Ball Material ( ballhead )

As i understand it Manfrotto uses phenolic ball, FLM uses aluminum ball. i duno who else uses what. does it make a difference? anyone have preferences?

I thought that Manfrotto used a Delrin ball?? I really don't think that my 490RC4 is phenolic - 99.99% positive.

Anyway, a good tripod should have a mix of aluminum and Delrin. If the ball is aluminum then the housing should be lined with Delrin, and vice-versa. Delrin is a self-lubricating material, and relatively hard, unlike ABS plastic.

Delrin is easy to get round since it can be molded. Aluminum is not very easy to get "perfectly" round. But a ball of Delrin is easier to squeeze out of shape, so aluminum is better, but more expensive. Thin sheets of Delrin backed by a metal housing won't deform nearly as bad.

So the "cheaper" models will have Delrin balls with aluminum housing, the better ones (Kirk, RRS, Arca) will have aluminum balls with Delrin sheets inside metal housing. Even cheaper models will have phenolic balls and *maybe* Delrin sheets but will probably use cheaper ways of lubing.

But unless you're willing to pay for Arca, RRS, or Kirk then don't worry about this. You'll be fine.

...or Graf, Giottos, Nova, Acratech, Markins, ...

There are a few to say the least,... I did not realize that the large Manfrottos weren't aluminum?

Somone also teflon coats an aluminum ball.. but I can't recall who...

I think by the time were done here we have all all the info we need to put together a fine tripod Head FAQ

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
I think by the time were done here we have all all the info we need to put together a fine tripod Head FAQ

No doubt! And psychonaut will be our resident expert from now on!

I have to say that I've never seen so many tripod/head questions and answers in one place. I think it's great that it's all coming out like this, at one time, in one place. It keeps it fresh and easy to find for a FAQ.

So, psychonaut, are you willing to compile all this into a tripod/head FAQ? Or anyone else willing to volunteer?

I second the nomination! Psychonaut for Tripod FAQ!

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
I second the nomination! Psychonaut for Tripod FAQ!

Would that make him the head man?

Have Fun,

i dont know about bigger manfrottos. sorry, i was referring to the ones within my budget.

so then for SMALLER heads a Giottos would be preferred to Manfrotto as far as the ball mechanism ? ( i want to buy the release adapter separately ).

?

I really wouldn't worry about it psychonaut. You'll be getting a very good head from the sounds of what you're looking at. It will be just fine.

OK

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Both 490RC and 488RC are a mix of aluminiun and phenolic resin ballheads.

Interesting thread. I just designed and built a ball head and I never realized they used plastic balls instead of Aluminium.

To add to the thread, my Ball head uses a aluminium ball and teflon liners. So it does not require any lubrication. There is a seperate mechanism to increase drag or tension by loading one of the teflon liners gradually. The ball lock in my mechanism is independent of the tension mechanism. It has worked quite well so far from my trials.
I think Arca swiss and Markins (which incidently seems a lot like arca swiss design) use one mechanism to increase or decrease tension and to lock the ball. I have not seen or handled either of the heads, but from what I can make out there seems to be a stopper on the main knob to control how much you can loosen the ball. This sets the minimum tension. When you crank the knob in the opposite direction, it tightens the ball and ultimately locks it.