Ball Head Advise, Please

Tommyboy

I'm expecting delivery of my 40D and 70-200 f/2.8 any day now. As a result, I'm thinking about my tripod needs. I have an ancient, but functioning, set of bogen tripod legs with a three-way head. I'm thinking I will probably like a ball head as I anticipate using a tripod quite a bit with this new lens. I also think I'll want to have a quick release plate for the camera body (for other lenses) and for this lens's tripod collar.

I might add that I don't want to spend $300 on a tripod head.

What I'm considering is this Bogen 486 CR2



It's about $70 and will support just over 13 lbs. Is this a good way to go? If you have any alternate suggestions, I'm all ears. :ear Thanks.

gryphonslair99

Tommyboy wrote:

I'm expecting delivery of my 40D and 70-200 f/2.8 any day now. As a result, I'm thinking about my tripod needs. I have an ancient, but functioning, set of bogen tripod legs with a three-way head. I'm thinking I will probably like a ball head as I anticipate using a tripod quite a bit with this new lens. I also think I'll want to have a quick release plate for the camera body (for other lenses) and for this lens's tripod collar.

I might add that I don't want to spend $300 on a tripod head.

What I'm considering is this Bogen 486 CR2



It's about $70 and will support just over 13 lbs. Is this a good way to go? If you have any alternate suggestions, I'm all ears. Thanks.

IMO it's too small and too light. The 486 is a mini ball head designed more for a monopod. Get the 488RC2 instead. It's about $100 but well worth the money. Plus it has a seperate panning function built in.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/272779-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_488RC2_488RC2_Midi_Ball_Head.html

jdryan3

gryphonslair99 wrote:

IMO it's too small and too light. The 486 is a mini ball head designed more for a monopod. Get the 488RC2 instead. It's about $100 but well worth the money. Plus it has a seperate panning function built in.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/272779-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto_488RC2_488RC2_Midi_Ball_Head.html

The 484 is the mini ball version. I have that and the 486RC2, which they call a compact ball head. You can (and I have) put the 70-200 f/2.8 IS on that - but I agree with gryphonslair99 on going for at least for the 488RC for something that big. If you are mounting a $1500 lens on it, the extra $30 between the 486 and 488 is well worth it.

DavidTO

Really Right Stuff is the only stuff to get. BH-40 or BH-55. Get it.

Tommyboy

This is really good advice, thank you. I was shopping for these in Samy's recently, and they were out of both the 486s and 488s, so I could only go by specs.

Wow--those RRS BH40LRs are really cool looking; however, when I said I didn't want to spend $300 on a ball head, that didn't mean that I wanted to spend $400. Yikes! I'm no cheapskate, to be sure, but that really is too rich for my blood. I have no doubt that it's the best.

I'll definitely look into the 488.

claudermilk

I think the 488 is probably your best bet. I'd recommend the BH-40 as well if not for the "don't want to spend $300"

Oh, and we almost forgot the obligatory link: http://www.bythom.com/support.htm

two slow

I just went through all this and ended up with bogens 488RC2. The 486RC2 is the same except the 488 has a pan base.

blalor

two slow wrote:

I just went through all this and ended up with bogens 488RC2. The 486RC2 is the same except the 488 has a pan base.

I've got the 488RC2 and I'm not a huge fan of the pan base. I guess it's better than nothing, but it's some kind of threaded arrangement, not a castering lazy-susan type of thing; if you pan it too far clockwise, it tightens up. Kind of frustrating.

Tommyboy

I decided to go with the 488CR2. It's actually a bit more stalwart than the 486: rated capacity is about 5 pounds greater at just over 17. I hope I don't find the reported concern with the panhead.

Canoga Camera has a 10% off on Bogen products, so I went ahead and got the 055XPROB black legs. I've always wanted a center column that would twist away quickly, so I'm going to give this one a try. I'll report back on how I like both.

I've had a Bogen since 1981 and it's given me very little trouble.

I read the article on tripods (link above) with great interest. I agree with his sound reasoning, and have a penchant for the "best," but I have to be practical, too. I just spent more money on a camera/lens combo than I ever have in my life. I need a new and sturdier tripod, but I know as sure as I'm married that I'll never buy a $700 tripod. I'll bet people who do really like them, though.

Thanks for all the responses and advice. I sure appreciate your time and trouble and worthwhile opinions.

two slow

blalor wrote:

I've got the 488RC2 and I'm not a huge fan of the pan base. I guess it's better than nothing, but it's some kind of threaded arrangement, not a castering lazy-susan type of thing; if you pan it too far clockwise, it tightens up. Kind of frustrating.

I haven't tried it to much. The main reason I got the paning base was to allow slight adjustments side to side with out messing with the ball. And just in case I ever decided to try a panoramic picture.
I just tried mine clockwisw and counter clockwise and it didn't tighten up.

two slow

Tommyboy wrote:

I decided to go with the 488CR2. It's actually a bit more stalwart than the 486: rated capacity is about 5 pounds greater at just over 17. I hope I don't find the reported concern with the panhead.

Canoga Camera has a 10% off on Bogen products, so I went ahead and got the 055XPROB black legs. I've always wanted a center column that would twist away quickly, so I'm going to give this one a try. I'll report back on how I like both.

The 055XPROB is what I was looking at too. I should have got them. I ended up with the 055XWNB.
I don't know if you ordered yet but B&H has free shipping on there bogen kits.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/505863-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto__055XPROB_Tripod_Legs_Black_.html

Tommyboy

two slow wrote:

The 055XPROB is what I was looking at too. I should have got them. I ended up with the 055XWNB. I don't know if you ordered yet but B&H has free shipping on there bogen kits. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/505863-REG/Bogen_Manfrotto__055XPROB_Tripod_Legs_Black_.html

Thank you for the tip. Although I paid for local shipping, I got 10% off the price; however, I did pay CA sales tax. As a result, I paid about 4% more. I like Canoga Camera and it only takes one day for UPS to get it here. I have found their prices to be the lowest overall when I do comparison shopping, but it always varies item by item.

I bought the 40D, 70-200, and accessories over the phone from B&H--and had an excellent experience. The sales tax alone would have been in excess of $250.00 (just shy of the price of a good ball head!) and I couldn't stomach that. In addition, their price on the lens wasn't the lowest I found, but they happily matched it. I also got huge rebates on two San Disk cards ($60) and Adobe Lightroom ($100).
It should get here in a couple of days. Think I'm excited?

gryphonslair99

jdryan3 wrote:

The 484 is the mini ball version. I have that and the 486RC2, which they call a compact ball head. You can (and I have) put the 70-200 f/2.8 IS on that - but I agree with gryphonslair99 on going for at least for the 488RC for something that big. If you are mounting a $1500 lens on it, the extra $30 between the 486 and 488 is well worth it.

Your right, My Bad. Sorry

Tommyboy

Tripod, ball head, and extra QR plate all arrived this evening. Really good looking stuff and all thoughtfully designed. Just what I would expect from Bogen. I like the new leg release levers and the foam covering on two of the legs. The pivoting center post is really works smoothly and easily. I use a 50mm macro, so this will come in very handy. Not the lightest or perhaps the strongest, but I foresee that it will serve my needs well.

When the rest of my gear comes I'll put it through its paces and see if my prediction comes true or not. Stay tuned. . . .

ChuckM

Tommyboy wrote:

Tripod, ball head, and extra QR plate all arrived this evening. Really good looking stuff and all thoughtfully designed. Just what I would expect from Bogen. I like the new leg release levers and the foam covering on two of the legs. The pivoting center post is really works smoothly and easily. I use a 50mm macro, so this will come in very handy. Not the lightest or perhaps the strongest, but I foresee that it will serve my needs well.

When the rest of my gear comes I'll put it through its paces and see if my prediction comes true or not. Stay tuned. . . .

Keep us posted. I'm thinking about picking up the same combo. I'd love to spend more, but I can't see spending more on a tripod than I did on my camera at this point. (Rebel Xt)

TylerW

DavidTO wrote:

Really Right Stuff is the only stuff to get. BH-40 or BH-55. Get it.

I've been hearing quite a bit about the RRS stuff for a while now from their loyalists on this forum, but could someone set the record straight for what makes their stuff so much better? I have the last generation version of the Bogen head that's being reccomended to TommyBoy, and while its heavy and a little fiddly, its a solid and hard worker that does the job I expect of it.

The RSS stuff looks well designed, and the logo is kinda cool, but this isn't the sort of thing that gives me serious gear envy, and really doesn't convince me that my life would be so much better if I'd only spent $300 more on a ball head. I'll give them another consideration when I go shopping for a pano slider setup, but until then, can someone shed some light on this?

Tommyboy

ChuckM wrote:

Keep us posted. I'm thinking about picking up the same combo. I'd love to spend more, but I can't see spending more on a tripod than I did on my camera at this point. (Rebel Xt)

I bought it and I like it. The centerpost tilting away is really cool. It's a bit shaky in the transition, but rock solid once dialed in. It's either vertical or horizontal--no in between.

The ball head is just dandy, though I have no doubt that the RRS head would blow it away. Just the photos in their catalogue demonstrate what an incredibly precision engineered instrument it is.

dmmattix

TylerW wrote:

I've been hearing quite a bit about the RRS stuff for a while now from their loyalists on this forum, but could someone set the record straight for what makes their stuff so much better? I have the last generation version of the Bogen head that's being reccomended to TommyBoy, and while its heavy and a little fiddly, its a solid and hard worker that does the job I expect of it.

To each his own. I guess I would qualify as one of the RRS loyalists. I have had Bogen, Giottos, and now RRS ball heads. The BH-40 wins hands down. As you said about the Bogen head : "its heavy and a little fiddly". When I did not think I could afford the RRS/Kirk/AcraTech/ArcaSwiss I bought what I could afford and lived with heavy and fiddly or light and wobbly. Once I figured I could get an upscale ball head I bought an RRS BH-40 and it is fantastic. Since most of my exposures are made on a tripod I actually use the ball head more often almost any of my lenses and they cost a lot more than the BH-40...


Regards,

Mike

eichert12

Do you have and/or recommend the RRS tripod's [1] as well? I've been looking at tripods for a couple weeks trying to figure out what to get and this is the first I've come across RRS. From checking out their website their ballheads look very nice.

[1] http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/items.asp?Cc=TripodsRRS&iTpStatus=0&Tp=&Bc=

f-rider

Bm 488rc2
I got the BM 488RC2 as well and have gotten a couple of the Quick Release plates (3157N) too, which are fairly cheap. I just got the Quick Change Rectangular Plate Adapter, too (#3299). This is basically the locking mechanism found on the 488RC2 as a separate part. I put it onto the head of a small tripod that I use for photographing stuff on a table top. That way, I leave the QR Plate on my D80 and can go back and forth between the tripods, using quick release on both. I also use a Nodal Ninja 3 panoramic head and will use the 3299 on that also. Quick on, quick off and the QR plate stays on the camera. The Bogen Manfrotto gear is robust yet much cheaper than Really Right Stuff. It is the cat's meow but, lordy, it is expensive !

CatOne

TylerW wrote:

I've been hearing quite a bit about the RRS stuff for a while now from their loyalists on this forum, but could someone set the record straight for what makes their stuff so much better? I have the last generation version of the Bogen head that's being reccomended to TommyBoy, and while its heavy and a little fiddly, its a solid and hard worker that does the job I expect of it.

The RSS stuff looks well designed, and the logo is kinda cool, but this isn't the sort of thing that gives me serious gear envy, and really doesn't convince me that my life would be so much better if I'd only spent $300 more on a ball head. I'll give them another consideration when I go shopping for a pano slider setup, but until then, can someone shed some light on this?

I don't want a ball head that's "a little fiddly." I want it to work quickly and efficiently, and I want it to be secure. If I spend an extra 2-3 seconds fiddling, I could miss a shot or two. And if it's not really secure (i.e. the clamping system isn't good), it could cost me a lot more, if I drop the camera.

The QR system (lever release) in the RRS is very nice -- with my old Arca-Swiss and its screw knob I almost dropped my camera... TWICE. Because I tried to cheat and save 3 seconds by unscrewing the plate 1/2 way and sliding it from the side... and missing. Now that was just *my* human nature but I could tell sooner or later it was going to cost me a camera and a lens.

Finally, the L plates are fantastic. Going from landscape to portrait orientation takes about 3 seconds. And you have to do very little re-composing, as the framing stays about the same.

Not saying the stuff is magical and your photos will be automatically better. But it is very well made, and it is very thoughtfully made, and you end up with appreciation for it when you use it; sometimes in bad conditions (really cold, etc.) where it ends up working fantastically well. For me, it is WELL worth the price difference. Yeah, it's $400 or $500 depending on the model, but that's really only $150 to $200 over a mediocre ball head, and that's just not that much money for a piece of equipment I'll be using for 15+ years.

Life's too short to buy crap

CatOne

eichert12 wrote:

Do you have and/or recommend the RRS tripod's [1] as well? I've been looking at tripods for a couple weeks trying to figure out what to get and this is the first I've come across RRS. From checking out their website their ballheads look very nice.

[1] http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/items.asp?Cc=TripodsRRS&iTpStatus=0&Tp=&Bc=

That's a very specialized tripod. I think it's like 18" tall at maximum. It's really for macro and "very close to the ground" work. It's extremely sturdy, but again it is not a full-sized tripod by any stretch.

RRS sells Gitzo tripods for anything full sized. The Gitzos are fantastic tripods, but they're not cheap.

gryphonslair99

eichert12 wrote:

Do you have and/or recommend the RRS tripod's [1] as well? I've been looking at tripods for a couple weeks trying to figure out what to get and this is the first I've come across RRS. From checking out their website their ballheads look very nice.

[1] http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/items.asp?Cc=TripodsRRS&iTpStatus=0&Tp=&Bc=

Unless you are using heavy/long glass this is not a good choice for a tripod. This was specifically developed as a low to the ground; heavy load weight tripod for lenses in the 500-600mm range. http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/Itemdesc.asp?ic=TP%2D243&eq=&Tp=

If you are a nature photographer with that kind of glass then it would be a great way to go, but as a general/all around tripod I would look at something different.

eichert12

Ah, ok, I didn't even notice that it wasn't a "full size" tripod. I noticed they had links to Gitzo tripods, however, I don't think they're currently in my price range.

claudermilk

I can really only offer a one-sided view. I played with Manfrotto ballheads in the store and ended up getting a BH-40 from AndyBay. That was probably one of the best photographic investments I've ever made. I have it mounted on a Giottos MT-7261 and use an L-bracket. That setup is an absolute joy to use. It does exactly what I want with no fuss. It took a session or two to get the drag set so I like it on the head, but now adjusting is more instinctual than anyhting--I don't really think too much, just flip the lever, adjust the camera and flip back. The pano base is just as easy to use. I would assume the other "top dog" heads work as well, so it gets down to little design detail preferences at this level. But, in the end, I feel the $300 is well worth it--especially considering it's likely the last $300 I'm going to spend on a mid-size ballhead.

jww

claudermilk wrote:

I can really only offer a one-sided view. I played with Manfrotto ballheads in the store and ended up getting a BH-40 from AndyBay.

I couldn't agree more... RRS ball heads are extremely nice. I also added an RRS clamp to the monopod since I upgraded to RRS feet for the 70-200 VR and 200-400 VR. ..on the latter, it makes a really nice comfy handle.

..as far as LR vs their Pro style clamps.. Just a personal preference, but for some reason, I like the pro style better especially on the monopod.

Pindy

For those that want to get in on the ground floor of the RRS system, you can add their QR clamps to most ball heads from other manufacturers, allowing use of their great L-brackets and plates. I'm ordering the LR II clamp for my 488RC2, L-Bracket and a couple plates at reduced cost. You can upgrade to a RRS clamp-less ballhead later!

Clamp Selector Table