Acratech Ultimate Ballhead for Product Photography

[Canon30Dguy]

Hey guys... I do a lot of 30" light tent product photography... with items that average 3" -> 1ft. I use 60mm Macro lens and do a lot of close up shots.

I am interested in purchasing my first ballhead and really like the looks of the Acratech Ultimate Ballhead ( http://acratech.net/product.php?productid=7&cat=1&page=1 ). My only concern is how smooth it is when I need to make such small adjustments when shooting macro. Often times I am shooting things that are only 1-2" big and fill the frame with those subjects... so being able to easily make small adjustments accurately and quickly are a necessity.

Does anyone have experience with the Acratech Ultimate Ballhead for such a purpose? Do you think it would handle well for macro work? I'm interested to hear any thoughts.

Thank you for your help.

[poppie guy]

I have an Acratech V2 Ballhead. I'm sure you can find better by spending a lot more money, but to me it's very smooth. When I tighten it down the drift is very minor if at all. I use it mainly with my 100 macro, and I'm very happy with it.

[Canon30Dguy]

Hi poppie... do you find any problems with precise positioning? I constantly find myself needing to make hair adjustments when shooting macro, and I was a bit worried that this ballhead wouldn't allow for such fine, fine control and adjustments.

[LBaldwin]

Take a look at some of Bogan / Manfrotto's geared heads, makes much more sense than the usual ball head... the 410 is one I have used for this in the past..

Cheers

[Canon30Dguy]

Take a look at some of Bogan / Manfrotto's geared heads, makes much more sense than the usual ball head... the 410 is one I have used for this in the past.

Hi LBaldwin... I wasn't even aware of what a geared head was until you just mentioned it. I'm looking at them now on B&H. They seem a little too big and heavy for my purposes. Plus, since I do shoot a lot of other things (most of it is product photography though).. It would be nice to have a general purpose tripod head.

How quick can you position those gear heads? Are they a pain?

[Mark1]

I agree a gear head or a good Pan Tilt head are way better for product shots. Mainly because you can adjust one direction and not worry about losing the other. With a ball head it is a crap shoot with every adjustment.

[timeasterday]

If you need really fine adjustments, the Velbon Super Mag Slider might work well for you. I got one from China and I am pretty impressed with the quality for the price.

[Canon30Dguy]

Thanks for the suggestions guys... but I really want to get a ball head so I can use it for general purpose portraiture and landscapes, etc.

[René Damkot]

I agree a gear head or a good Pan Tilt head are way better for product shots. Mainly because you can adjust one direction and not worry about losing the other. With a ball head it is a crap shoot with every adjustment.

With a three way head as well: If you alter the tilt the camera will move to the left or right...

I very much prefer a ball head over any 3 way head myself. A geared head *might* be an option, but I've tried the Manfrotto's, and found them *way* too heavy, not "feel" extremely well (quite "rough" handling), and not offer any advantage to my Markins M10.

Now I've also tried an Arca Cube at the Photokina, and that's definitely another cup of tea, but quite another budget as well.

[Mark1]

I have the Manfrotto 460MG and it will not move one way as you adjust the other. Not sure what type you have tried, but mine does not move.

[René Damkot]

I have the Manfrotto 460MG and it will not move one way as you adjust the other. Not sure what type you have tried, but mine does not move.

I've used a couple of the bigger manfrotto 3 way heads.
Let me clarify:

The axis to rotate the camera left / right is quite a bit off to the side (more so then with a ballhead), so tilting the camera left will also move it quite a bit up and to the left. Also, if the head isn't in landscape orientation, panning the head will give quite a significant lateral displacement. (The bigger the head and the closer the subject, the worse off course)

http://img.skitch.com/20081219-xy833tyin7makk8ub597apuq36.jpg

[LBaldwin]

I do lots of product photography too. And a ball head is the wrong tool. Product shots often require mass duplication of similier shots, ball heads won't work well for that.

Geared heads primary usage is commercial work, ball heads are usually used for field work. My suggestion is to go to the local camera shop and test the heads to see what you want. Ball heads move too much, and are hard to reproduce multiple shots. BTW if you are not using a grid screen get one if you can it will make the product shots a lot easier.

[Mark1]

Well obviously when you rotate the camera to the left..... it goes to the left. But with a P&S head, when you rotate it to the left you do not have to worry with it falling to the front/back when you operate the release. This is what I am talking about. With a ball head it is basically either free floating or locked. With a P&S you can keep one axis locked while adjusting the other.