I do like a geared tripod head. You can’t beat ball heads for a quick and dirty setup but geared heads enable really fine and precise adjustments. I find they’re great for ensuring that the horizon is absolutely level in landscape photography and that buildings don’t lean over or have walls that appear lean inwards towards the top in architectural photography.
For extreme close-ups, I also often need the kind of ultra-fine adjustments that only a geared head can deliver. The Novoflex KOPF2 fits the bill, available as a modular system with three different kit options, so you only need to buy the bits you want. But speaking of ‘the bill’, all of the kits come at very steep purchase prices, aiming to be among absolutely the best geared tripod heads on the market.
