I'll admit I've been a tad militant in my affirmations regarding fluid heads. After all, investing a lot of money on a piece of equipment that will last you literally decades makes sense both financially and functionally. The only downfall to this argument is that it doesn't change the fact that many people (namely younger filmmakers) simply don't have $2k to spend on a nice tripod system. At the very least, I have recommended the Sachtler FSB4 system, which retails for $840. Sadly, even this relatively nominal price is out of reach for many of you.
Sachtler, a company that is widely renown for making the nicest fluid heads under $10k, just released the Ace system. It's a 100% Sachtler design fluid head built for filmmakers on a budget. Unlike Manfrotto, when Sachtler labels a product a "fluid head," they mean it literally.
Unlike a friction head, fluid heads are controlled using X and Y axis dampening, which is essentially the amount of resistance the head exerts. Why is this important? Well, how many times have you tried numerous times to get a consistent and smooth diagonal movement, only to produce mediocre results? Having this dampening system essentially creates equal pan/tilt resistance, meaning diagonal movements are perfectly diagonal. The head also features a real counterbalance system, which acts as the smoothing between our irregular hand movements. This makes it so that you don't have to try a pan or tilt 15 times just trying to keep the movement a constant speed, as this feature helps regulate movement.
The Ace has been announced at $650, which I believe is more than fair. While I have not personally used this model, every single Sachtler fluid head I've used has been absolutely phenomenal. Considering the fact that their cheap $840 tripods are every bit as quality as their $2k models, I would expect this to fit the same bill that Sachtler is known for.
Here's a review:
http://vimeo.com/28672144 