Benro LBA2 Leveling Base

This thing has been a game changer for me, I love it!! I bought a gimbal a year ago, it once or twice and got so annoyed at constantly having to level my tripod on every move that I quit using it. I bought this leveling base and have been using my gimbal again and it's soooo awesome! Quick to adjust, holds a heavy load (200-500mm and 300mm f2.8 with doubler) with zero issues. Highly recommend this item!!!

I need and want this to work...so assuming I just got a defective one based on other positive reviews. I have to use pliers on the knob to cinch it tight enough so it doesn't slowly roll around.

I just received this Benro LBA2 Leveling Base and haven't had an opportunity to use it much, however, I have tried it on my tripod and it works smoothly and the bubble is accurate. The product is very well made and has a little bit of weight to it, which I really don't mind, as it'll help with stability. The base moves smoothly and it is easy to lock it down when you're ready. I've read comments about the bubble being small, and yes, it is a bit small, but I have no problem seeing it and leveling the base using it. My only criticism (and it's easily resolved) is that when using my Benro Geared Head the placement of the bubble level prevents mounting the head onto the leveling base. This is a problem that I experienced when attaching the head onto the tripod as well. The answer is to use a spacing disk between the head and the leveling base and all is fine. Otherwise, all is well, but this issue would be avoided if the lever to tighten the leveling base were round, as opposed to its current shape. I also have a Benro ballhead, though, and it attaches fine with or without the spacer. When deciding on whether to buy this base I was looking at the Sirui LE-60, which is a bit cheaper, but I opted to stick with Benro and I'm glad I did. (Also, it looks like I'd have had the same issue with attaching the head to Sirui as I have with the Benro.) I'll also say this, I had considered the Acratech leveling base, but narrowed the field to the Benro and Sirui because the Acratech allows 10 degrees of adjustment, while the other two allow 15 degrees. Just trying the Benro out here at the house and trying different situations, it looks to me like the 5 degree difference in degrees will be helpful in landscape work. So, bottom line is that this is a well made product and I recommend it. The only reason for my 4-star rating is the issue with my geared head, which is specific to that geared head. 's product fulfillment was outstanding, as usual.

The photo shows 3 threads on the center post (sticking up about 7 mm) which is good. The ones I received the center post protruded only 5 mm with 2 threads. Some equipment, like my gimbal, the female thread is inset by 1.5 mm, so it only would have one single thread holding it to this base. I felt that was a defect. I went thru 2 or 3 exchanges with with same defect with either the inner or outer thread, or both. (Notice the post is actually 2 concentric posts for the 2 common sizes. The outer post can be pushed down against a hidden spring to use the smaller inner post. A very good design.) said they could not confirm minimum 7mm post (3 threads) before shipping since they are not setup to communicate that to the picker/shippers. So I asked the mfg, rep, the MAC Group, if they could check before shipping, and I ordered from them. Same problem, this time with the inner post. So I gave up. This could be a temporary problem. My problems occurred 2018 Oct. to Dec.

This is the best leveling base by far. Better than even Benro tripods with built-in leveling base. Holds solid, even for large setups of 15-20lbs. I wish I bought this sooner!