Low profile ball head

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Marc Adamson

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Marc Adamson
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Hello,

I've been looking for a very low profile ball head mount. The smallest I've found is this Koolehaoda head:

View media item 107791

It's quite small, but does anyone know of anything smaller (shorter)?
Thanks,
Marc
 
At 3cm? That would be a challenge. What are you holding, are you sure it will be strong enough?
 
calvin said:
These mini ballhead without any clamp is not strong enough to support larger cameras and lenses
Besides, I think its quality is not very good according to the picture.
Click to expand...


:agree:
 
I would not like to go smaller than this
www.ebay.co.uk

Mini Tripod Ballhead Tripod Head with Quick Release Plate For Camera Tripod | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mini Tripod Ballhead Tripod Head with Quick Release Plate For Camera Tripod at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk
I have the NO 2 version which is beautifully made and smooth as smooth and locks solid.
This one. with top pan as well....https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E2-H2-Tripod-Ballhead-double-Panoramic-Head-with-Quick-Release-Plate-For-Camera/123847814696?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
They are made by Highlights https://highlightsgear.com/index.php/products/ball-head/
They are sold under various name including Dorr Germany and Koolehaoda

Mine is this one https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/the-fabulous-fuji-x-owners-thread.527428/post-8742593
 
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the one you show is available on both Amazon

koolehaoda 1/4 Mini BallHead & Hot Shoe Mount Adapter: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

Free delivery and returns on eligible orders. Buy koolehaoda 1/4 Mini BallHead & Hot Shoe Mount Adapter For Camera Video Light Tripod Monopod (1/4 Ball head) at Amazon UK.
www.amazon.co.uk

And Ebay slightly cheaper as is shown as $
https://www.ebay.com/itm/koolehaoda...nt-Adapter/264244047860?&shqty=1&isGTR=1#shId

I like the body clamping type of balls, as they have a larger contact area, and hold much firmer than the usual type that clamp up by pressing upward. This one will supposedly hold 3KG

If you get it, I would be interested to learn how good it actually is, as I have a number of mini balls that are dreadful. with poor grip and hard to adjust because the movement is so poor. A decent one would be good to find.
 
Retune said:
Why does it have to be this small?

If I were buying a tiny ball head, I'd probably get the Novoflex M-Neiger II, but if anything it's slightly bigger than the Koolehaoda :

Ball & Socket head with cold shoe adapter

Small, but strong ball and socket head with removable cold shoe adapter.
www.novoflex.de www.novoflex.de

The height is variously given as 32mm and 42mm, perhaps depending on whether the optional cold shoe adapter is fitted.
Click to expand...
Retune said:
Why does it have to be this small?

If I were buying a tiny ball head, I'd probably get the Novoflex M-Neiger II, but if anything it's slightly bigger than the Koolehaoda :

Ball & Socket head with cold shoe adapter

Small, but strong ball and socket head with removable cold shoe adapter.
www.novoflex.de www.novoflex.de

The height is variously given as 32mm and 42mm, perhaps depending on whether the optional cold shoe adapter is fitted.
Click to expand...


That novoflex head is almost certainly the identical item at a higher price.
 
I don't know if the others are the same as the Novoflex, or knockoffs. The base on the Novoflex looks different (but perhaps that's the angle of the photos) and the flash shoe seems to be unique. Novoflex make most of their own stuff, but maybe they outsource something as cheap as this
 
Retune said:
I don't know if the others are the same as the Novoflex, or knockoffs. The base on the Novoflex looks different (but perhaps that's the angle of the photos) and the flash shoe seems to be unique. Novoflex make most of their own stuff, but maybe they outsource something as cheap as this
Click to expand...

They all seem to be based on the design of the larger heads made by Highlights https://highlightsgear.com/index.php/products/ball-head/
But somewhat simplified. they are also available as a double screw base and top. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-FkAAOSwmPFcjwtM/s-l1600.jpg
I rather doubt it would be worth any one making knock offs , but most likely are all sourced from the same maker, which may be Highlights, but they do not list them among their other products. which are all of much higher quality.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
They all seem to be based on the design of the larger heads made by Highlights https://highlightsgear.com/index.php/products/ball-head/
But somewhat simplified. they are also available as a double screw base and top. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-FkAAOSwmPFcjwtM/s-l1600.jpg
I rather doubt it would be worth any one making knock offs , but most likely are all sourced from the same maker, which may be Highlights, but they do not list them among their other products. which are all of much higher quality.
Click to expand...
FWIW Highlights and Koolehaoda are the same company but Highlights is the newer branding.
 
Snapsh0t said:
FWIW Highlights and Koolehaoda are the same company but Highlights is the newer branding.
Click to expand...

Chinese brand names often seem strange in English, which is probably why distributers often create their own branding.
HighLights are looking for distributers. Their ball heads are excellent, but I have not seen their tripods, which have a very quick deployment, but perhaps less easy to make small adjustments to individual legs. I would like to see one to play with.

You can see all their stuff at https://highlightsgear.com/
You can see from that that the op mini ball head is one of theirs the S2 there is the S1 which has a 1/4 screw top and bottom.
highlightsgear.com

Mini Ball Head - Photographic Tripod｜Ball Head｜Monopod

Versatile, Multi-purpose, Small & Compact Ball Heads Cute but Strong The mini ball head series makes use of the same wrapped around […]
highlightsgear.com highlightsgear.com
 
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Terrywoodenpic said:
They all seem to be based on the design of the larger heads made by Highlights https://highlightsgear.com/index.php/products/ball-head/
But somewhat simplified. they are also available as a double screw base and top. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-FkAAOSwmPFcjwtM/s-l1600.jpg
I rather doubt it would be worth any one making knock offs , but most likely are all sourced from the same maker, which may be Highlights, but they do not list them among their other products. which are all of much higher quality.
Click to expand...
Looking at the rest of the Novoflex range, the current M-Neiger II a bit of a misfit - it's black and has the same style screw knob as the Koolehaoda etc. All the other Novoflex heads have their signature blue or grey/blue finish. The previous version of this head, the original M-Neiger, was also blue and had a similar style of screw knob to larger Novoflex heads like the Ball 19. So perhaps they have changed from an in-house design to an outsourced generic head they've branded and paired with their own flash shoe. If so, I wonder why?
 
Retune said:
Looking at the rest of the Novoflex range, the current M-Neiger II a bit of a misfit - it's black and has the same style screw knob as the Koolehaoda etc. All the other Novoflex heads have their signature blue or grey/blue finish. The previous version of this head, the original M-Neiger, was also blue and had a similar style of screw knob to larger Novoflex heads like the Ball 19. So perhaps they have changed from an in-house design to an outsourced generic head they've branded and paired with their own flash shoe. If so, I wonder why?
Click to expand...

See my post above yours and follow the link.
You can clearly see that the Novoflex head is the HighLights S2 mini ball head.
The other Highlights low profile heads are at least the quality of Novaflex ones.

I have their medium sized E2+H2 head. It is by far the easiest and smoothest head that I have ever owned and locks solid with out the slightest sag or creep.
The H2 top pan feature, allows a totally level pan adjustment after levelling the ball. Which is a wonderful feature.
The bonus is that it is so inexpensive.
Which is unlikely to continue when they have a UK distributer.
 
I'm not surprised the Koolehaoda/Highlights heads are of good quality. I have a nice Arca clamp from China that's also sold under several brand names, and would be perhaps 5x the price from a big name manufacturer. I'm now just curious why Novoflex swapped the original version that looked like this, which I bet they did make themselves:

https://www.fotografdunyasi.com.tr/...flex-m-neiger-flas-kizakli-mini-trip-249c.jpg
 
Retune said:
I'm not surprised the Koolehaoda/Highlights heads are of good quality. I have a nice Arca clamp from China that's also sold under several brand names, and would be perhaps 5x the price from a big name manufacturer. I'm now just curious why Novoflex swapped the original version that looked like this, which I bet they did make themselves:

https://www.fotografdunyasi.com.tr/...flex-m-neiger-flas-kizakli-mini-trip-249c.jpg
Click to expand...

That also looks like a generic Chinese model. However the HighLights clamping design
is far superior. So it's reasonable for them to have changed. Though it does not have the special cup lining material of their larger ball heads.
 
I don't think it would be engraved 'Made in Germany' if it were from China, and it has their house style (unlike the new one).
 
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