Ball head recommendations

ShinySideUp

ShinySideUp

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Martin
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I have suddenly got it into my head that I need a decent ball head and have started looking; now also in my head is an ache! God's teeth, how does anyone choose from such a huge array of ball heads? Perhaps this wonderful forum can help if I give a little info.

At present I use a Benbo Trekker tripod, the one that is only slightly less difficult to use than a set of bagpipes, and I love it, I've had it for years and it's stable and versatile and I really don't want to change it if I can avoid it.. The ball head that came with it is a bit less useful and if I haven't got a good grip on my camera it will quite happily drop the whole lot through it's axis when I undo the hand nut, even slightly, and after tightening, when I let the camera go it always drops a bit which is annoying.

The Benbo Trekker has a 1/4 inch screw on it so any ball head will need that sized thread. I regularly use a Nikon D810 with a 80-400mm zoom on it so we are looking at a weight of little under 3kg, let's call it 5kg for a decent margin.

Price isn't too much of an issue but I don't want to be heading into the realms of 400 or 500 quid, that's a step too far as it won't get used all the time, but when I do use it, it should do the job better than my original.

Any suggestions?
 
One of the gear review sites (DPR I think) did a group test a few years ago. A bit of Googling will find it.
I ended up with an FLM - I like it except I opted for the quick release version which I find can be a little fiddly to operate.
 
ShinySideUp said:
I have suddenly got it into my head that I need a decent ball head and have started looking; now also in my head is an ache! God's teeth, how does anyone choose from such a huge array of ball heads? Perhaps this wonderful forum can help if I give a little info.

At present I use a Benbo Trekker tripod, the one that is only slightly less difficult to use than a set of bagpipes, and I love it, I've had it for years and it's stable and versatile and I really don't want to change it if I can avoid it.. The ball head that came with it is a bit less useful and if I haven't got a good grip on my camera it will quite happily drop the whole lot through it's axis when I undo the hand nut, even slightly, and after tightening, when I let the camera go it always drops a bit which is annoying.

The Benbo Trekker has a 1/4 inch screw on it so any ball head will need that sized thread. I regularly use a Nikon D810 with a 80-400mm zoom on it so we are looking at a weight of little under 3kg, let's call it 5kg for a decent margin.
Price isn't too much of an issue but I don't want to be heading into the realms of 400 or 500 quid, that's a step too far as it won't get used all the time, but when I do use it, it should do the job better than my original.


Any suggestions?
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Most any suitable head is likely to have a 3/8-16 thread, so you may need a reducing bushing to mount it on your Trekker. Manfrotto stainless steel bushings are about as good as any, and better than most.
I will leave it for someone else to recommend any new heads, as mine are older and discontinued. I will note, though, that I don't mount front heavy lenses on a ball head - they go on a pan/tilt or (preferably) a video fluid head. I would also suggest that you double-check the specs and ensure that your Trekker is heavy enough duty. Good luck!
 
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I have the 3 legged thing airhed and i find it a little bit frustrating. It's really well made, everything is very smooth and it locks nice and securely, but to get the camera level in portrait orientation the legs have to be absolutely level, there is no give in the head at all like I had with my old manfrotto, which would let you get away with the legs not being perfect. I tweeted 3lt about it a little while ago and their response was basically it must be something I am doing wrong, and besides the best way to shoot in both orientations is by using an L bracket. Not exactly helpful.
 
Winslowe said:
Most any suitable head is likely to have a 3/8-16 thread, so you may need a reducing bushing to mount it on your Trekker. Manfrotto stainless steel bushings are about as good as any, and better than most.
I will leave it for someone else to recommend any new heads, as mine are older and discontinued. I will note, though, that I don't mount front heavy lenses on a ball head - they go on a pan/tilt or (preferably) a video fluid head. I would also suggest that you double-check the specs and ensure that your Trekker is heavy enough duty. Good luck!
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I have often used the trekker with my weightiest combination so I'm happy with that. It was a long time ago but I bought a pan and tilt head for my high powered binoculars and I have an idea that, if I can find it, it has a conversion bush. A pan and tilt is adequate for most situations but the Trekker is capable of more that a P&T can handle especially with shots taken very close to the ground which the Trekker excels at due to it's infinitely variable positioning -- it is truly like fighting with an octopus sometimes.
 
Does it have to be a ball head?
 
soupdragon said:
Does it have to be a ball head?
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I have a pan and tilt but it is a lot bulkier and not waterproof, which is important as I tend to also use the tripod with a wildlife camera which is out all night in all weathers.
 
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I use a Benro B2 with Arca-Swiss plate which I'm very happy with and can recommend. Typical load out is around 2.5kg which I use in all positions. It has a 3/8 x 16tpi thread but you can fit it with a 3/8 x 16 male and 1/4 x 20 female insert. Not had an problem with it due to the weather and at around 118 quid its a good price.
 
I've got a Sirui K-30X, a good head, possibly bigger than I needed but I erred on the side of caution!
 
I use an Airhead ball head. Sensible priced, lightweight and they take a lot of weight. Oh and they look nice too!
 
GordonM said:
I've got a Sirui K-30X, a good head, possibly bigger than I needed but I erred on the side of caution!
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I have a Sirui and very happy with it, just had a quick look and can’t see which model it is though. Box will be some where safe
 
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I have the Sirui K. Its smaller than the 30 (think its the 10) and would say that it would be too small for a D850. Its fine for my XT3 and 100-400mm but think it would be asking too much for a camera twice its size.
 
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