Tripods essentially come in two parts: the tripod legs, used for support and height, and the tripod head, which is used for positioning and pointing the camera. Often, a tripod is sold with a head as a single item, but with more upmarket tripods the legs and head are usually sold separately so that you […]
Geared head
A geared head is a special type of tripod head designed for very fine adjustments applied with handles or knobs that move the head via fine gears.
With some models, you can disengage the gears for rough positioning, then re-engage them for fine tuning.
A geared head is unnecessary for most kinds of photography but can be useful when very fine positioning is needed, for example with still life or macro shots.