3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision review: pan-and-tilt with a twist

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Amateur Photographer verdict

The 3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision is a well made and very smooth pan-and-tilt head that’s useful for photographers as well as video. It’s just a shame you need a hex key to rotate the camera clamp.

Pros

Smooth pan and tilt movements
Useful rotating camera clamp

Cons

Need a hex key to rotate the clamp

The 3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision is a pan-and-tilt head that’s primarily designed for video. However, heads of this type are also very useful for achieving accurate composition with telephoto lenses, or for supporting spotting scopes.

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision at a glance:

$170 / £149.99
Pan-and-tilt tripod head
Rotating Arca-Swiss camera clamp
9.1cm height, 455g weight
5kg max load
3leggedthing.com

Essentially, the Airhed Vision is a slightly larger and heavier upgrade to the firm’s AirHed Trinity, but now with an additional trick, in that its camera clamp can be rotated through 90°. This allows it to accept cameras that are fitted with cages, L-brackets, or Arca-Swiss baseplates. Amongst other things, this facilitates switching between horizontal and vertical video recording.

In other respects, though, this head has a conventional design. It has a panning base that rotates extremely smoothly, with a built-in bubble level to avoid angled horizons. Above it, the tilt mechanism has a large locking lever that provides a degree of friction control, along with a counterbalance mechanism to stop the camera from flopping up or down. At the top, the camera clamp has its own bubble level.

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision controls close-up — The Airhed Vision has a conventional design, with a tilt mechanism above a panning base. Image credit: Andy Westlake

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision key features:

Colours: The head comes in three variants: all-black, black with copper accents, or moss green
Movements: There’s a 360° panning base and a 165° tilt mechanism, each with their own lock
Pan handle: You can adjust the handle’s angle, fold it down for transport, or remove it completely if required
Box contents: The head comes with 3 Legged Thing’s Toolz multi-tool and a 6cm-long Arca-Swiss camera plate

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision it contents — The head comes with an Arca-Swiss camera plate and Toolz multi-tool. Image credit: Andy Westlake

Camera clamp rotation

Rotating the clamp is a simple enough process. All you need to do is undo the hex bolt in the middle by about a turn and a half, spin the clamp, and then tighten the bolt up again. You can’t lock the clamp down at any angle, just at 90° intervals.

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision clamp rotation — To rotate the clamp, you need to undo the central bolt using a 4mm hex key. Image credit: Andy Westlake

This process took me less than 15 seconds, just as long as I had a 4mm hex key to hand (and they come with practically every tripod under the sun). Alternatively, you can use the provided Toolz multi-tool, although you might want to remove the dangly split ring that otherwise gets in the way.

If, however, you forget to carry the requisite tool, you’re out of luck. Personally, I think it’s a shame that 3 Legged Thing hasn’t managed to make this a tool-free process. I’ve used plenty of other heads recently with rotating clamps that simply lock with a lever.

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision with telephoto zoom. — In its standard configuration, the head will hold a telephoto zoom. Image credit: Andy Westlake

Of course, if you only use one clamp orientation or the other, it won’t be a problem. But if you swap between them frequently, it could rapidly get annoying.

That’s my only real gripe, though, as otherwise this is a really excellent head. Both the pan and tilt movements are really smooth, and unlike many smaller video heads, it’s perfectly happy with heavy loads.

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision with camera in portrait orientation. — Rotate the clamp, and you can use an L-bracket to shoot in portrait format. Image credit: Andy Westlake

I tested it using the OM System 150-600mm F5.0-6.3 IS ultra-telephoto zoom and OM-3 camera, which together weigh the best part of 3kg. I had no problem at all with pointing this 1200mm-equivalent lens pretty much exactly where I wanted.

Alternative options from 3 Legged Thing

If you want a slightly lighter, more affordable video head, then look at the Airhed Trinity. This lacks a rotating clamp, but costs just £80. Meanwhile those in need of a higher-end pro-spec option should consider the Airhed Cine, which comes in a choice of Arca-Swiss or 501-plate options for £320.

3 Legged Thing Airhed Trinity product photo gallery

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision, right side view. Image credit: Andy Westlake

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision, left side view. Image credit: Andy Westlake

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision with clamp rotated through 90°. Image credit: Andy Westlake

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision. Image credit: Andy Westlake

Legged Thing Airhed Vision tripod socket. — There’s a standard 3/8in tripod socket. Image credit: Andy Westlake

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision with handle folded — The pan handle can be folded down for transport. Image credit: Andy Westlake

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision controls. — Here you can see the pan and tilt locks, plus the camera clamp locking screw. Image credit: Andy Westlake

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision bubble levels — Two bubble levels help keep your camera stright and level. Image credit: Andy Westlake

3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision: Our Verdict

Overall, the 3 Legged Thing Airhed Vision is a fine head that’s equally useful for both videographers and photographers using long telephoto lenses. Its rotating camera clamp is handy, too. It’s just a shame it needs a hex key to change.