Ball Heads?

Mike_Guilbault · #1 01-28-2006, 12:45 AM

Any preferences for Ball Heads? I've been reading up on the Markins M10/M20 and the Kirk BH1/3. The new Manfrotto Hydro-Static look pretty good too. Anyone with any experience with any of these, or others?

RogerMonroe · #2 01-28-2006, 01:31 AM

Mike,

I have the Kirk BH-1 ( the older heavier model). Great stuff, I can only imagine that the BH-3 is even better- nice and light. The BH-1 is overkill for most DSLR's , and it's quite heavy. I recommend Kirk's heads, I've had mine for five years and no hiccups. Just rub some WD40 on the ball occasionally and you're good to go.

I also have an Acratech. Very slick design and machining ( eye candy), but I don't use it professionally, only on a travel tripod. You can't really set it to have drag. It's either locked or loosey goosey. In retrospect, I should have gotten the BH-3 as a light weight alternative.

Matthew_Kartch · #3 01-28-2006, 06:06 AM

I have 2 each Kirk BH-3's, which work well for me, HOWEVER...

1. I have replaced the clamps with RRS lever-bubble level clamps, which I prefer.

2. I have added Op/Tech neoprene bags, which come with RRS ballheads.

SO...if I were buying today, I would get the RRS BH-55, which has a numerical setting on the drag.

DouglasUrner · #4 01-28-2006, 10:14 AM

I have a RRS BH-55. The lever clamp is very nice, but the Op/Tech bag that comes with it is too tight. It is a pain to get on and off.

Mine is one of the early ones and suffers from a pan lock that will move the head a bit when you lock it down. It is the second one I got from them, the first was very uneven in the drag on the ball, making it very hard to position just where you wanted it. The ball is clamped by a compressing a gap in the outer case, and the gap is filled by what appears to be neoprene. This keeps foreign matter out, but I wonder about how long it will last -- I was thinking of a ball head as a once in a lifetime investment.

All in all the BH-55 is not a bad head, but it is not the object of perfection that I'd expected from the early reviews. I'd be tempted to get a Kirk if I needed another head so I could see the difference (that is assuming their return policy was reasonable).

Doug

Mike_Guilbault · #5 01-28-2006, 10:42 AM

I'll be using it with a D1x/D200 (sometimes with vertical grip) and for now, the largest lens is the AF-S 28-70 2.8, but hopefully in the future - the AF-S 70-200 as well. Is the BH-3 good for that setup? Has anyone used the Markins?

Matthew_Kartch · #6 01-28-2006, 11:34 AM

Thanks also to Doug. Maybe I've got it better than I thought. The Op/Tech bags that I added, based on measuring, are the "wide body, small".
My BH-3's have no trouble holding my 70-200 VR with a 2x, since a tripod collar lets you balance everything.

DouglasUrner · #7 01-28-2006, 03:42 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I'll be using it with a D1x/D200 (sometimes with vertical grip) and for now, the largest lens is the AF-S 28-70 2.8, but hopefully in the future - the AF-S 70-200 as well. Is the BH-3 good for that setup? Has anyone used the Markins?

[/ QUOTE ]

The 70-200 has a very nice tripod collar and the camera balances nicely when the mount is on the collar. I'd think that the BH-3 or the RRS BH-40 would handle it nicely. For smallish (including the 70-200) the full size heads (e.g. the BH-55) seem like they are almost overkill, I think RRS rates theirs at something like 50 pounds.

Doug

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