards of my other leveling bases of this apparent design.

I'm using this with a Nodal Ninja 6 for panoramic and it's great. It's solidly built and easy to adjust. The only things I would like slightly improved is the collar that tightens it in position, and the lack of a grip for tightening it onto the tripod. There's not much rotational distance between locked down and open in the collar, and I found myself more than once loosening the LB-75 on the tripod when I was just trying to loosen the collar to adjust it. But once I got used to it I was OK with it.

I purchased this base specially for astrophotography. Motorized head which is guiding your camera and guider telescope must be perfectly leveled on tripod and it was painful process playing around at least 15-20 minutes with tripod legs until I achieved to get it leveled. With this leveling base I get tripod top plate proximate to horizontal level and fine tuning is finished with the leveling base. Simple, perfect, and fast, just a brilliant idea! I mount it on my Gitzo carbon fiber tripod base plate, all process doesn't take more than 5 minutes. Thank you Leofoto for this amazing aid!

Oh what could have been. Except the mounting plate to the lock mechanism wobbles. There is no adjustment/screw, etc. Simply wobbles. A leveling base that wobbles after be locked down is simply not useful for anything other than a paperweight. Returned as defective.

I mounted this on my older Induro CT 404 flat base, very solid. Then I mount my Manfrotto AH 500 Fluid Head on the Leveling Base. This setup works perfect. Once I level the head, shooting Pano's is a dream. It's a great price and a great product. I love it ~ Michael