Tripod Head Buying Advice?

[Teffy]

I have decided to buy a ballhead to use with my Canon Powershot Pro90 digital camera. It does NOT have interchangeable lenses, and it weighs 24 ounces.

Everyone raves about the Arca-Swiss B1. Is this overkill for such a light camera, or would I still benefit from smooth motion and precise movements? Is the tension control a waste if I only use this one light camera, or does this still give more flexibility of "feel?"

The Bogen 3435QR ProBall with tension adjustment and separate pan lock looks nice for about $220 (U.S.). But I have heard others say that all tension adjustments except Arca-Swiss are a joke. Please comment. Is the motion of the 3435 smooth?

Speaking of separate pan function, I am tempted to save $90 on the Arca-Swiss B1 by getting the B1E without separate pan. This is because I have read that 1)the leveling required for panning is a real pain, and 2) my digital camera has a stitch function that helps to frame successive overlapping shots. Am I missing something?

The Bogen 3262QR has also been suggested, but frankly, the low price (about $46 U.S.) scares me after reading complaints about cheap ballheads.

All of these assumptions are subject to change if you care to educate me, so please do!

Thank you so much for your help.

Teffy


P.S. Are plates for the Arca-Swiss going to be too huge for my camera? I have read that Really Right Stuff sells plates only for cameras with interchangeable lenses, and I would like to leave the plate on all the time.

P.P.S. After reading threads on Photo.net, I am leaning toward the Bogen since the Arca-Swiss customer service stories are unnerving!

[afly]

teffy wrote:
The Bogen 3435QR ProBall with tension adjustment and separate pan lock looks nice for about $220 (U.S.). But I have heard others say that all tension adjustments except Arca-Swiss are a joke. Please comment. Is the motion of the 3435 smooth?


For my taste it is smooth. But, I don't put 600mm f/4.0 lenses on it. If I have understood it properly, the tension adjustment becomes more difficult to produce when camera is heavier and the balance is more off-center. I think 3435QR should work very well with Pro90 if it is not even a bit of overkill, but I still recommend testing it before purchase. I have never tried Arca-Swiss heads, so I'm unable to make any comparisons.


Speaking of separate pan function, I am tempted to save $90 on the Arca-Swiss B1 by getting the B1E without separate pan. This is because I have read that 1)the leveling required for panning is a real pain, and 2) my digital camera has a stitch function that helps to frame successive overlapping shots. Am I missing something?


If you want to take panning shots of moving targets that is quite helpful feature. There must be other uses too, but after all importance of this is question of what you want to do.


The Bogen 3262QR has also been suggested, but frankly, the low price (about $46 U.S.) scares me after reading complaints about cheap ballheads.


There are better heads than that, but it is worth the money. I have one, which is permanently positioned in my cars trunk with 3001N. It has saved the day several times and it's not so bad that I would complain about it. However, if I know I'll use tripod, I take the better one with me (3021PRO and 3435QR).


All of these assumptions are subject to change if you care to educate me, so please do!


If at all possible, try them out before buying. I might have totally different way of thinking about tripods and heads than you so my opinions may be worthless for you.

[Strat]

Before you spend a ton of money for a ball head that weighs a ton, see if you can take a look at the Leitz ball head.
Simple, elegant and fast. You can spin the thread off the camera's tripod socket so quickly, I took off the quick release gizmos I used to use.
Probably available for around $120 now but check e-Bay for a used one.