Posted by Joe Paratore on August 24, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Hi All
I am in the process of purchasing a new ball head.
I’ve narrowed it down to either Acratech GV2 or a Kirk BH-3.
My set up is Canon EOS Mark II with canon 70-200mm IS F2.8 or 24-70mm 2.8.
If you own or have owned one of these ball heads could you give
both the positive and negative feedback of each and which one might
be best suited for my camera setup.
I do a lot of shooting straight down. Do they lock down tight and what about lens creep.
I will post on other NPN forums as well.
Thanks
Joe
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on August 24, 2009 at 3:08 PM
Joe, I purchased the AcraTech GV2 back in March, along with quick release plates for both my Canon bodies and 100-400L lens.
I bought it mainly for the long lens because I was told it worked like a gimbal head in many respects. I'll qualify that response because I have never used a true gimbal head. When shooting with the 100-400 I keep the tension loosened slightly so that I can rotate the lens easier to track the action I'm shooting.
They take a little getting used to but I find that if the locking knobs are correctly tensioned the unit provides a stable platform and I don't notice lens creep with my wide angle lenses.
The GV2 is different from other ballhead designs but now that I've shot with it for about six months I find I can make adjustments on the fly without having to look at the unit. Hope that helps. Good luck!
If you don't mind let me throw another possibility into your ring for consideration.
Take a moment to look at the following:
http://www.adorama.com/CUBH40200N.html
I have used this ball head for about two years now and have found it to be absolutely outstanding. With its load limit of 66 pounds it matches the ablities of the most expensive units on the market today. I believe it is just as well made as any ball head on the market and costs less than half of most. It's quick release system is simple to use and it has a great safety feature built into its QR platform that takes alot of the worry about a dropped lens/camera system out of the picture.
This unit is rock solid under any circumstances and at less than $200 I don't believe it can be beat!
As to lens creep, no ball head will help that issue since it has to do with the quality of the lens you're using rather than the ball head. I wouldn't believe that either of the lenses you're using should suffer too much from lens creep under any circumstance.
Hope that helps.
Dave Hatfield
Posted by Scott Bean on August 25, 2009 at 12:10 AM
Joe,
I've been using the BH-3 for about 3 years now and love it. I use a Canon 40D with battery grip with a 24-105 for most shots and never had any problems with it not being hold the camera/lens in any position. I also use my Canon 100-400 on it and the ball head doesn't have any problems holding it.
Posted by Darren Huski on August 25, 2009 at 7:43 PM
I have the Kirk BH-3 and really like it. I also have the larger BH-1. Both handle my 70-200 f/4 lens and both can handle my Arca-Swiss 4x5 too.
Now for the 4x5, the BH-1 is better but for the digital set up the BH-3 is plenty strong enough. I pair the BH-3 with a Feisol 3401 set of CF tripod legs and it is a great lightweight combo. It has become my default DSLR tripod setup.
Kirk builds a very good product. RRS does too. I cannot speak to the Acratech.
Hope that might help a little
Posted by Daniel Loomis on August 25, 2009 at 8:37 PM
I have an Acratech GV2 that I have used for my canon 40D and 100-400mm with good results. I even used the gimbal feature and found it useful, but a bit odd. I now use a Wimberley II Gimbal most of the time with a 500mm f/4 lens. The GV2 sits in a bag for those odd moments when I am shooting non-telephoto shots around the church. It is well-built and very solid once you get used to the two-knob adjustments. I haven't used other ball heads, so I cannot compare.
I have been using the Kirk BH-3 for about 3 years and I have used it with a Canon 70-200 2.8L. It easily handled this load and locked down very tightly. I have had no complaints about this ballhead in the time that I have had it.
Discussion
6 repliesI am in the process of purchasing a new ball head.
I’ve narrowed it down to either Acratech GV2 or a Kirk BH-3.
My set up is Canon EOS Mark II with canon 70-200mm IS F2.8 or 24-70mm 2.8.
If you own or have owned one of these ball heads could you give
both the positive and negative feedback of each and which one might
be best suited for my camera setup.
I do a lot of shooting straight down. Do they lock down tight and what about lens creep.
I will post on other NPN forums as well.
Thanks
Joe
I bought it mainly for the long lens because I was told it worked like a gimbal head in many respects. I'll qualify that response because I have never used a true gimbal head. When shooting with the 100-400 I keep the tension loosened slightly so that I can rotate the lens easier to track the action I'm shooting.
They take a little getting used to but I find that if the locking knobs are correctly tensioned the unit provides a stable platform and I don't notice lens creep with my wide angle lenses.
The GV2 is different from other ballhead designs but now that I've shot with it for about six months I find I can make adjustments on the fly without having to look at the unit. Hope that helps. Good luck!
If you don't mind let me throw another possibility into your ring for consideration.
Take a moment to look at the following:
http://www.adorama.com/CUBH40200N.html
I have used this ball head for about two years now and have found it to be absolutely outstanding. With its load limit of 66 pounds it matches the ablities of the most expensive units on the market today. I believe it is just as well made as any ball head on the market and costs less than half of most. It's quick release system is simple to use and it has a great safety feature built into its QR platform that takes alot of the worry about a dropped lens/camera system out of the picture.
This unit is rock solid under any circumstances and at less than $200 I don't believe it can be beat!
As to lens creep, no ball head will help that issue since it has to do with the quality of the lens you're using rather than the ball head. I wouldn't believe that either of the lenses you're using should suffer too much from lens creep under any circumstance.
Hope that helps.
Dave Hatfield
I've been using the BH-3 for about 3 years now and love it. I use a Canon 40D with battery grip with a 24-105 for most shots and never had any problems with it not being hold the camera/lens in any position. I also use my Canon 100-400 on it and the ball head doesn't have any problems holding it.
Now for the 4x5, the BH-1 is better but for the digital set up the BH-3 is plenty strong enough. I pair the BH-3 with a Feisol 3401 set of CF tripod legs and it is a great lightweight combo. It has become my default DSLR tripod setup.
Kirk builds a very good product. RRS does too. I cannot speak to the Acratech.
Hope that might help a little