Posted by Paul Rosser on September 28, 2010 at 4:23 PM
Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on these, or has one. I'm wondering what the are like compared to a Gimbal Head?
Posted by Chris O'Reilly on September 30, 2010 at 10:44 AM
Hi Paul
Missed this previously.
I really like using this head, particularly for travelling as it is compact and reasonably lightweight. I've only ever had one issue while using it but that occurred at minus 14 degrees in Norway - the head started to stick a little!
Compared to a gimbal head I would say it is a straight like-for-like comparison. The fact that the ball moves omni-directionally, without the facility to lock either the vertical or horizontal movement independently means that panning requires a little more time to perfect. The other thing to note is that the vertical travel is limited e.g. if you were tracking a bird moving forwards and over you, the ball would run out of vertical movement before the subject reached the over-head position.
Overall, it is a quality product that doesn't suffer from 'locking-up' as the Arca's do. It isn't as flexible as other ball-heads but it works well and once it is locked it doesn't move at all.
Discussion
1 repliesMissed this previously.
I really like using this head, particularly for travelling as it is compact and reasonably lightweight. I've only ever had one issue while using it but that occurred at minus 14 degrees in Norway - the head started to stick a little!
Compared to a gimbal head I would say it is a straight like-for-like comparison. The fact that the ball moves omni-directionally, without the facility to lock either the vertical or horizontal movement independently means that panning requires a little more time to perfect. The other thing to note is that the vertical travel is limited e.g. if you were tracking a bird moving forwards and over you, the ball would run out of vertical movement before the subject reached the over-head position.
Overall, it is a quality product that doesn't suffer from 'locking-up' as the Arca's do. It isn't as flexible as other ball-heads but it works well and once it is locked it doesn't move at all.
Cheers,
Chris