Is this ballhead any good?

I'm a tripod virgin. Can anyone identify this ballhead?

I bought it in a second-hand camera shop some years ago for around £10. It's lain neglected ever since, until this weekend when I bought a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod. It seems able to support a 5D, grip, flash and 24-105 L combo with apparent ease.

Is it any good? The construction / machining is a tad coarse, but it seems rock-solid and the locking lever seems reasonably progressive. Or should I just throw it away and do some serious homework?

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I would not use that little ball head for anything but a lightweight point-n-shoot camera - certainly not the equipment you have listed in your signature block.

Shoot, that thing could hold a fully loaded MKIII With a 600mm Lens with eeeaaasseee!

J/k ofcourse...

In context, it does look somewhat paltry.

Given the tripod and load (likely to go up to 300 or 400mm primes eventually) any recommendations for a head/QR system?

ETA: Apologies for the A700 image and hack-and-slash background blurring in PS

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It looks well made, I'd find a good use for it, but I would not put too much weight on it.

For QR, the best affordable option is the Manfrotto RC2 system.
Plates cost under $10.00 bucks and the QR clamps cost about $20.00 or so.

IMHO the only ones to consider are the RC2 and then the full blown Arca, but Arca costs about 8x - 10x as much as RC2.
Arca is really only needed if you get into very large lenses. RC2 is fine fro anything up to and including Canon's 70-200mm, 100-400mm and the more affordable $1K long telephoto primes.

xhack wrote in post #5224656
In context, it does look somewhat paltry.

Given the tripod and load (likely to go up to 300 or 400mm primes eventually) any recommendations for a head/QR system?

ETA: Apologies for the A700 image and hack-and-slash background blurring in PS

In my opinion, in the long run, you'd be better off avoiding the tripod manufacturer's proprietary camera plates. They just don't offer as much flexibility as the Arca-Swiss compatible QR systems...the ability alone to switch from portrait mode to landscape via an L-bracket is so much better than using the drop slot in the ballhead and then having to recompose the shot/move the tripod (as well as less stability). The systems aren't really that expensive...once you have your ballhead, you can pick up a top-notch screw clamp from either Kirk or RRS for well under $100, an L-bracket on the used market maybe another $100. Either way, you'll need a ballhead, so that cost is pretty much a given. All in all, for under $200, you can have the A-S compatible setup.

BTW...if you're a collector of old camera gear, you may want to hold on to that ballhead just because its different.

The 'classic' budget recommendation is the manfrotto 488 RC2 and I agree with Cyber that folks should go the RC2 route, or the Arca if they get some bigger stuff. The latter is so rock solid it is ridiculous. The 488 is solid enough for stuff up to 100-400mm or so, but just not in the same league adjustment wise, i.e. it tends to have more slack in making your adjustment and tightening. The 488 is still great value tho'.

I have been doing some reading, and Arca seems the Rolls Royce route. A recent convert from film and semi-retired, I have to save for each purchase and like to make 'em count. So, the best if possible - but prepared to accept good second-best. I'm edging towards CDS's recommendation. Thanks for the input, all