Poll - tripod heads

[Damien_Demolder]

I wonder how much you have spent on your lens collection. We all spend what we can, as we recognise that good sensors and good film is wasted when the lens that channels the light, from the scene to the camera, lacks the ability to resolve detail.

We spend too on high pixel-density sensors, and fine-grained emulsions, to make sure we have in place the perfect landing pad for the projection of those blades of grass and the miniscule bites of information we always want to draw from whatever we photograph. But all that effort can be in vain if we fail to keep the camera still while the shutter is open and the exposure takes place. Try looking at it this way; camera shake can wipe thousands of pounds from the appearance of your pictures.

I always feel like a piano teacher extolling the virtue of learning scales when I suggest that a tripod is not only a worthwhile investment, it's an item to be carried and used at all relevant moments. The advice is good, but well received only by those with a real desire to improve. It’s probably the reason I’m a photographer and not a musician.

So the poll is about tripod heads - which type do you prefer?

Thanks for taking part, and don't forget to buy this weeek's AP - it has a 9 page tripod and tripod head guide.

Damien

[Benchmark]

I use a Manfrotto ball head with grip (322RC2) which I find much quicker and easier to use than the usual 3D types.

There is also less danger of undoung the wrong knob, only to have the camera swing down and bash itself on the tripod.

[daft_biker]

Other.

Or to be more precise a Manfrotto 410 geared head. I never liked using tripods before trying a geared head....I hated the fiddlyness of the cheap pan and tilt heads I'd used but with the geared head I can finely tune the composition to my hearts content one plane at a time.

The gearing on the 410 is a bit too high for >3:1 macro but that just gives me an excuse for something finer for that

[Fen]

I use a Manfrotto ball head with grip (322RC2) which I find much quicker and easier to use than the usual 3D types.

^^^ WHS ^^^

[Nod]

Had to vote for ball heads.

The only pan/tilt heads I've used have been cheap ones on cheap tripods so not really a fair comparison with the Manfrotto balls I use. I have a 322 on top of my 190 pro tripod and a 486 on a Gorillapod SLR Zoom that's always tied to the backpack (except when in use...). The monopod has a simple tilt head fitted (234) to allow a quick swap from landscape to portrait orientation and the Pod beanbag has just a QR adaptor plate on it. All supports accept the RC2 system QR and (for some reason!) all the bodies and lens collars do as well. I'm tempted by a geared head but the price and slowness of use has put me off getting one - maybe I'll have a look next time I'm down at Mifsuds and see if they've got one in 2nd hand.

[daft_biker]

I'm tempted by a geared head but the price and slowness of use has put me off getting one....

I don't find a geared head slows me down. If anything it speeds things up if you waste time fiddling trying to get things just right on other types of head (like cheap pan and tilts).

It might be slow when compared to a gimbal head but the times where the speed difference between my 410 and a mate's 322 matter are so few and far between that I've not noticed them! Certainly not for landscaping or macro - I'd take the geared head every time, no doubt in my mind, etc, etc.

.....although if you're using extension tubes on short lenses you need to watch that you don't use the gears to force your lens into a dead tree and then end up having some difficulty getting the lens off the camera. I've heard [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

PS - I like the 322, just I don't want one for what I use a tripod for.

[Roger_Provins]

I never, well almost never, use a tripod because:

Butterflies/insects/bugs in the wild (I don't capture them) never stay still long enough.

Ever tried photographing a bird in flight with a tripod?

Falling tripods have killed more cameras/lenses than anything else.

To paraphrase Edward Weston "Anything needing a tripod just isn't photogenic." ...

[Zou]

Ball type for me. There are times when a pan/tilt/video style head could be useful, but generally the speed of setup and positioning flexibility of a ball type win it for me.

[daft_biker]

Butterflies/insects/bugs in the wild (I don't capture them) never stay still long enough.

You should tell MickLL that

IIRC this shot of a garden spider was a 30 second exposure.

The main problem I have is the wind moving whatever the beastie is on rather than not being able to find subjects that will sit still.....think I heard somewhere that Scotland is the windiest country in Europe! (if you count Scotland as a country that is )

Insects and other beasties are sometime perfectly still and incapable of moving when they are preparing to shed their skin....field craft can help with using a tripod.

[El_Sid]

Another vote for ball type heads - in my case the 322RC2...

Now if you'd asked the same question a couple of years back I'd cheerfully have voted for hate... My former and now extinct tripod had a 3-way pan and tilt on it which I loathed with a passion as it was almost impossible to lock without something moving. As a result the tripod was never used unless there was no other choice. If I'm being honest I still much prefer the freedom of not using a tripod - but now I'm far more inclined to carry and even use the ball equipped 055Pro...

[IvorETower]

(snip)
I always feel like a piano teacher extolling the virtue of learning scales when I suggest that a tripod is not only a worthwhile investment, it's an item to be carried and used at all relevant moments. The advice is good, but well received only by those with a real desire to improve. It’s probably the reason I’m a photographer and not a musician.

Damien

Have you ever tried to balance a piano on a tripod ???

[Roger_Provins]

..this shot of a garden spider was a 30 second exposure.

... well yes spiders do just sit for long periods.

Insects and other beasties are sometime perfectly still and incapable of moving when they are preparing to shed their skin.

... not exactly at their best then though

...field craft can help with using a tripod.

... must get some of this "field craft" stuff .. sounds very useful

[beejaybee]

So the poll is about tripod heads - which type do you prefer?

Different types for different applications, but ball heads for nothing. I hate them, with a vengeance.

[huwevans]

So the poll is about tripod heads - which type do you prefer?

Well, I'm glad you asked. And I'm glad, too, that you introduced the topic by alluding to the amounts we spend on various bits of photographic kit, because it gives me occasion to finally vent some spleen that has been building for a long time.

But before that, ball & socket is mostly my preferred head type, and that's what I've voted for. However there are some cicumstances in which I find the ability with a pan & tilt head to adjust one axis independently of the other two is useful enough to out-weigh the advantages of a ball and socket. So I do in fact use both, though in quite different circumstances.

Edit: I was going to rant here, but as it became rather lengthy and I didn't want to intrude too much on the main point of the thread and poll, I'm going to post it down in the Camera Chat forum instead.

[APchris]

Cheapo pan and tilt for me. The ability to alter each plane separately is very useful. I've always thought the ball type would be difficult to position correctly without a lot of fiddling but this comment comes <u>without</u> the benefit of experience so I may be wrong

Looking forward to the review as a decent 'pod/head is on the (rather long) list but should it come before good glass or after?

[zx9]

I voted other because there is no option to vote for both the above. I use a (new ish) pan and tilt on my ancient, very heavy Slik tripod and a ball and socket head on my Benbo.

[Wheelu]

Manfrotto 222, ball head with hand grip, used most of the time with a cheap pan and tilt head for the odd pan or panorama. The 222 is great for landscape format, but a tad precarious for portrait, particularly with a heavy lens. There is a slight amount of droop in both orientations with heavy kit, but you learn to compensate for it. I have thought of buying a gripless ball head for greater stability, but it's not a high priority.

[jchrisc]

It all depends on what I am doing. I don't have a favourite as such. Each of my heads gets used for its appropriate purpose and for that purpose it is my favourite.

As I get older and less and less able to depend upon hand holding I use a tripod more and more and the right head for the job makes all the difference between satisfaction and frustration.

[Malcolm_Stewart]

One of the important features of any sort of non-geared tripod head is that it should be firm when locked, and move smoothly when required. It's this latter that is difficult to judge on a new head - how long will it stay smooth? I learnt an awful lot by trying a range of used heads, but from well known makers on offer at camera fairs. Even some of the quite well known makes suffered from high spots making a smooth pan very difficult. The other place I tried heads for smoothness was at Focus-on-Imaging. Here again, several of the known makes were less than ideal.

I ended up buying quite a few different Manfrotto heads (for different uses) and have been well satisfied. I've probably taken most shots (birding) using my #393 gimbal head; and for general work, the 460MG is now my head of choice. I use ball heads as a last resort, far preferring control over the axes individually.

[LargeFormat]

I use a pan and tilt head on a video tripod, with stays but no dolly, for the camera on the left in particular. I like to be able to set it up with a spirit level and then be able to pan around without upsetting the level. Of course, with a view camera you are often not pointing up or down anyway. Not much use for birding though.