Mike,
The Arca Swiss ball head is not perfectly round, so it tends to tighten
as it tilts down, preventing the flopping. The main advantage of the
ball head design is the ability to pan around while tracking a moving
subject. If your subject is stationary, the pan-tilt design may work
better for you. A good ball head is designed with controlled tension,
I'm not sure about pan-tilt heads.
Also, with the ball head, shifting to a vertical composition is not
easily done unless you also get a right angle bracket. With the
tendency of the Arca Swiss to tighten up as you tilt toward vertical,
it is slow getting into a vertical composition, but that's what I do at
the moment without the right angle bracket.
The Gitzo offset ball head is more flexible, but not easy to handle with
large telephoto, nor will it pan with a subject easily. I've also
pinched fingers a number of times and it will definitely let the camera
and lens flop when loosened. It is more suited to smaller lenses and
macro situations. With the Arca Swiss I can set the friction to allow
panning, yet steady enough to shoot without tightening further, so in
effect it is more hands free in many situations, aim and shoot (oh and
focusing helps a lot too :-).
I also like the Arca Swiss quick release, it is smaller than most and
can act partly like a focusing rail. Other quick releases, like the
Gitzo, usually don't allow such movement. Even if I had only one body,
the time spent screwing and unscrewing the camera adds up, especially
if you see something and need to remove the camera to get the shot. I'm
also a klutz sometimes and dropping the camera while trying to screw it
on is greater than just slipping it into the quick release. The QR
plates I use also have a lip that prevents the camera from rotating.
Just screwing the camera to the mount, forgetting to loosen the
head tension once, and next thing you know the camera is flopping
around loose. And if you do manage to get it tightened, the next thing
you will be doing is carrying the tripod around with the camera mounted
to it to save time. I also leave the plates on all the time, protects
the camera, so no time is spent removing them. However if you have
lenses with tripod mounts, you need more plates and Arca Swiss plates
are not cheap.
I did not like the Gitzo plates, they are bulkier, including the QR
clamps. I also did not like the lever action, which was always getting
in the way, but that's just my preference.
Wayne
Hopkinton, MA
At 08:25 PM 7/1/2001 -0700, Mike wrote:
>I originally had decided on a new ball head. Maybe a Bogen 3055, a
>Slik Pro ball. or a Gitzo. But after thinking about it and looking at
>the design I'm wondering that with the ball design what's to keep the
>camera and lens from flopping over when you release the tension?
>...
Seems
>like a three handed design. Aim, focus, lock. With the pan and tilt
>design you've got a grip on the handle to prevent this from happening.
>Any thoughts on this? The ball design appeals because of the
>simplicity and versatility but I don't want to chance my 300/4.5
>banging on the legs. The Gitzo 1275 with the horizontal ball looks
>better but still would need three hands and I think it's over my price
>point of US$75 And with only a couple of bodies why would I want to
>use a QR plate? Seems like removing the plates would be more hassle
>than just dismounting/mounting the camera.
Mike
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