Reader's Comments - Index of - Free

Tripods
you intended. In any event, "good" ball heads seem to come in three flavors:
expensive, ridiculously expensive and obscenely expensive (e.g. Arca).
The #3229 is rated to support 2.5 kg (= 5.6 lb) and comes with a relatively long
(6.3 cm=2.5") QR plate which works fine for me. If you have a heavy zoom or
fixed focal-length lens with a rotating collar you can remove the whole #3229 in a
matter of seconds and attach your lens directly to the #3160 video head with a QR
plate for the total zen tripod experience. You'll find yourself gratuitously panning
and tilting just for the pleasure of being able to position that heavy lens to exactly
the right microdegree. The #3160 is rated to support 4.5 kg (= 10 lb).
Conclusion: for the price of one and a half QR plates for an Arca, you can put
together a fine -- I would say superior -- tripod head for still and video
photography.
-- Tom Holton, March 4, 1997
I use a very heavy ballhead from linhof (profi ballhead 3)! rock solid! Just as good
as arca (maybe better?!)!But it hasn't a quick release so a searched for a good
professional quick release system! I found the novoflex miniconnect!It's small, fast
(much faster than arca(need to screw it) ! and rock,rock,rock solid! It works with a
round metal plate that you can CLICK in the groundplate.that's it!super fast!And it
can support all major big lenses!easely 600mm!It is quit new! and i don't know if it
is available in america! But if so, it is worth testing and to try it out! I use all heavy
stuff and it is just excellent!!!i don't understand the fuss about that arca stuff!It is
very slow in comparison with the mini conect! You can easely use it with mid
format or larger camara's! You can operate it with one!!!!hand and has a big release
handle!It is just super!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People who work with novoflex equipment
are aware of the very good quility!
-- Harry Stadman, March 14, 1997
Just tried out the Bogen 3055 ball-head and was not terribly impressed. There are
two variants of this head -- one has a black, plasticky looking ball and the other has
a silver metal one. The plastic one bound up often when panning, and the lens
would jerk from one position to the next. The metal one was much smoother.
There are two locking mechanisms on these heads -- one to tension the ball and the
other to lock the horizontal panning pivot. The horizontal pivot lock works fine, but
the ball tension adjustment was useless. When I rotated the front of the lens to my
left, the tensioning handle would loosen and the head would dump the lens as soon
as I let go of it.
http://www.photo.net/equipment/tripods/philg (8 of 53)7/3/2005 2:21:12 AM