Ball Head or Three Way?

coldyn8w

coldyn8w

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these?
I take it with Ball Head you adjust with the camera and on the three way you use the handles?

What do you guys use?
Im planning on getting a Red Snapper ball head and manfrotto 190XB, is this an ok combo?
 
The ballheads are a lot quicker to adjust IMO and as a result, I use them.

I'm very much into wildlife 'tography and as such, have quite a heavy 300mm f2.8L IS lens which I set up, with a Wimberley sidekick attached to the ballhead and to me, this is the ideal set up for when I'm using my camo hide

Depends what you want it for, if it's just for the 17-40mm, ie landscapes, it wouldn't matter really which you use as I'd recommend using a hotshoe bubble level, but if it's for use with the other lens for wildlife and you need to position the camera very quickly, the a ballhead is very handy..

EDIT: sorry, forgot to answer your questions...you can adjust both by moving the camera, but can use the handles as well if you wanted to, on the three way..

I have a Really Right Stuff BH-55 LR http://reallyrightstuff.com/mmRRS/Images/full/BH55LR.gif

http://reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/Customkititems.asp?kc=BH-55-LR&eq=

As for the Red Snapper, they do seem to get good comments and haven't seen a bad one, and the Manfrotto 190 X pro B is not a bad starter tripod..

Hope that helps, along with others :thumbs:
 
If you can, have a look at the Novoflex Magicball. Its like an upside down B&S head - ie the ball sits on the tripod, and the head is flexible. You get a much wider range of movement than with a normal B&S.

The camera screws on to the head using a large nurled(?) screw which is easy and quick to undo; it's almost as fast as using a normal B&S with quick release plates. But not *QUITE* as secure. That is its only disadvantage.

You can get them from SpeedGraphic.:)
 
Hi, Coldyn8w,
My own preference is the 3-way pan & tilt. I found that with the ball & socket the camera flopped around in directions I didn't want it to go. It's a trade-off. The 3-way tends to be more secure when in position, but the ball and socket is faster. Sorry I can't help with your planned purcheses, but anything by Manfrotto is going to be good and reliable. I'm using one of the Velbon Sherpa tripods; it's not too heavy and can take the weight of my 5D plus hefty lenses. That is something to bear in mind when choosing, as some tripods will only carry 4kg or so, which might not be adequate.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on with your new gear.
Andy.
 
Android said:
Hi, Coldyn8w,
My own preference is the 3-way pan & tilt. I found that with the ball & socket the camera flopped around in directions I didn't want it to go. It's a trade-off. The 3-way tends to be more secure when in position, but the ball and socket is faster. Sorry I can't help with your planned purcheses, but anything by Manfrotto is going to be good and reliable. I'm using one of the Velbon Sherpa tripods; it's not too heavy and can take the weight of my 5D plus hefty lenses. That is something to bear in mind when choosing, as some tripods will only carry 4kg or so, which might not be adequate.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on with your new gear.
Andy.
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If you do decide to go with a quality ballhead, I'd definately recommend one that has friction control, which will undoubtedly help with the top heavy issue associated with heavy lenses..

Coldyn8w, looking at your lens line up, IMO friction control isn't really all that necessary, but if you want to future proof to bigger lenses, then friction control is an essential consideration.

Really is down to what type of photography you wanna do and what your future lens purchases will be that'll determine what you must have and don't need in a tripod head...

As has been pointed out above, maximum load capacity is another consideration as well, because if your camera and lenses are not far off or exceed the max load that the head can handle, the lens will creep downwards and you'll have to keep adjusting it and then blur may come into the equation. Can be very frustrating!
 
Having used 3way heads for years and got my first 'decent' ball recently I'd say go for a good quality heavy ball head every time. They give more maneuverability and there are no levers to get in your way.
 
I recently bought a Benro B-3 head. Yes, it's pretty much a rip off of Arca Swiss, but for the money (about a 100 quid), it's very well made, very well finished and I can't fault it one bit. It'd still be good value if it was double the price, if you ask me. I can stick my 50-500mm bigma on it and it stays solid. Highly recommended!
 
thanks for the tips guys,

well I think the most I would ever have on it might be a 5D and a 24-105/70-200/70-300 (just a dream at the moment)
I dont plan on going any bigger than any of that, I think a decent ball head will do really. I havent really done much tripod shooting so might be best to go out and use someone else's and see how I go.

Would the RedSnapper ball head support that setup fine?

thanks dudes
 
I use a manfrotto 486 ballhead, carries my 1d and 100-400/70-200 reasonably well
 
The redsnapper ball head has a very good reputation, build quality and good reviews - general concensus its worth twice its price !.

Why not go for the Redsnapper tripod too ? - its got a higher weight capacity than the Manfrotto and comes with lots of features (like rubber and spiked feet) that you pay extra for with 'frotto.
 
percymon said:
The redsnapper ball head has a very good reputation, build quality and good reviews - general concensus its worth twice its price !.

Why not go for the Redsnapper tripod too ? - its got a higher weight capacity than the Manfrotto and comes with lots of features (like rubber and spiked feet) that you pay extra for with 'frotto.
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Mmmmm...I didn't realise the RS comes with spiked feet...£20 extra on the Manfrotto IIRC.

Sounds like excellent value to me, especially if it can cope with 10kg...

Am I right here, that a guy on here (Fracster) uses RS tripod and ballhead with the Sigma 300-800? If so coldy, that would be my recommendation :thumbs:
 
Yea now you mention it Im probly better saving my pennies and going RS all the way.

2KG a good weight for a tripod?
 
I use the redsnapper tripod for my 300-800, but it hangs on a Manfrotto 393, the tripod is more than up to it.Exceptional VFM.

I do have the redsnapper ballhead for my other stuff, it is very well made and is more than adequate for what i want. I have used it with my 600 F4, albeit it gingerly............:D..........The 300-800 is slightly lighter, but I prefer it on the 393.
 
Sorry, i just had to say that the title of this thread made me snigger like a 10 year old.;)
 
gordie1 said:
Sorry, i just had to say that the title of this thread made me snigger like a 10 year old.;)
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I know! I was going to mention it when I posted but wasnt sure how dirty minded you folks were....:lol:
 
Bought a Redsnapper tripod/ball head combo last week - great. Lugged it around all day yesterday with no probs - the carrying bag is also great and well designed!!
 
I've got a RRS BH-55 and I've just finished reviewing a Redsnapper head (I'll be posting the review up here shortly.)

Basically, the redsnapper head is excellent for what you pay. It's obviously not as good as the pro equipment, but for most tasks it is great.
 
The Redsnapper tripod looks like a lot for the money. It has a retractable spring to hang kit from, it comes with a carry bag and it has a second centre column that is nice and short to get really low shots. I think somebody mentioned on another thread that you get 10% discount as well if you mention this forum when ordering.
 
I'll just throw in another recommendation for Benro - my KS-0 is just as stable as my Manfrotto 3-way, built like a tank, and comes with Arca compatibility should I ever want to get a Wimberley sidekick for my 300/4.

Plus, I personally think that Benro and Redsnapper are from the same design, if not from the same manufacturer [Benro were due to make for Gitzo - true or false?]; by my reckoning, that's a big thumbs up for the Redsnapper aswell.
 
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