snip<<
You've had ballhead knobs get tangled with motor-drive parts? I'd like to
hear how that might be possible. (I can't imagine ballhead knobs coming in
contact with any portion of one's gear other than a camera strap, and in
this case it strikes me the more obtrusive control arms on a pan/tilt head
would present a more worrying series of obstacles--though hardly daunting
in their own right.)
I have a Bogen 3038 that has a rather large main control lever. If you try
to tilt the head in that direction the mounting platform can hit the lever.
A motor drive control grip hangs down and can cause finger access problems
if the controls are not oriented properly. Remote control hardware can also
get in the way. The problems come when you have to move quickly and have not
set up properly to move in the needed direction. I'm not saying it's
anything difficult to manage, just something you need to think about.
<< snip
A writer who would describe ballheads as "dumpheads" is irresponsible. My
suggestion would be to stay away from the work of these kinds of
people--they usually have strange agendas and are often none too sharp.
Seek better-balanced opinion.
The dump occurs when the lens/camera combination is balanced with much of
the weight forward and the ballhead controls are loosened without the
operator having a good grip on the lens/camera. It's clearly an operator
error but it does happen. I've seen it with ballheads and other types too.
The writer specifically mentioned the nickname "dumphead" as a term used by
people who don't like ballheads. It was not irresponsible.
Listen. A ballhead is simply a tool with a specific purpose. Properly
designed and intelligently used it will serve its intended purpose well.
Tris
I don't need to be told to listen and I don't need your sarcasm. I've had
many ballheads over the years and the controls on some of them are very
poorly designed. My least favorite is the Bogen 3055 which uses levers that
rotate around the axis of the tripod post. If you push too hard on one it
can loosen the other one and is generally a pain in the ass. Before buying a
ballhead people need to think about the operating interfaces. If you
disagree with that, fine. The real test is "buyem and tryem" though.
/jim
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