Anvil 30 for Spotter?

[m1a convert]

I have a Manfrotto tripod and panning head for my spotter for hunting. It is really nice because I can get the elevation set then pan back and forth before establishing a new elevation and doing it again while looking for animals. Prior to this I have a Manfrotto pistol grip that I hated because as soon as the tension was released with the pistol grip the spotter would lose its orientation and it was a PITA to establish the next elevation and trying to pan was hard.

How well would the anvil 30 work for glassing for animals where you need to pan etc? Does buying a tripod without a center column make glassing a lot harder because now to adjust the elevation of the spotter when needed you have to monkey with 3 legs instead of just a center column?

 

[AIAW]

If weight isn't a concern then you could look at a Manfrotto 405 geared head.

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I would imagine that the Anvil 30 would work also but I have no experience with that particular head. Hard to beat the 3-axis geared option overall for a spotter.

 

[B.Bates]

m1a

I am experimenting this this myself. my old tripod had a gitzo head, worked great for glassing but not so great for shooting.

i have since picked up a 24 rrs with anvil.

you can adjust the tension and make it work, but you cant lock out the elevation or horizontal like a pan head.

overall i am going to keep both tripods, it is really a compromise with the anvil.

if you do most of your glassing off bino's and then just want to verify something with the spotter the rrs seems like a winner

but if you do alot of glassing with a spotter not sure its ideal

but then if we are talking about shooting off a tripod that is where to me the anvil shines.

 

[Kopfjager1]

I havent tried moving targets with my rifle on the Anvil 30 yet, however when I was tracking some whitetail back in November with my binos affixed to the Anvil, I don't recall having any difficulties panning. Just had to keep the lever at the right friction point to pan unrestricted, which required a hand on the lever and a hand on the binos. Not ideal, but it worked.

If you absolutely want a true panning ability, RRS PC-LR will attach to the Anvil and you can use the arca plate on your spotter to attach to the panning head. There are other options that are much cheaper, Sunwayfoto, Feisol, etc. They all have panoramic head but may require clamps and additional arca plates.
Here some more examples.

 

[SkyScrapin]

The Anvil30 will work, but you've got to find the sweat spot. With my Spotter45, if it's dialed in at too high of magnification, you will struggle a little; Reducing magnification, finding your POA, then zooming is the easy fix. The best solution I have tried (and very recently at that) is the Fluid Head. The gear head is another great option, but I'm not sure how well it would work for tracking. Probably less of a hassle than the Anvil30 I would suspect.