Posted by Joe Paratore on August 24, 2009 at 11:47 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 Mat Malone on August 24, 2009 at 12:29 PM
I use the BH-3 with a 5D, 24-70 and a 70-200f/4 (non IS). No complaints. No noticeable lens creep. I think any occasional looseness in the setup is more from the tripod than the head. Haven't had any problems with sand or grit getting stuck down below the ball either. I did have to send it back to Kirk once because the tension control broke, but they fixed it under warranty with minimal fuss. I don't shoot straight down very much so I can't comment very much on that. My only wish was that it was lighter for when I am hiking long distances.
Posted by Steve Sieren on August 24, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Joe,
I'm using the GV2. The main reason I purchased it was for the weight, it's only a pound. Most other heads weigh a little more. The heaviest lens I've used with it is the canon 70-200mm IS F2.8 and it does fine with it. Shooting straight down the head is fine and I use it a lot for pano work. You do have to make sure you have 2 knobs tightened on it. That's the only draw back. Other than that I don't plan on upgrading to anything else.
I own the V2 and used to own the BH-3. I found the BH-3 had an annoying creep and it was very difficult to get the pan screw tight enough to prevent movement. I may have gotten a bad copy of the Kirk, but I was not happy with it. I like the Acratech a lot. I keep it on my lighter hiking tripod and use it with a 5D2 and 70-200 f/4.0 and with my 4x5 large format rig. It performs quite well.
I like the Acratech V2 much better than the Acratech Ultimate. I find the Ultimate flexes quite a bit, which becomes problematic when a 4x5 bellows is racked out with a 450mm lens on it. You did not mention that as a choice, but I threw it in just in case.
Discussion
3 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'm using the GV2. The main reason I purchased it was for the weight, it's only a pound. Most other heads weigh a little more. The heaviest lens I've used with it is the canon 70-200mm IS F2.8 and it does fine with it. Shooting straight down the head is fine and I use it a lot for pano work. You do have to make sure you have 2 knobs tightened on it. That's the only draw back. Other than that I don't plan on upgrading to anything else.
Steve Sieren
I like the Acratech V2 much better than the Acratech Ultimate. I find the Ultimate flexes quite a bit, which becomes problematic when a 4x5 bellows is racked out with a 450mm lens on it. You did not mention that as a choice, but I threw it in just in case.