Please suggestion on tripod head

I have Manfrotto 055ProB legs with a 488 midi-sized ballhead.

The other day I was shooting a dark-field glass which entails precisely framing a black backdrop in the field of view. You do not want to have white borders around it nor want the black to be any larger than the FOV.

So taped a black card with the same ratio of my APS-C sensor on a white lit wall, screwed my 40D on the ball head, flopped the head so the camera was vertical and with a lens as light as the 50mm f/1.4 (and even more with the 100mm macro) exactly framing the black card was a nightmare. If I aimed precisely and then tightened the head it would slip. So by trial and error I had to aim a little higher hoping the slippage was just enough to precisely frame the card.

What would be the best solution ? Would some L attachment for my 40D body permitting to have it vertical with the ball head remaining vertical be the best solution ? Or do I need to spend an hefty sum of money on one of the more expensive heads ? Would they avoid that slippage in the same situation ? My heaviest lens is the 70-200 IS 2.8 but I seldom shoot with that on a tripod. More often use my 50 or 100 primes.

I often shoot in both horizontal and vertical setups and sometimes with the body parallel to the ground for macro work.

Would an entirely different type of head be better ? For sure the degree of freedom of a ball head becomes a liability when I want the camera to be perfectly level.

Thank you
Bob

L brackets are your answer if you have an arca type setup, flopped over ball heads are inherently unstable.....My prefrence is for RRS gear, top of the line quality and prices but a lifetime investment

buy nice or buy twice.....even with the big import tax here in uk!

Doctor Diesel wrote in post #10056262
L brackets are your answer if you have an arca type setup, flopped over ball heads are inherently unstable.....My prefrence is for RRS gear, top of the line quality and prices but a lifetime investment

buy nice or buy twice.....even with the big import tax here in uk!

Thank you very much. Sorry to be so ignorant but what is an arca type setup. I only have my 40D with the BG always on, and the manfrotto 055BPro legs and currently the 488 ballhead without any quick release plate (have to screw it under the BG every time).

Thanks
Bob

check out the RRS website, all you need is a qr clamp to mount on your ballhead and an L bracket for your camera. then easy switching between landscape and portrait with all the weight centred over the tripod.

http://reallyrightstuf​f.com/home.html

Where you need that kind of precise control, I'd suggest something like the Manfrotto 804RC2 head, a pan-tilt head.

Yes, get the Manfrotto L bracket.

Jon wrote in post #10056381
Where you need that kind of precise control, I'd suggest something like the Manfrotto 804RC2 head, a pan-tilt head.

Thanks Jon,
what a pity that judging from the photographs the 804RC2 appears to be off center preventing it from being usable for panos

Bob

I had the same problem with the 488 in any orientation. Precise framing was virtually impossible. I gave up and bought a Markins M10 and an RRS Lever clamp and use RRS pates since they seem to offer more surface area than Markins plates plus Markins plates don't usually wotk in the RRS Lever Clamp. Guess what, no more "droop". I very rarely use my tripod shooting in portrait orientation so can't tell you how well it works in that mode (flopped over) but getting an L bracket makes a lot of sense in this instance since it keeps the weight over the head, being more stable.

If I were you, whether you get an L plate or not, I would, and did, replace the 488 with a "better" head.

While a better ball head would be an improvement, the kind of work you're doing just screams out for geared head. Have a look at the Manfrotto 410.

I often wished I had bought the 410. Might still do, along with another tripod, when weight isn't an issue.

hyt wrote in post #10058349
While a better ball head would be an improvement, the kind of work you're doing just screams out for geared head. Have a look at the Manfrotto 410.

I have the 410, definitely the answer.

Thank you all. I will try to summarize all the advice I have received:
a) ballheads are the most versatile heads and are less bulky/heavy than others, good for traveling (I will not hike often). Heads such as Markins M10, RRS BH-55 or BH-40 or Kirk BH-1 would eliminate the slippage through a larger head and better design.

b) different head designs such as the Manfrotto 410 geared head would seem a better choice when framing precision is important but of course would be larger/heavier (as a side note I am displeased by the fact that judging from the pictures of it the 410 would seem unusable to shoot panos without some adapter since the screw is off the rotation center). Something like the Manfrotto 804RC2 head would be a similar alternative if I understand correctly.

c) I feel an L plate would be very useful whether I stick to the ball head or not. I still have some confusion here on the compatibility of the aforementioned heads and the L plates.

So now got to get the calculator out and figure out a sustainable combination of head and body plates.

Thank you all
Bob

jr_senator wrote in post #10059829
I have the 410, definitely the answer.

Thank you. The 410 costs around 220 Euros, an 804RC2 around 80. What justifies this difference ?

Bob

I have a 488RC2, I can't imagine the ball would slip under the weight of a 40D and 50mm lens. Are you sure your head is in good working order?

Yeah I am pretty sure it's ok. Quite new. Mind the slippage occurs only in the notch position (vertical body) and it's the 40D with grip plus 100 where is more noticable, and maybe I would not notice it in general shooting but in this kind of macro/precision work I do.

To give you an example, I was framing this 1.5 ratio black rectangle about the size of an A4 paper stuck to the wall from a distance of around 1.5 meters with the 100 (going by memory) and when I perfectly filled the frame with the black and tightened the ball and let go I would have a few millimeters of the white wall creeping on top.

Ciao !

Bob