Ball Heads

I've been looking at ball heads recently and found on buy.com the Vanguard ball head sbh 200 for $42. Are Vanguards good and is this the right one if I want to be able to track birds IF?

For birds in flight, you may want to look at something like the Wimberly Sidekick, but be prepared to spend a bit more than $42.

http://www.tripodhead.​com/products/sidekick-main.cfm

hommedars wrote in post #5667379
but be prepared to spend a bit more than $42.

... no kidding.

j

Why would you want to stick a $1400 100-400 on a $42 head?

I couldn't tell you the differences between ball heads, but I didn't post on here to find that out. I was just bored and wanted to see if people could not flip a sh1t when someone doesn't know something, but teaching others about photography isn't what people like to do anyways, so don't worry about it.

To anyone else out there, what would be a good ballhead to put on then monopod in my gear list that doesn't break the bank?

rpearce12 wrote in post #5669694
I couldn't tell you the differences between ball heads, but I didn't post on here to find that out. I was just bored and wanted to see if people could not flip a sh1t when someone doesn't know something, but teaching others about photography isn't what people like to do anyways, so don't worry about it.

To anyone else out there, what would be a good ballhead to put on then monopod in my gear list that doesn't break the bank?

When seeking the free help and advice of others who take their time to help you, it's sometimes times best to drop the 'tude'. just saying.......

crn3371 wrote in post #5669450
Why would you want to stick a $1400 100-400 on a $42 head?

I'd be willing to bet - sight unseen - that if that head is new at $42 it is basically junk.

j.

azpix wrote in post #5669821
When seeking the free help and advice of others who take their time to help you, it's sometimes times best to drop the 'tude'. just saying.......

My apologies. It seemed liked he was being somewhat arrogant and expecting me to know a lot more than I did. It makes me frustrated when I read threads where people who may not know a whole lot, like myself, get bashed by some because of their inexperience and ignorance.

I'm not sure I see the bash in his question. It's a valid question - you are going to put $2K+ of gear on top of that. Are you ok with that?

the questions that need to be answered are basically:

1. what is the leg set?
2. WHat are you going to be shooting.
3. How much does the camera and lens weigh?
4. Most importantly, what is the max focal length?
5. What is your budget?
6. Travel? Studio? etc...

j.

J

I'd try a manfrotto 3232 head or the recently introduced RRS one...

IMO a ball head with a collared lens works less then perfect.

First off, I don't like ball heads for following action - either on a tripod or on a monopod. Ball heads are exceptional for still shots but, IMO, don't do all that well for following action. At least, I don't do that well with them.

I love a gimbal head for action shooting. My choice (believe it or not) over the Wimberly Sidekick is the Manfrotto 3421 Long Lens Support. I use this with my 8180 Giottos tripod or with my 681 Manfrotto monopod.

http://www.nikonians.o​rg …/manfrotto_393/​393_1.html

This unit balances wonderfully with my 30D and a 400mm f/5.6L lens and could easily support a much larger and heavier package. I like to use it configured so that my camera is right side up as shown in the illustration next to "Key Featues" in the attached link.

When I purchased the 3421 18 months ago, it was less expensive than it is now. That is probably due to the U.S. dollar going down the toilet. However, at about $180 (including the base and lens plate) it is considerably less expensive than other name brand gimbal rigs.

I did see a used 3421 with 2 lens plates going for $80 on one of the digital photo forums. Obviously, it was snapped up quickly.

There are however, some Chinese knock-off gimbal rigs sold on eBay which might suit your needs. I have no experience with these but, am just providing the link if you are interested in investigating.

http://cgi.ebay.com …Q_trksidZp1742.​m153.l1262