First time ballhead user

[rjalex]

I just bought a new Manfrotto 055XPROB and was given a Manfrotto 488 ballhead and a Manfrotto monopod as a gift.

So started trying the new tripod with the 488 ballhead.

First time ballhead user and have two questions:

a) Wound up shooting a few pics with a slightly tilted horizon. Given that my hotshoe is often busy with the 580EX can/should I use a small bubble level on the 40D body somewhere ?

b) I am not liking the ballhead "friction". It seems to be either too hard for my camera to budge (40D with BGE2 with 100mm macro and 580EX) or dropped completely loose (thanks I was holding the camera with my hand). Is it since this head is yuck or me not using it properly or what ?

Thanks a ton
Bob

[neil85]

i have very limited experience with ball heads but i personally have not really see one that has an in between thats easy to use.

ive been looking for a month for a new tripod head and have played with a good dozen different tripod heads including a couple ball heads.

if they did have an intermediate between locked & loosey goosey it was not a very fluid motion like you can acheive on a pan/tilt head.

i do however like the speed of adjusting them, just not the lack of precision for small changes

[Anke]

You can get little bubble levels that slot into the hotshoe, they're only about £5/$10.

As for the ballhead thing, I have the same problems.

[rjalex]

You can get little bubble levels that slot into the hotshoe, they're only about £5/$10.

As for the ballhead thing, I have the same problems.

Thanks Anke. I also thought of that but as I stated in my post the hotshoe is very often busy with the 580EX extension cord or the 580ex itself.

I was looking at the following:

Markins Q-Ball M10 with none quickshoe (RED :smile: ) 310$
RRS B2 LLR II clamp 132$
RRS BGE2-L40 L plate for 40D with BG-E2 160$

and wonder if the M10 will have a significantly better friction than the Manfrotto 488.

Bob

[SkipD]

a) Wound up shooting a few pics with a slightly tilted horizon. Given that my hotshoe is often busy with the 580EX can/should I use a small bubble level on the 40D body somewhere ?I have used nothing but my eyes and the viewfinder in all of the 40+ years I have been taking photos to keep the camera aligned with the subject. No bubble level has ever been necessary - even when doing a series of shots to be stitched into a panoramic photo.
b) I am not liking the ballhead "friction". It seems to be either too hard for my camera to budge (40D with BGE2 with 100mm macro and 580EX) or dropped completely loose (thanks I was holding the camera with my hand). Is it since this head is yuck or me not using it properly or what ?The 488RC2 has worked very well for me in the field. Yours may need a little break-in period and possibly an occasional wiping of the ball itself to keep it clean if you're working in an environment that has a fine grit in the air. This minor maintenance would be needed for virtually any head of any type, though, to keep it operating smoothly.

[rjalex]

Thanks Skip. So you are suggesting that after some break-in the ball will be able to operate in such a way that it exerts the right friction to have the camera steady on it's own but movable with my hands without dropping without having to adjust the tension knob ?

I am under the impression that ballheads could/should exhibit two properties:

1) lack of creep. Stay put where I want and don't move at all. In this respect the 488 with my loads appears to do it's job well.

2) friction. some appends I have read about seem to hint that the "Ferrari's" of ballheads (Arca Swiss, RRS, Markins etc. all well above the 300$ range) could do what I stated before: having the just right amount of fricion so the camera will be movable under the pressure of my hands but will stay steady while untouched. Is this true ???

Bob

[SkipD]

Thanks Skip. So you are suggesting that after some break-in the ball will be able to operate in such a way that it exerts the right friction to have the camera steady on it's own but movable with my hands without dropping without having to adjust the tension knob ?If I am shooting action from the tripod, I will loosen the knob somewhat so that there's the desired amount of friction in the movement for the situation.

However, I would NEVER do that and take my hands completely off the camera. That would be too risky with ANY head - ball head or not - that's loosened enough to allow smooth movement.

[Sasquatch41]

As with anything learning to use the ballhead takes-- well-- learning. Practice with it. I just started using ballheads this year, and now I have three of them.. All Bogen Manfrotto They work very well for me. Before I pull the trigger, I look at the framing of my picture to see that all is straight. It is something I learned. Keyword here. give it time and practice, it will come.

[gryphonslair99]

My 2 cents worth on your problem. It sounds like you are shooting a lot of marco stuff. While my general use rig is a 488RC2 on top of 3021 legs, for macro I prefer the 804RC2 head. In fact my micro focusing rails are always attached to that head. It's a solid, easy to adjust pan tilt head which I prefer for stuff like macro. It is more precise and I have no tiny bit of creep when I set it so framing is quicker, at least for me.

I definately would not want to use a pan and tilt for everything, but I have found this to be my preferred method for macro. I will say that I had the same problems when I first got the 488RC2 head, but with some use it settled in and now I can loosen the friction knob and make adjustments without the thing being too loose.