The pan, tilt and slide plate lock levers have stops preventing them from being accidentally unscrewed from the head. In addition, the slide plate lock lever has a 90-degree throw from horizontal against the “off” stop to vertically downward, which keeps it from swinging above the head plate, which would prevent it locking with some of the more “hippy” camera rigs. Should that change due to wear, it is adjustable using an Allen key. Interestingly, that lever shows no signs of self-locking during transit, which is a big plus, but its position down behind the RH pan bar rosette and lever is the usual pain for access. The head is very easy to level, perhaps the easiest of the bunch, as a result of having exceedingly smooth finishes to both the head ball and the receiver bowl, in combination with a very jitter free levelling bubble and a “bubble centre” dot aiding correct alignment, IF you can get a hand to the clamp knob, which I’ll go into later.

Right from the beginning, Vision Blue threw up some pretty major conundrums. On the one hand, the spec was for a system priced for amateurs and semi pro’s, which the proposed price most surely is. On the other hand, the spec was, to use a motoring analogy, like asking Rolls Royce to make a Mini at a Mini price but with all the quality and performance of a Rolls Royce. I just could not see how Vinten were going to square that circle without taking some serious liberties with something. Surely it couldn’t be done without cutting corners somewhere? So it was with an air of mild foreboding that I embarked on my investigation of the Vision Blue system.