Sachtler 1001M System Ace M MS

The 1001M is Sachtler's System Ace M MS Mk II: the Ace M Mk II fluid head bolted to a two-stage aluminium Ace 75/2 tripod with a mid-level spreader, sold as one kit in a padded bag. The head carries 0 to 4 kg on a 75 mm ball, and its five counterbalance steps plus three steps of Sachtler drag are the reason a mirrorless body or small camcorder tilts as evenly at the end of the move as at the start. Tilt runs from +90 to -75 degrees, so you can shoot straight up at a ceiling truss or straight down at a table top.

The mid-level spreader is the part that earns its keep on location: it braces the legs on gravel, grass, and stairs where a ground spreader cannot sit flat. The slide-in camera plate gives 10.4 cm of travel to find the balance point once a cage, monitor, or top handle changes the center of gravity. Set up, the system stands 78 to 169 cm; folded it is 86 cm long and the whole kit weighs 4.4 kg. In the box: Ace M Mk II fluid head, Ace 75/2 AL Mk II tripod, mid-level spreader, carry handle, and the Ace bag.