Ballhead to go with my new Induro CT213

My new tripod, an Induro CT213, should arrive in a few days and I think I’ll be happy with it. I haven’t decided on a ball head yet, but have narrowed the field down to 4 possibilities: I’m not sure if the tripod base diameter (58mm) will need to come into play when buying the ball head. Here are my possibilities, in order of preference:

1. Acratech GP w/standard clamp ($400)
Base: 60mm
Ball: 38mm
Load capacity: 25 lbs.
Weight: 1 lb
I’ll want to switch out the quick release for the RRS B2 AS II clamp ($120). This really interests me because of the gimbal feature and the pano feature (although I’ve never done a pano). Is the gimbal feature just a gimmick?
Total Cost: $560 (I think a little too pricey)

2. Markins Q10 ($320 without clamp)
Base: 62mm
Ball: 44mm
Load capacity: 100 lbs.
Weight: .851 lb
I’ll want to add the quick release for the RRS B2 AS II clamp ($120)
Total Cost: $440

3. RRS BH40 with LR ($375)
Base: 53mm
Ball: 40mm
Load capacity: 18 lbs.
Weight: 15.7 oz.
I can’t use the RRS B2 AS II clamp because the ball head diameter is larger than base, so no bubble level.
Total Cost: $375

4. Induro BHL2 ($267)
Base: 58mm
Ball: 44mm
Load capacity: 66 lbs.
Weight: 1.1 lb
I’ll want to switch out the quick release for the RRS B2 AS II clamp ($120)
Total Cost: $387

I’m looking for opinions on which order you would put these ball heads in as far as quality and durability. My main interest is keeping my gear as light as possible. I’m a 65-year old woman with back problems, who does mostly nature shots of birds, butterflies, and seascapes as a hobby. I would like to carry the tripod with camera attached over my shoulder. Would you have any qualms doing this with any of these ball heads on a CT213?

Sorry for the lengthy post. I’ve researched this to death. It’s hard to make a decision on paper; I would much rather see/try each ball head in person. I don’t live near any type of camera store so that’s not an option. So I’m depending on the recommendations of those of you familiar with the equipment. Many thanks.

My #1 in your list would be the Acratech GP, but not in your configuration. I bought a GP a year ago with the standard screw clamp and the clamp was absolutely awful: a tiny knob and the so called "double speed" shaft with a coarse thread that makes you feel that you never tightened the clamp properly. I sent the clamp back and they sent me their lever clamp which is way, way better - it also features a lock on the lever - very handy if you're carrying the rig on your shoulder and walking through brush. I use both Acratech lever clamps and the latest RRS lever clamps and they are equally good and the Acratech has a skeletal design so it's lighter in weight. I use three Acratech heads and they are durable, no question.

You have to buy the GP with a clamp for a very good reason; you can remove the clamp from the ball stem, screw it into the bottom of the head then turn the head upside-down and you have a ballhead with a leveling base that has a 40° range of motion. Put any non-Acratech clamp on this head and you lose that feature which believe me is really great when you need it because leveling bases are heavy. Is the gimbal feature a gimmick? In my opinion yes because there's a drop slot on almost every ballhead you can buy.

Just my 2p (cents)!
For about 4/5 years I have been using a Tiopo RS3 ball head and absolutely love it. It is small, light, compact, dirt cheap, VERY smooth in operation and will hold anything Canon EOS that is currently in production, yes it handles my Canon 800mm F5.6 L IS and 1DX quite happily! Well enough to prove that my Gitzo tripods are a bit bendy!
Sounds perfect? Well not quite.
Firstly it does not have a QR clamp - this can be cured by removing the top plate and simply attaching an Arca style QR Clamp. I use the Triopo GC 13-50 - works just fine.
Secondly, and probably more importantly, this head has only one control. Namely a single lever that sets/locks everything. I rather like this as it allows very quick adjustment with NO creep regardless of the lens/camera used, however it is all or nothing so you need to keep one hand on the camera!
This head is not for everyone but for me it is as good as it gets, ball heads costing 10 times the price have not impressed me due to their rough operation and poor lockup. For reference I paid 40GBP for the head and QR clamp.
Note how far the Canon 600 F4 L IS is out of balance on the second image, this required a slight touch on the locking lever - I mean slight!

I have the Induro AT313 and the BHL2 ballhead. I've used it for architectural photography with the 5DMIIIm, TS-E 24mm, and an RRS L Plate. The ballhead is great. Never had a problem with it.

Like Peter, I avoid the ballheads with the main knob on the right. I hold the camera with the right so the controls should be facing me, or to the left, when the drop slot is forward. But not everyone cares about the positioning.

If you will use the drop slot, then the width of the tripod base vs the ballhead does come into play. Make sure whatever you get won't hit the tripod when you use the drop slot.

I rented a Markins Q20 and didn't like it. It wasn't smooth (probably due to being a rental), and there was no tactile feedback in the knob when the ball was tight; it just turned and turned well past the point where the ball was tight. Also, the panning base doesn't "lock" tightly enough for my taste (this is by Markins design). When I used the ball under tension, the base would give way before the ball would rotate in the socket. So I ended up with an Arca-Swiss Z1 (and RRS lever clamp).

Of your choices, I'd opt for the GP or the BH-40.

The Markins heads are copies of the Z1 as are many of the SE Asian heads. (One or two of the features are missing because Arca-Swiss patented them, although the patent on their dovetail design had a flaw in it that Kirk & RRS capitalized on.) Markins heads are very popular on this board, many members use them and like them.

Here in Boston it was a little nippy earlier this morning, 14°F and my Markins head would have locked up in that. I read (pretty sure that it was on the FM forum) that a Markins head got sand in it somehow and it had to go back to Markins Canada to be fixed. Severe cold, sea water, sand and dust are "extreme" for ballheads and in some cases for tripods too.

If you get sand in an Acratech, you just rinse the ballhead under a faucet and it's OK. They are weird looking but the open design means basically no maintenance. I read over on FM about people having to excessively tighten the main locking knob so I tested my own three heads and none of them require extra tightening. Maybe these are older heads, mine are new(ish). The Acratechs are not as smooth as my Z1 but then no ballhead is, even the BH-55 I'm trying out at the moment.

peter_n wrote in post #17370457
The Markins heads are copies of the Z1 as are many of the SE Asian heads. (One or two of the features are missing because Arca-Swiss patented them, although the patent on their dovetail design had a flaw in it that Kirk & RRS capitalized on.) Markins heads are very popular on this board, many members use them and like them.

Here in Boston it was a little nippy earlier this morning, 14°F and my Markins head would have locked up in that. I read (pretty sure that it was on the FM forum) that a Markins head got sand in it somehow and it had to go back to Markins Canada to be fixed. Severe cold, sea water, sand and dust are "extreme" for ballheads and in some cases for tripods too.

If you get sand in an Acratech, you just rinse the ballhead under a faucet and it's OK. They are weird looking but the open design means basically no maintenance. I read over on FM about people having to excessively tighten the main locking knob so I tested my own three heads and none of them require extra tightening. Maybe these are older heads, mine are new(ish). The Acratechs are not as smooth as my Z1 but then no ballhead is, even the BH-55 I'm trying out at the moment.

I have a Markins Q-20i. Smoothest ballhead I have ever used.

I had heard about the Markins locking up in the cold, so when I first got it, I left it in the freezer for 24 hrs. No problems. The Markins manual specific notes that due to the tight engineering tolerances, humidity or moisture in between the ball and cradle may freeze and temporarily lock the ball, and recommend a thin layer of WD-40 to avoid this. I have not done this personally, but it is recommended. It is about 10F here in Michigan, and predicted to get down into the 7's tomorrow and -2's next week. I will report back here if there are any issues, but I honestly do not anticipate anything given the freezer experiment.

As far as the pan lock goes: at least on the more recent versions of the Q-20i: again, no problems. It easily locks down tighter than the ball, and with a little bit of extra force, locks down tight enough that the ballhead unscrews from the tripod head long before it starts panning, which is about as tight as one could want it.

The Acratech's open design is great, but I have used a closed-design BH-40 for years in a variety of environments from deserts to rainforests and never had needed to get it cleaned. I do shoot in rough, grimy, dirty conditions, and I do not treat my gear like Guggenheim museum pieces. I guess if I am going to be shooting in a sandstorm or anticipate sticking the ballhead into a muddy bank or something, I would consider giving up the magical buttery smoothness of the Markins for the Acratech... or I would just take the same steps to protect the ballhead that I take to protect the far more sensitive lenses and camera body from these unusual environmental conditions. Honestly, based on past experience, I think the "open design advantage" is much less useful in practice than advertising copy.

My three Markins were the Q3T model and all had problems in the cold, and I assumed that the issue was with the smaller heads. I was surprised when I read of two similar instances with the medium sized head as I thought they had fixed the problem. But there's always product variation of one degree or another and all of the instances you read are samples of one. There are plenty of Markins users on this board and you don't hear them moaning about the heads binding or locking in the cold.

On a beach it's a different matter. I live near the sea and I guess I got some sand blown from a dune onto my Q3T. I didn't notice it until I got home and luckily I have a compressor and was able to blow it clean, at least I think I cleaned it out. In the Markins manual it states: "Do not subject the unit to dust, dirt or sand." Lesson learned.

The year before last I was on a beach and a football hit my tripod, it went over and the head landed up in wet sand (the camera was not on it). This time there was an Acratech Ultimate head on the tripod and I found a tap and rinsed it out. I was traveling and had no backup ballhead and yes, it was a rare but potentially catastrophic event and I was so glad I could fix it on the spot. You tend to like a product when it comes through like that.