Pan and tilt or ball head?

[Sangoma]

Which and why?

Personally I don't like ball head, though sometimes have one between the tripod and the pan and tilt head, but I cant get on with one under the camera.

 

[mstphoto]

I have Ball Heads on my travel tripods.
Ease of use is my reason also they are lighter than my Benro Geared Head which I use on my main tripod.
The Geared Head is more precise however, remembering which knob does what can be a bit of a faff.

 

[Nod]

I prefer the ball. I use the Manfrotto 322 trigger one which is very quick to reposition. The downside is that it's not as solid as my other choice (a geared head) but it's fine for shorter long exposures. Not fond of the sticky-out handle on pan/tilt heads.

 

[LeeRatters]

Always used ballheads. Never had an issue with them. Even with the star tracker I align to Polaris with a ballhead.

 

[seaodyssey]

Geared head with L Bracket for landscape, much easier to line up.
Ball head for ...... Still thinking, I do have one but prefer handheld, I find them either too loose or too sticky, both causing jerkyness in aligning.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I prefer a ball head, just so much easier to get the right position than a head with 2 separate locking axes. I've found the tripod under the head makes more difference to stability than the head type.

 

[Peter123]

Pan & tilt works well but it helps if you have a levelling head under.

 

[Blue439]

The choice of the tripod head depends on what you use it for.

If you do landscapes and you want a tripod + head set that’s as light as possible, can be operated quickly and you don’t need extra precise framing, a ball head is the best choice. The main problem with the ball head is that once you loosen it, the camera is free to go in any direction —which is precisely why the ball head makes it so easy to reframe quickly.



The pan and tilt (or panoramic) head is the intermediate between ball head and geared head. The Acratech is the archetype, but Leofoto also makes an excellent model, which I have and use if needed:




As another contributor said above, you need a leveling base with this type of head.

Finally, the geared head, of which the Arca-Swiss Cube C1 model is the archetype, is heavy, bulky, slow to operate and not very intuitive until you really get to know it well. But it holds your camera and lens in place no matter what, there is no tightening to do, and it is splendidly precise. It is great to work slowly and deliberately, either in the studio or for architecture, old stones, etc. —basically all types of photography for which your subject is not about to run away from you.

 

[Nikon f1.8]

Never use a pan and tilt, always used a ball head ever since I saw the video below.
Manfroto tripod and leophoto ball head does all that I need them to.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Geared head every time. If you can't have precision why even bother?!

 

[Sangoma]

Geared head every time. If you can't have precision why even bother?!

How quickly can a geared head move?

 

[seaodyssey]

How quickly can a geared head move?

You can unlock each adjustment to get it close, then use the geared adjustment to get it precise.

 

[LeeRatters]

Geared head every time. If you can't have precision why even bother?!

Polaris alignment for the star tracker has to be more precise than a wide angle mountain scene surely....?

 

[gcgraphs]

Geared head for static work, particularly architecture. Gimbal for action stuff.

 

[Sangoma]

You can unlock each adjustment to get it close, then use the geared adjustment to get it precise.

Yes, by which time the bird has flown away.

Surely not just a case of "Geared head every time. If you can't have precision why even bother?! " it all depends on what you are doing. obviously there are overlaps.

Still, for general use I prefer the pan and tilt to a ball head, I think mainly it feels more secure to me, and you don't have to check for level every time you move it.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Geared head for static work, particularly architecture. Gimbal for action stuff.

I agree.

When I want to do something that requires precise framing, I fish out my Manfrotto geared head. Otherwise I have a couple of Manfrotto ball heads...

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Yes, by which time the bird has flown away.

Good. Less distractions to clone out

 

[seaodyssey]

Yes, by which time the bird has flown away.

Well Yes, I would be handheld for anything able to move quickly

Geared head with L Bracket for landscape, much easier to line up.
Ball head for ...... Still thinking, I do have one but prefer handheld, I find them either too loose or too sticky, both causing jerkyness in aligning.

as I said earlier

 

[Sangoma]

Well Yes, I would be handheld for anything able to move quickly

as I said earlier

I wasn't replying tom your comment

I also agree with the handheld, especially having the Panasonic 100-400, the worry about movement is then the subject.

 

[Topsy]

Ball Heads for me with L Brackets on my cameras.



I also use this set up if I want to do panoramas and use the lens nodal point, rotating from the Ball Head.

 

[Dryce]

Which and why?

I normally have a geared head on my main tripod. I much prefer it for what I mainly use the tripod for - which is static subjects. When I'm out and about with other photographers I'm surprised how many have never used a geared head.

If I needed more agility then I have a Manfrotto 322 ball head with a grip which I find more convenient than a traditional ball head.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

If I needed more agility then I have a Manfrotto 322 ball head with a grip which I find more convenient than a traditional ball head.

I gave up on my grip head as I could never get it to lock where I put it.

It always moved slightly when I released the trigger. Great idea but shame about the execution...

 

[Nod]

The 222's design was always flawed by putting the load so far from the fulcrum.

 

[Dave Goodier]

I've had 2 ball-heads - both seized up - and I didn't like them anyway

My current pan/tilt head was one of the cheaper ones when I bought it over 20 years ago (£40 ish I think) and its still fine

 

[Writewheel]

I have a couple of ball-heads, both a bit well-used, with cosmetic evidence to support. They work well for stills when out and about. In my 'studio', which looks amazingly like a garage I once had, I use a geared head. It was a present from my wife, a bit extravagant I thought at the time (but didn't say). Now, it's all but an essential. I used to do a lot a video for my lad's rugby club and a pan and tilt fluid head., Velbon FHD-52Q. It's fine, does the job, except when it is cold. around 5 deg C and it starts to get stiff. I've recently bought a Neewer GM002 pan and tilt head, which was cheapish, and works when it's cold. I use the Neewer p-a-t for stills where I haven't got far to walk - it's a bit on the weighty side. It's a lot better than a ball, but after an hour of carrying it around, I know which I prefer.

 

[boer13]

In my case short lenses go on a ball head, but long glass - for birds in flight and action in general - goes on this:

 

[DaelpixPhotography]

I used to have a pan and tilt until I get fed up with it faffing about altering the angle. I now use a ball and it's so much easier. Wouldn't go back to pan and tilt.