Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:

#2... eh... I dunno. I have a cheaper tripod with a conventional
pan/tilt head. You know the kind; has a long knobbed handle you
unscrew to loosen/tighten it. This one seems to have the principle
advantage of instantaneous unlocking/movement/re-locking. I
immediately liked it, and appreciated its worth. But I don't know if
it's targeted toward a specific type of work.

They are REALLY nice under a spotting scope and for just the reason you
mentioned.

BobH