Which Ball head for a Nikon 70-200 f2.8

ianbarber

ianbarber

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At the moment I have the Manfrotto Ball Head - 486RC2 and its really starting to frustrate me when I use in conjunction wth my Nikon 70-22 f2.8.

When I position it to where i want and lock it down, the Lens always drops a few mm. I can only presume this is due to the shear weight of the lens.

Be interested to hear what other users use for this Lens/ballhead combo.

I have been looking at the BH-505 from really Right Stuff but as far as I can see they are only available from the USA and I dont want to get hammered with Import Fees/
 
The RRS will set you back a small fortune to get into the country. Markins have a great reputation and are considerably cheaper. They're available from here. There are others that I can't remember the names of presently. I'm sure someone else can make other recommendations.
 
I use the same with a Sigma 100-300 + tc and have had no problems :shrug:
 
Bit busy this weekend but could compare next week sometime.
 
Arca Swiss Z1 available from Robert White. LINK sp with quickset is the one I would suggest


Markins really nice looking heads, made in Korea I think, have a very good reputation.
 
If it must be a ballhead then the 488 is probably a better bet as it's much sturdier, the 486 is no use for big, heavy lenses
 
That head should be fine if you are using the tripod collar on the lens, especially without the addon grip. Are you subconsciously pulling down on the camera as you tighten it? Maybe the little bit of flex in the rubber pad is giving you that movement, or are you sure the movement is in the ball? If it is not in the ball I don't think you need a new head. What I did is peel off the rubber from the plate and the bottom of the camera and file the plate down flat for a solid metal to metal contact. I also drilled a 5mm hole in the bottom of my cameras (integral grip) so I could screw the grubscrew in to stop rotation in the vertical position. Another thing to look at is if there is any movement in the quick release plate. I found if I physically pushed the lever in hard it seemed more solid. Because I use heavier cameras, I went back to using my old 168 head which has the RC0 (hexagonal) plate which I find much more satisfactory. You can still get this fitting on the 468MG RC0 head which is pricey, but lightweight and will hold anything. If it were me I would ditch the addon grips and use the 486.
 
I have a Manfrotto 486RC2 and use it with a Nikon 300mm 2.8 AFS that weighs just over 3 kilo's. Nearly double the weight of a 70-200.

I've been using it nearly three years and there's no problems.

Maybe the quality of these things varies considerably?
 
I've got the RRS BH-55, I can't fault it in anyway. Also bought the adapter foot for the 70-200 and a pano rail and a few other bits.

It does cost a small fortune but I am from the "buy it once" school of thought. It is fantastically engineered and well made, you kind of forget about it after a while which for me leaves lots more time to think about the shot.
 
RRS 55 is really good, but heavy. And v expensive. Good review of ball heads here. It's in German but you'll get the gist of it, or run a translation through Babelfish http://www.traumflieger.de/desktop/ballhead/ballheads4.php

On that particular movement-on-locking thing, it's seriously annoying but price doesn't seem to be that much of a decider. I tried a RedSnapper 12 ball head recently, a very good head indeed for only £50. Very smooth and maybe not the strongest grip but movement on locking was virtually undetectable. As close to nil as I've tried.

I personally use a Benro J-2 which cost £140 and that is a very good head all round, hardly any movement on locking. Not enough to to bother me and I'm quite picky I think.

But the worst head I've used is the £300 Acratech GP which shifts noticeably left-right on locking. Acratech even acknowldge this if you press them, which is a shame because I really wanted one of those!
 
HoppyUK said:
But the worst head I've used is the £300 Acratech GP which shifts noticeably left-right on locking. Acratech even acknowldge this if you press them, which is a shame because I really wanted one of those!
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you Richard, seriously disappointed with an Acratech, shame as it was lovely and light.
 
My money is on the RRS BH-55 and the Burzynski Ball Head, both have superb engeneering but for me the Burzynski just edges it for ease of use against the RRS BH-55.
 
I use a 804RC2 with much bigger lenses - no problems
 
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