Leveling arca swiss for panorama - am I talking complete ball-heads??

Andy Into The Wild

Andy Into The Wild

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Hi all,

I've been looking into upgrading my standard Manfrotto Befree ball head to something which is arca swiss compatible so I can use an L bracket. One of the key benefits I keep seeing popping up is that they are easier to do panoramas with.

I've been looking through some potential ball-heads and they all seem to have what (I think) is a major design flaw. The spirit bubble seems to be on the top of the ball head instead of the base, meaning that unless the ball-head is pointing exactly upright & legs are completely level, when you go to rotate the base for the pano the shot is completely off-level. I'm not sure if I can post links but I've been looking at the Vanguard heads as an example...but most seem to be like this.

This seems like such a crucial flaw that I feel like I'm missing something - am I talking rubbish?

Thanks
 
Yes you need to make sure the legs are level!
 
So in that case, in what way does having an L Bracket help? Other than the centre of gravity being over the tripod it doesn't offer any additional benefit as far as I can tell.

IMO one of the great benefits of a ball-head is that the tripod legs don't need to be 100% level to get the camera level (obviously we're not talking having the thing sideways here, just slightly off :) ).
 
To be honest I find levelling legs a ball ache at the best of times. Because there are three of them, any adjustment effects more than one axis. I just cannot be bothered with that. Instead I take the time to get the tripod level-ish and stable. Basically by eye and feel. I then use a panoramic head mounted on top of the ballhead (or integrated with the ball head arca clamp on some tripods).

Looks like this, many brands are available.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/FITTEST-Professional-Panoramic-Arca-Swiss-Dovetail/dp/B00M1HQXE2

The process then is much simpler. You just have to get the camera clamp part of your ball head level and that is usually much easier and quicker. Once camera mounted via L-bracket the head allow you to sweep the camera around without changing any other axis. My biggest tripod has this built into the head, I love it.

BTW, while it is true that L-brackets do make panormamas easier, I'd maintain that their biggest benefit by far is the ease with which you can switch between portrait and landscape shooting.
 
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I was thinking a similar thought just recently. I am rather surprised that no-one appears to have come up with a level that can be screwed onto the top of a ball head or tripod before the camera is fitted. Not all cameras have a hot shoe for the levels out there at the moment and the ones that fit in between the ball head and tripod seem to be very expensive.
 
Giblets said:
I was thinking a similar thought just recently. I am rather surprised that no-one appears to have come up with a level that can be screwed onto the top of a ball head or tripod before the camera is fitted. Not all cameras have a hot shoe for the levels out there at the moment and the ones that fit in between the ball head and tripod seem to be very expensive.
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I’ve seen some tripods with the level built in to the top of the leg area. Can’t remember which ones, though.
 
"I actually found this which claims to do just that and would solve this problem. The fact that it's an ebay cheapy worries me slightly though"

That will work however if you look at the one I posted a link to it works out cheaper and has an Arca Swiss plate so not need to change the clamp on the ballhead, simply get it level and mount the pan head between clamp and body, I use one of these and it is good quality also takes up little room in your bag or pocket.

Edit again... everyone seems to be typing quicker than me...:)
 
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LojikDub said:
Thank you @gad-westy & @PhilH04 - those solve the issue perfectly...I will have a look and go for one of those.
Click to expand...

I think you deleted a post where you said you were a bit concerned about quality with this being relatively cheap. They're very solid lumps generally and normally have a really nice fluid action. Unless you want to hang your camera off the side of them - which you never will with an L-bracket - almost all of the camera load is acting in compression through it, they really don't need to deal with a lot at all. Only thing I would mention is that there are a million different brand names selling the same thing more or less but go for one where the rotation clamp controls aren't just knurled round knobs. They can be difficult to fully clamp, especially when it's cold. Some of them have a little triangle shaped lever and although it looks cheaper, it's much more usable. Like this one for example:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boss-Ada...rentrq:c2f0975c1650ab4d9489e297fffc9e4b|iid:1
 
Get a hot shoe spirit level? I got one in a cracker once, very handy!
 
gad-westy said:
I think you deleted a post where you said you were a bit concerned about quality with this being relatively cheap. They're very solid lumps generally and normally have a really nice fluid action. Unless you want to hang your camera off the side of them - which you never will with an L-bracket - almost all of the camera load is acting in compression through it, they really don't need to deal with a lot at all. Only thing I would mention is that there are a million different brand names selling the same thing more or less but go for one where the rotation clamp controls aren't just knurled round knobs. They can be difficult to fully clamp, especially when it's cold. Some of them have a little triangle shaped lever and although it looks cheaper, it's much more usable. Like this one for example:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boss-Adapter-58mm-Panoramic-Pan-Head-Arca-Swiss-Manfrotto-Bogen-Compatible/322054490156?_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20160908105057&meid=94f10df7e3b84f488ff1998b306b7b3c&pid=100675&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=322054490156&itm=322054490156&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci:e9a7c40c-b4e0-11e8-9367-74dbd1802989|parentrq:c2f0975c1650ab4d9489e297fffc9e4b|iid:1
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Great - I will pick one up and save some cash on a completely new ball-head, thanks again :)

Alan Clogwyn said:
Get a hot shoe spirit level? I got one in a cracker once, very handy!
Click to expand...

Unfortunately that wouldn't solve the problem having an off-level tripod base, even if the camera was level on the ball-head...the level needs to be at the base of the ball-head.
 
s-l500.jpg

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sunwayfo...423433&hash=item3f986dcf25:g:HR0AAOSw3gJZN9cU

Goes in-between the head and the tripod (there are others as well).
 
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That will sort it
 
LojikDub said:
Hi all,

I've been looking into upgrading my standard Manfrotto Befree ball head to something which is arca swiss compatible so I can use an L bracket. One of the key benefits I keep seeing popping up is that they are easier to do panoramas with.

I've been looking through some potential ball-heads and they all seem to have what (I think) is a major design flaw. The spirit bubble seems to be on the top of the ball head instead of the base, meaning that unless the ball-head is pointing exactly upright & legs are completely level, when you go to rotate the base for the pano the shot is completely off-level. I'm not sure if I can post links but I've been looking at the Vanguard heads as an example...but most seem to be like this.

This seems like such a crucial flaw that I feel like I'm missing something - am I talking rubbish?

Thanks
Click to expand...
The Arca-Swiss heads including Z1DP(double pan), D4M, D4 geared head, C1Cube, will all allow legs to be off level, but let you level your camera and then pan while remaining level on top.
 
But surely one of those Sunwayfoto units only levels the tripod and one would need another level on the camera to ensure that the ball head setting is level.
 
Some heads come with the pano facility on top of the ball. A 3LT Equinox 360 was my starter head (£140ish) and I then moved to a Z1.
 
gad-westy said:
The trouble with these (unless I'm missing something) is that, although it gets you a level tripod, if the ballhead above is wonky, it's not really going to help that much. Hence the suggestions for rotating clamps that sit at the top of the ballhead.

@Giblets beat me to it!
Click to expand...
The pano clamp still requires the ballhead not be off level as well.
Giblets said:
But surely one of those Sunwayfoto units only levels the tripod and one would need another level on the camera to ensure that the ball head setting is level.
Click to expand...
I believe the original "issue" was the ballhead only had a level bubble on the clamp...
 
gad-westy said:
Yep, although all of those that I've seen/used have built in levels.
Click to expand...
There's at least a 1/2 dozen ways to accomplish this ranging from very cheap (add a level), to cheap (accessory panning clamps), to moderately expensive (leveling base with panning top), to expensive (inverted ballhead designs/heads with integrated panning clamps), to very expensive (dedicated pano heads/bases)... I would stick with very cheap unless you have a specific reason to go farther.

Personally, I would probably just use my Arca Swiss P-0 (inverted ballhead) and the built in digital levels my Nikons have...

BTW, it is fairly easy to invert almost any ballhead and put the "panning base" at the top... just attach a camera plate to the tripod.
 
On the odd occasion I do a panorama I level the tripod the best I can & level the camera on the ball head using the camera digital level. People shoot & stitch panoramas handheld - You don't have to get it absolutely perfect.

And, an L Bracket is the best way to spend a few quid!! Certainly more value for money than a pizza from Pizza Hut!!
 
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LojikDub said:
Great - I will pick one up and save some cash on a completely new ball-head, thanks again :)
Click to expand...

Be interested to hear your thoughts on your pano clamp purchase.

I have a cheapie one (£20) purchased some time ago and there is slight vertical movement, amplified by the fact I use a rail so actually it's wasn't an ideal solution.
I dont have experience with more expensive ones by Sunway / Novoflex, RRS, etc but their standard clamps are of a very high quality.
For panos I currently use an Arca Swiss Monoball P0 with Novoflex Q mount clamp attached to my Manfrotto 410 geared head RC4 plate - very stable, quite heavy and probably overkill but works without any 'movement' issues.
Looking to actually move the Monoball on and purchase a good quality clamp if anyone has any recommendations?
 
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