The OZEN 18M E-Z LOAD MAX Fluid Head is a heavy-duty fluid head with the familiar placement of pan, tilt, and counterbalance controls to easily fit into your operating style. Built to fit the needs of filmmakers with cameras and rigs that weigh up to 48.4 lb, the 100mm ball base allows for fast leveling and provides a wide balancing platform, which is advantageous when working with long lenses. The head features a quick release plate with two 3/8"-16 threaded camera tie-down screws, and the camera platform has 2.36" of travel for balancing your camera on the head.

The nine steps of pan and tilt drag are independent of each other and allow for precise adjustment to match the needs of your shot. A zero setting for each axis provides completely free movement to create whip pans and tilts. Individual pan/tilt locks allow you to lock one axis while still operating the other. The counterbalance has 16 steps of adjustment, which allows you to further tune the head to match the shot and your operating style. A built-in illuminated bubble level is a useful tool in dim lighting conditions for quickly leveling the head. Removable pan handle rosettes on the left and right side of the head allow you to utilize both included telescoping pan handles at once.

100mm Ball Base Fluid Head    9-Step + 0 Pan and Tilt Drag    4.4 to 48 lb Payload Capacity    Two-Stage Aluminum Legs    16-Step Counterbalance on Head    E-Z LOAD MAX Quick Release Plate    Camera Platform with 4.72" of Travel    Independent Pan and Tilt Locks    Built-In Illuminated Bubble Level    2 x Telescoping Pan Handles

A 16-step counterbalance allows you to adjust the head for a variety of cameras and rigs weighing from 4.4 to 48.4 lb. The counterbalance system is designed to neutralize the weight of the head, so the fluid head will hold the tilt position you leave it in without having to hold it in place. When tilting, you don't have to fight the resistance of the counterbalance during a tilt move.

With nine steps and a zero setting, you can adjust the head for smooth movement when creating fast or slow moves. The dampening settings allow you to adjust your setting from shot to shot, while the stepped settings make your drag selections repeatable.

The E-Z LOAD MAX QR plate supports heavier camera rigs, pops in and out of the camera platform, and does not have any sliding balance adjustment. However, the camera platform that the plate pops into has 2.36" of back and forth adjustment to aid in balancing your camera on the head. An optional baseplate or VCT system for greater balance capability is customary with larger cameras.

The 100mm leveling ball makes it quick to level the head on your tripod legs or other platforms. The large platform size allows you to adjust the balance of your camera and lens and keep the center of balance within the 4" wide platform, for smoother operation without straining the head.

Removable rosettes on each side of the fluid head allow you to attach the included pan handles for two-handed control. If damaged or stripped, the rosettes can be removed and replaced with new ones.

The head comes with one each 1/4"-20 and 3/8"-16 camera tie-down screw stored on the sides of the head, in addition to the two 3/8"-16 captured tie-down screws in the E-Z LOAD MAX QR plate.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Can I mount a Sony A7iii on the back of the plate without it interfering with my lens operation or mount it near the front of plate without plate protruding too far off back of camera to get face close enough to viewfinder after quick release?

A: The A7iii should fit fine on the Sachtler Ace M System Black Edition with Tripod & Mid-Level Spreader (75mm Bowl) if screwed into the back of the plate not the forward.

Q: 2. How much does this tripod weigh?

A: The Sachtler Ace M Fluid Head with 2-Stage Aluminum Tripod & Mid-Level Spreader weighs 9.7 lb.

Q: 3. Can this tripod handle a RED Epic Dragon M 6k with a Schneider Xenon FF 50mm Lense?

A: Assuming you don't load anything above and beyond the necessary minimum to operate your RED Epic Dragon M (other than the lens specified in your question) then the answer is YES.

Q: 4. Can the head from the Sachtler Ace M be put on a different tripod base?

A: As far as i can see, Sachtler heads can do both bowl and flat base mounting

Q: 5. How much does the head weight by itself?

A: The head itself weighs 3.7lbs/1.7KG.

Q: 6. Can the 75mm bowl be removed?

A: Sorry, no, it cannot. If you did remove it, the top of the legs would not be connected to anything and you could not mount a camera. However, you can use a Manfrotto 520BALL 75mm Half Ball. With this you can mount a flat base tripod head on a 75mm bowl tripod.

Q: 7. can the mid level spreader be removed to enable lower angle shots?

A: no, it cannot be removed - only by disassembling it

Q: 8. Is it possible to easily remove the tripod head for airline travel?

A: Yes.

Q: 9. How much does the head weight?

A: The Ace M Fluid Head by itself weighs 3.7 pounds or 1.7 kg.

Q: 10. Does this tripod work with the Nikon D5500? Do I need any other accessories to make it work?

A: You will need the appropriate Nikon quick release camera plate that will slide into the tripod and lock in place.