OConnor C120EX CINEM F

This is the 120EX put on legs that can actually hold it: the flagship EX fluid head on the Cine HD Mitchell tripod, with a floor spreader. The head is the draw. Its patented EX counterbalance balances 30 to 120 lb (14 to 54 kg) at an 8 in. center of gravity through a full plus or minus 90 degrees of tilt, then keeps going in EX mode by trading tilt range for capacity, up to 240 lb (109 kg) at plus or minus 60 degrees. Counterbalance and drag are both stepless and sinusoidal, set from a collapsible crank with a digital readout, and the push-and-turn sideload platform lets you shift a loaded camera fore and aft to find balance instead of wrestling it.

The Cine HD tripod under it is single-stage aluminum with a Mitchell top casting, which is what a 34 lb head and a built-out film camera need: a die-cast spider and rotary stage clamps rather than anything that flexes, rated to 309 lb (140 kg). A level bubble in the top casting lets you level the legs with or without the head mounted. The floor spreader (C1222-0015) braces the legs at ground level for stability under heavy loads and protects a finished studio floor. The package pairs the 120EX fluid head package with the Cine Mitchell tripod (C1221-0001) and that floor spreader.