Tripod & Ball Head Advice

CruisingComet

CruisingComet

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Hi All...

Thinking of upgrading my cheapo velbon tripod, and as I dont want to spend a fortune I have set myself a budget of around £100 (as I keep getting told off by the other half) :love:

Anyway... I saw the Giottos MTL9251B at the warehouse express showroom recently, and it looked very well made for the money, enough so to make me want to buy it.

So I think I have my mind set on the Giottos, but I'm wondering about a ball head? what are the advantages of using a ball head over a regular head?

I was looking at this one to pair up with the Giottos MTL9251B

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-giottos-mh7001-652-series-1-ball-head/p1025887

Would this combined with the Giottos MTL9251B tripod be a good setup for a novice like me? and is the ball head recommended or should I just stick with the regular head?
 
Its personal preference, with a ball head once you unlock it you can move the camera in any direction quickly and using one knob. But if you are trying to just move it in one plane then it can become a bit more fiddly.

A pan/tilt will take slightly longer to set up as you have a different locking lever for each direction but will be better for fine adjustments

If you want to shoot birds in flight then you probably want a gimbal head.
 
Thanks Euan

I was mainly thinking it would make the tripod a little more streamline than a 3 way head, maybe easier to carry around, also hoping it would be quicker and easier to position the camera maybe ?

Maybe I will just get the tripod for now with the 3 way head, it's only around a fiver extra (if you buy the tripod and head kit) then in the near future I will probably get the ball head and see.

Think I'm pretty sold on the Giottos, which I looked at again today, the warehouse express showroom was packed today when I called in, understand it was the 1st anniversary since opening.
 
Not seen a giottos tripod, but have got a pan/tilt and have had a ball head in the past and thought they were both very good. Only got rid of the ball due to the weight load on it.

I think its an mh5000 or something ive got, dont use it anymore but it did the job well enough.

your right though the ball head will make the tripod more streamline when closed for carrying.
 
I have one with a MH1301 ball head which works great. I don't tend to use it these days though as i have a Manfrotto carbon pod that gets more use. i tend to use the Giottos when i need to remove the centre column and angle at 90 degrees for the odd creative shot where my 055 doesn't have this feature.
 
Livin The Dream said:
I have one with a MH1301 ball head which works great.
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I looked at the MH1301 ball head also but it's over my budget really.

What is your opinion on the Giottos tripod build quality & finish? I've looked it over a couple of times and to me it looked a lot more expensive than it's actual price.
 
redsnapper do a tripod and ball head for £100 ball park, meant to punch well above its weight.

I want a ball for my frotto as the 3 way is a bit of a pain, the one I want is too expensive for now though
 
I'm also using a Giotto tripod & ballhead, can't complain really, it's pretty light but sturdy, seems well made to me...can't really remember model# I'm afraid, will have to leave this one for later..
 
CruisingComet said:
I looked at the MH1301 ball head also but it's over my budget really.

What is your opinion on the Giottos tripod build quality & finish? I've looked it over a couple of times and to me it looked a lot more expensive than it's actual price.
Click to expand...


Build quality is very good but i do prefer my manfrotto because it's taller for landscape stuff but i sort of wish i'd bought the version where you can angle the centre column as you can with the Giottos. For the money the Giottos is absolutely spot on i'm going to invest in the carbon travelling pod they do in the summer for travelling.

I could maybe do you a deal on my Giottos if you want as 3 tripods is a bit silly. It's had light use in excellent condition with said ball head.
 
FWIW, my advice would be to buy the best tripod you can once rather than something that may do the job now but end up needing to be replaced later on. Buying now may end up being a false economy.

I'm a huge fan of Manfrotto and Gitzo (very expensive) tripods. I currently have two manfrottos - both carbon fibre and they are the mutt's nuts. As far as heads are concerned, they are interchangeable. I have a geared head for LF or DSLR work which needs precise positioning and a cheaper pan/tilt head as well as a ball and socket head which is great for my rangefinder kit.

Carbon fibre is nice, but Manfrotto do some excellent aluminium tripods too which are a good price - for example the 055XPROB is £106 at Warehouse express (minus head). Their 496RC2 head is £59.

I'm sure the Giottos are good, but I've never used one so can't say.
 
i went on the giottos website yesterday it has a vey good video on how to choose your gear.
 
I've got a Redsnapper 284 and ball head and it's a really beefy solid tripod, extremely well machined all over and the ball head is very smooth. You can set a limit to how much the ball head will move when opened up fully (pretty much infinite adjustment) and you can also unlock a panning motion so that you don't have to unlock the ball when doing panoramas etc. The tolerances are tight, nothing is loose at all. There are also nice little touches like the rubber feet which screw back to reveal metal spikes, and the built in spirit level. The legs have 3 levels of adjustment - you can have them splayed out wide for getting down low or in close to keep them out the way and keep the tripod high, with one adjustment in between the two. You can also reverse the centre column to get down low and it comes with a short replacement centre column so you can get right down to ground level (but live view helps here as you have to hang the camera upside down!).

I think the head is rated for carrying 9kg
 
kiasdad said:
FWIW, my advice would be to buy the best tripod you can once rather than something that may do the job now but end up needing to be replaced later on. Buying now may end up being a false economy.

I'm sure the Giottos are good, but I've never used one so can't say.
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I understand what you are saying, but as stated in OP I do have a budget, or should I say... my other half does :love:

I'm not a serious photographer anyway, just a novice TBH so I feel it fits my needs for now and certainly is better than my current tripod.

I looked at the Redsnapper site and have to say they look very similar if not identical to Giottos? are these made by Giottos & re-badged maybe?

I saw this video of the ball head and am sold now on getting this over the standard 3 way head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFoK9kjeWgA&feature=related
 
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