What ballhead to get?

[Marc]

acratech v2 or slik pro

[Bob Hall]

Norm Koran recommended Kirk ball heads. His argument for such an expensive device was compelling, so I bought one. I wish I had heard of these decades ago. More expensive than a lens, they are worth every dime.

[MikeA]

I'm a long time Manfrotto user, they're at least available here in Australia. So far, after several heads including the standard 3-way that came standard on my 055CLB tripod, the best is a 468MGRC2 but I don't like the Manfrotto plates at all. The head itself is pretty good.

For my backpack tripod, I recently bought a Gitzo 1127 on a trip to Hong Kong, (it's the 3-section CF cousin to the 1128) and I'm awaiting delivery of a Markins Q3 and PG-34 plate to go with it. The combination should really make it a great travel tripod.

Michael

[MikeA]

And just a followup on that....

The Q3 qnd PG-34 arrived today from Korea. Gorgeous quality. The whole thing has a precision feel to it from the smooth operation of the controls to the fit of the plate to the head. After the clunky Manfrotto system, this one is a dream. I could always intiate some camera to baseplate flex with Manfrotto, especially the RC2 plates which are relatively small and faced with a flexy rubber surface. The RC0 (hexagonal) plates are better, but way too bulky for my DSLR setup. The Markins plate is a lot smaller than either Manfrotto, and also mounts to the camera tight as a drum. Certainly no issue with leaving it on the camera all the time.

My hiking tripod above dropped from 1.9kg to 1.6kg with just the swap of the ballhead. It now feels more balanced and is definitely more stable.

Michael

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