Mounting head for bean bag.

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Andy1962

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Andy
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Have bought a bean bag that has a mounting plate for a tripod head. Can someone please give me advice on what type of ball head would be best.

I have a D5200 with battery pack and the largest lens I will be using is a 150 - 500 mm Sigma.

Many thanks
 
If your intending to use it for wildlife from the car then a small gimbal would be better imho .ball heads tend to not give enough free movement .usually though with our cars being generally smaller in every respect to American ones then a bag on its own is sufficient
 
the black fox said:
If your intending to use it for wildlife from the car then a small gimbal would be better imho .ball heads tend to not give enough free movement .usually though with our cars being generally smaller in every respect to American ones then a bag on its own is sufficient
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Intend to use the car very rarely as i prefer to be on foot and get away from roads , noise and people. Solitude, nature and a camera, the perfect combination.
 
the black fox said:
If your intending to use it for wildlife from the car then a small gimbal would be better imho .ball heads tend to not give enough free movement .usually though with our cars being generally smaller in every respect to American ones then a bag on its own is sufficient
Click to expand...

Many thanks
 
I have a bean bag with a tripod screw - 2 of them in fact (that's 2 Pods not 2 threads!) I did have a ball head fitted to one of them since it was the easiest way to get a QR attachment on the Pod. Soon gave up on the idea since the bag itself allows plenty of swift repositioning when necessary and the head was making it all a bit top heavy. While the head was fitted, I kept it "floppy" for flexibility since the top heaviness of the whole system made the bag purely a weight bearing thing rather than a stand alone support. Using a short lens on even a D750 body, the bag can be set up for long exposures and will keep the rig steady but it's less useful with telephotos (for long exposures) IMO.
 
Nod said:
I have a bean bag with a tripod screw - 2 of them in fact (that's 2 Pods not 2 threads!) I did have a ball head fitted to one of them since it was the easiest way to get a QR attachment on the Pod. Soon gave up on the idea since the bag itself allows plenty of swift repositioning when necessary and the head was making it all a bit top heavy. While the head was fitted, I kept it "floppy" for flexibility since the top heaviness of the whole system made the bag purely a weight bearing thing rather than a stand alone support. Using a short lens on even a D750 body, the bag can be set up for long exposures and will keep the rig steady but it's less useful with telephotos (for long exposures) IMO.
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How did you get on with panning if not using a head of any kind?
 
Picking the rig up and panning hand held. I've always had better results panning hand held than when using any type of support, even a monopod.
 
markyboy.1967 said:
The Uniqball is quite a low bullhead which has a low centre of gravity which helps, worth looking at but they are expensive.
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I know i glad i was sat down....showed my wife and she said " Of course you can have one, as long as i get to spend the same amount in cash". Typical, self self self ..:)
 
Let her! YOU spend YOUR chunk on the ball head and let HER spend her OWN chunk on whatever she wants to!

Hmmmm... Maybe I can use that excuse and man-maths to justify another bike...
 
I agree with SK66. I have a bean bag - made by my mother using haricot beans so it is important to keep it dry! - and it is ideal as it is. With a head attached, I would have to spend so much time getting the head in the right place and level. With just beans, I slap the bag down on a convenient surface and push the camera into the top and squidge it into position. Simples.
 
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