OConnor Ultimate 1040 Fluid Head and flowtech 100 Tripod System

The flowtech 100 is the reason this package exists. Its brakes sit at the top of the tripod where your hands already are, so all three legs deploy and lock in one movement rather than six separate clamp actions down at knee height. Under it the hinge lock mechanism opens the legs flat for a floor-level shot, and the carbon fiber leg profile keeps torsional stiffness high at 7.01 lb (3.2 kg) of tripod. The 100mm bowl takes 66 lb (30 kg), well clear of what the head above it needs.

On top sits the Ultimate 1040, built in magnesium and aluminium alloy with stainless and carbon fiber trim, carrying 0 to 45 lb (0 to 20 kg) at a 5 in centre of gravity with the same sinusoidal counterbalance and stepless fluid drag as the larger 2560 and 2575. The floor spreader version is the lower and more compact of the two; the mid-level version trades a little collapsed height for faster setup on uneven ground. Both ship with the handle and a soft carrying case.