Grip Action Ballhead vs Standard Ballhead

Photo Joe

So I got a gift certificate to B&H for x-mas to help purchase a tripod, and I think I've got it narrowed down to either the Bogen 190XPROB or the 055XPROB. But I of course ran into another problem: tripod heads. I live in Alaska, and unfortunately there isn't a large photo store nearby that I can walk into and physically look at / test photo equipment, so most of my research is done completely online. I'm thinking a ball head will be best, but I see that there is a "grip action ballhead" and was curious if people prefer those over the standard ballheads or not?

Here's the units I'm looking at purchasing:
190XPROB w/ Grip Action Ballhead
190XPROB w/ Ballhead
055XPROB w/ Ballhead
055XPROB w/ Grip Action Ballhead

Cygnus Studios

The 055Pro is a great tripod. The head depends on what you shoot and how. I use a 488 or a 322 pistol grip depending on the needs.

Photo Joe

Good to hear positive feedback on the 055XPROB. Cygnus, it sounds like you've got both heads, is one more of an all purpose head, and the other specialized? In what situations do you prefer one over the other?

I noticed there were some vertical vs. horizontal grip heads. Does it pretty much come down to personal preference when comparing those? The vertical version would give you a few more inches of height which would be pretty handy at times.

I'm going to be using this for mostly outdoor nature / landscape shots, and of course shots that require a long exposure that can't be hand held.

gryphonslair99

Here is a little assessment that I did a while back on another forum about head types. It includes the pan tilt as well. Hope it helps.

Pan/Tilt head:
Pros: Easy to adjust in small increments just where you want it, one plane at a time. Sturdy.
Cons: Cumbersome to adjust. You are making adjustments one plane at a time. Head is cumbersome to haul around.
Personal Recommendation: Studio work, product shoots, architectural shoot, fine detail shoots.

Ball Head:
Pros: Easy to adjust quickly in all planes at once. Smaller in size. Stable, low center of gravity. Compact, easy to haul around.
Cons: Unless you are willing to pay big money for a top of the line ball head you will usually get a small amount of creep when you lock the ball. Unless you either pay attention or have one with separate friction control it is easy to loosen the ball lock too much and have camera flop unless you are supporting it with the other hand. Ball heads without a separate panning control are hard to use for panorama shots.
Personal Recommendation: Best all around compromise for a field setup. Easier to use and carry for general field work.

Side handle ball head:
Pros: Easy to adjust quickly and accurately. Stable with general use glass. With add on shutter release it is easy to adjust and shoot without moving your hand away.
Cons: Not as easy to haul around as a standard ball head. Not designed for bigger glass. Usually no separate panning feature.
Personal Recommendation: Excellent in studio for portrait type work.

Vertical handle ball head:
Pros: Easy to adjust quickly and accurately.
Cons: Not as easy to haul around as a standard ball head. Not designed for bigger glass. Usually no separate panning feature. Least stable of all the ball heads due to the greater height of the camera in relation to the ball.
Personal recommendation: Better choices above unless you are using very light gear.

Cygnus Studios

The pistol grip is great out in the field where quick adjustments are needed, such as shooting sports or following birds. Takes a little getting used to, but really fast. Still takes two hands when using a long lens, but worth it.
For studio work, or shots where you have plenty of time, the ball head is perfect. Allows more precise adjustments and allows some panning and other little things that make them nice.

Here is my kit with the pistol grip. It easily supports my D3 and Bigma lens.

lightyear

Pistol Grip vs ballhead
I have used both and much prefer the ballhead because it is slisghtly faster to adjust, but primarily because I can lock the ballhead (Arca Swiss head and also Profi II)exactly to frame the scene I want. This is less critical with moving wildlife, but supercritical for me with landscape, closeups and architecture because I prefer to fram and compose exactly what I want in the viewfinder and not spend time at the computer (like this)correcting the image. I borrowed a Kirk head once and it worked as well as the others, and I know the Markins does also. All of the above use the ArcaSwiss quick release system (sold by RSS,Kirk, and Arcas Swiss- but not as good as Kirk or RSS). Good luck!
Stan]

Manfr3d

I currently have Ballhead (ArcaTech V2) and often wish I also had a geared pan and tilt head for being able to make finer adjustments (ballheads slightly move when locking them) when I'm framing a shot (landscape) with my tele.

kdog

Manfr3d wrote:

I currently have Ballhead (ArcaTech V2) and often wish I also had a geared pan and tilt head for being able to make finer adjustments (ballheads slightly move when locking them) when I'm framing a shot (landscape) with my tele.

My RRS BH-55 doesn't move when I lock it down. I would notice, because I take my moon shots at 784mm (1254mm ff equiv). Although I do agree that a geared pan-tilt might be easier in that situation. Do they allow the gears to be released for rapid course positioning?

Manfr3d

kdog wrote:

My RRS BH-55 doesn't move when I lock it down. I would notice, because I take my moon shots at 784mm (1254mm ff equiv). Although I do agree that a geared pan-tilt might be easier in that situation. Do they allow the gears to be released for rapid course positioning?

The BH-55 is a big ballhead and does not suffer the problem that many smaller ones like the Acratech have. Bogen/Manfrotto make geared heads that allow quick repositioning (one axis at a time) by pulling the spring loaded adjustment knobs. Therfore ballheads are much quicker in this regard.

Art Scott

I gave up my standard ball head for a 322RC2 grip ball head....and now that I fully understand how to use it I love it........if you change the mounting plates so it can be a stand up pistol grip....well all I can say is they suck.....if it is used in the way it is shipped it can be used to shoot landscape or portrait and works wonders in the fields for macro work and such.

Photo Joe

Well I've ordered the 055PROB legs and 322RC2 grip, so hopefully it'll suit my needs fine. Thanks as always for all of your input and advice.

Cygnus Studios

You will love it once you get used to the grip

gryphonslair99

Two future upgrades you might consider for the 322. I have both and love them.
1. Panning base. Perfect fit to the 322 base.
http://www.feisol.net/feisol-panning-base-pb70-p-17.html

2. Arca-Swill QR mount. Look for the [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]SQRC-3271
http://www.kirkphoto.com/platformsc.html
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