Z Tripod Head Move Shoot Move Milky Way Panorama Photography (Z Mount)

This is a very useful and well made piece of kit for use with the Move Shoot Move Nomad star tracker. I recently upgraded from the first of their star tackers ( several years old now) to the new Nomad. My current camera was much heavier and needed a stronger unit. This Z-plate allows for my 2.7kg camera to sit on top of the ball head on a level field. The quality is superb and it works well. Star tracking now works with my heavier camera.

Very well engineered piece of equipment. Very easy to adjust. I am using it primarily as an astronomic adjustable wedge.

I purchased this product to replace a much cheaper "universal" Z-mount that would not hold my 0.75 Kg Panasonic Lumix G95 with 25mm prime lens stationary on a Glide Gear TMP-100 teleprompter stand. Conversely, the locking mechanism on the Move Shoot Move (MSM) Z-mount is rock-solid and you don't need to apply full force on the tightening screws to get the Z-mount to hold its position. I also love the spring-loaded thumb levers on the tightening screws where you can easily adjust their alignment around the screw heads without any tools in case the camera body or tripod head interfere with their rotations. The rotating panorama function, integrated bubble levels, or angle markings on the hinges are of no use to my application but the device does lock solidly in place, which is what I need. For the most part, lighting and camera hardware are just metal plates, screws, and screw holes (within tolerances, of course). Thus, inexpensive, unbranded hardware is often just as adequate as higher-priced, brand-named hardware. However, in the case of Z-mounts, considering the engineering challenge of designing a sufficient locking mechanism based solely on the amount of frictional pressure applied along the length of a relatively small hinge pin at the fulcrum of the lever, I'm convinced that my recent experience exemplifies the adage that one should "buy nice or buy twice" when it comes to Z-mounts. I did have a slight problem with screwing the MSM Z-mount's 1/4-inch adapter onto my TMP-100 teleprompter mounting screw. I removed the adapter and worked the TMP-100 mounting screw through it several times with some silicone lubricant. The two parts still bind together in a particular spot along the screw path (the problem clearly being the Z-mount's 1/4-inch adapter as I've had not previous issues with the TMP-100 mounting screw), but I won't need to remove the MSM Z-mount from my TMP-100 on a regular basis. Plus, 1/4-inch mount adapters are cheap and easy to replace.

Matériel conforme, livraison rapide

Mine did not include a 1/4 > 3/8 adapter (as I had seen in adverts)

Good product. I used it for astrophotography and was happy with it.

Well built, very solid and easy to lock down once the desired angle is set. Makes mounting my camera to a small star tracker for astrophotography much easier and much better balanced.