Acratech manufactures ball heads and other fine photography accessories in Southern California. We blended our passion for outdoor photography with our experience in manufacturing design to produce products that are strong, lightweight and versatile. Our products are engineered for nature, landscape, travel and wildlife photography. Wander farther, explore longer and create more!
Acratech (acratech.net) has 436 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5.
Also known as
acratech.net
Website
acratech.net
Category
Audio & Visual
Location
Pomona, California
Listed on Five Star Index
2026
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The company replied to 80% of reviews.
Latest
Most recent review: October 2026.
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The Acratech GXP tripod head with lever clamp is making my life a lot easier now. The construction is solid and well designed, the knobs are easy to use, the positioning of the level on the head is in a position where the camera body does not block the sight of the level (in either positions using my L-bracket). The lever clamp is easy to use and have no concerns about my camera being locked into position in the head. The tripod head was easy to install on my existing tripod legs. Well done!
Response from AcratechJul 2, 2020
Thank you, Gary.
We love hearing from our customers and knowing that our products are helping them in their craft.
Take care and be well.
Sincerely,
Patty
Acratech, Inc.
RD
Rob D.
Well Designed & Made
This company and their products are how American Made Products are supposed to be made - properly designed, well-machined, and built to last.
I am happy I can support a company like Acratech.
Scott & Patty are accessible & have a wealth of photography knowledge to share.
It’s apparent from the level of precision & craftsmanship that go in to these products that the entire company is focused on being among the best.
“Buy cheap, buy twice” (ask me how I know)
Spend the $$ and buy Acratech, you will be glad that you did.
Response from AcratechJun 29, 2020
Hi Rob,
We try our best to take care of our customers and offering support that is on par with our products.
Scott and I only make up part of our team. We couldn't do all this without our employees. I will be proud to share your review for them to take credit in the role they play in helping us produce our fine photography products.
BS
Ben S.
Great product
Great product, well made!
DS
David S.
Great addition to my GPX Ball-head
I recently purchased the Acratech Leveling Base to be used with my Acratech GPX Ball-head with lever clamp. The combination of the two products are the best purchases I have made. Great engineering and ease of use has made capturing images a better experience.
Response from AcratechJun 16, 2020
Thank you David! While the leveling base is not necessary, it does make things easier because you do not have to invert it. If you ever leave home without it, you will be happy to have the ability to use invert for a panorama. Take care and have fun shooting.
Sincerely,
Acratech
BH
Beat H.
Didn‘t receive item
Didn‘t receive item
TB
Tony B.
Good prompt service.
Good prompt service.
The product itself was ok but not as good as its hype (as one would expect)
Response from AcratechJun 11, 2020
Hi Tony,
Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion with others. We appreciate your honesty and maybe over time, you will grow to appreciate the design. It is really what sets us apart from the rest.
Sincerely,
Acratech
KH
Koshiro H.
Two weeks report of GP ball head with lever clamp and 5" lens plate
Two weeks have passed since I received my GP Ball head with lever clamp and
one week for 5" lens plate. With 5" lens plate, I started o set up Nikon 70-200
telephoto zoom and TC-17 EII teleconverter to take Landscape and several
bird/s picture. Bird picture is new category for me with tis GP Ball head with gimbal feature. During two weeks experimental practice, I have been working
for routine setup and process. This is very important for trained efficiency .
I dropped whole system from clamp system which broke lens food. I was lucky that I dropped it on floor carpet, not outdoor. Damage to food was minor one,
need bond repairing and D850 and telephoto lens are all OK. I still need to work on Clamp lever, Main Control knob and Tension knob for best routine and tightness. Need to confirm for each step as you work on it. I also found some
loose condition when you shake the system after I have tighten the system.
I also found that ball slide has some tendency on direction, but it might be a margnal and not a serious one. A gimbal worked very well and easy to find to
measure the balance center for free move with 5" lens plate. Only suggestion to report is to add scale dot or line to plate so that you can control the position on clamp system. (I put several dot/s to the plate by marker for each lens to indicate the best weight balance) I am enjoying it very much taking picture of bird/s visiting water fountain at backyard of my house. After all these trial, I will go out to take outdoor scenery and wild life. This Ball Head is a big fun!
Response from AcratechJun 10, 2020
Hi Koshiro,
Thank you for the in-depth report.
Please take careful note of the lever clamp instructions in bold print.
Do not overtighten, as this can prevent the lock from engaging.
You should hear an audible click and when pulled, it will not open.
If you are using plates from another manufacturer that has pins on the bottom, we have found that these pins do not always clear the clamp body and they do not allow the plates to sit flat in the clamp.
We are in the process of transitioning all of our clamps to the newer style GXP clamp which has clearance for these pins and the lever lock that will not open unless it is pulled halfway open.
Some of our other clamps have markings on the quick release clamp that shows center but our plates do not. As you mentioned, it is different on different lenses.
The gimbal is my favorite feature on our ball heads and I am glad that you found it to be easy to use.
It is great to hear that even though you have had a few issues, you are still enjoying the ball head.
Sincerely,
Acratech
RP
Rob P.
Excellent pano tripod head
I bought a panoramic tripod head. While I haven’t had many opportunities to use it yet, I’ve played around with it a fair bit and am very satisfied so far.
All the motions are smooth, the knobs are easy to use, and it seems very well made. I also really like the way the base’s angle indicator works. Originally I thought mine was defective as the disc the mark you line up the degree markers with spun freely, but then I realized that must’ve been intentional and is, in fact, quite helpful. It means you can have the marker visible regardless of the orientation of everything, and it doesn’t rotate with the rest of the head, so it’s still just as accurate.
If I had to nitpick, I think the bubble level is a *hair* off (it leans to one side regardless of the orientation of the head when on level ground). However, I can’t imagine this will make any perceptible difference in the real world as it’s doubtful I’d be able to get my leveling base 100% perfectly level anyways.
Certainly miles better than trying to use a ball head and keeping it level throughout a pano.
One other thing I didn’t like was the detent pin, which prevents your camera from sliding off if you accidentally loosen the clamp. This is not a fault in the product by any means, just a feature I personally didn’t find helpful. They were willing to remove it for me if I wanted, but I opted to just glue it in place and call it day. Their support reps were quick to reply and actually seemed interested in being helpful rather than just reading a script like most companies.
Response from AcratechJun 3, 2020
Thank you for your honest review. I just wanted to mention that the levels we use are extremely sensitive and as long as the bubble is within the circle, it is level. We check for this on a precision leveled granite surface block.
Many of the original Arca style clamps and plates were designed to slide in from the side and I can see that if that is what you are used to, it would feel like it was in the way. It can be removed but your way works too.
Sincerely,
Acratech.