What head ?? - DPChallenge Forums

04/27/2006 10:03:07 AM · #1

Iâ��ve just got a 141RC head to go with my 055PROB Manfrotto legs. I particularly wanted a pan and tilt head because I like to take panoramic shots but without the expense of the dedicated panoramic head.

What head do you have on your tripod?
Is it a non swappable one that is fixed to the legs or if not what have you chosen?

Bob

dpdave

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

04/27/2006 10:31:33 AM · #2

I have an old 029 Manfrotto head on 055CLB legs. Solid as a rock, and heavy enogh for ballast. One of these days I'm going to break down and get some carbon fiber.

Has anybody used the pistol grip heads much?

alfresco

Nikon D700

04/27/2006 10:34:07 AM · #3

One of the Bogen pistol grips and one of these ball heads.

I loves me pistol grip!

shamrock

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

04/27/2006 10:55:41 AM · #4

I've also got the Bogen 322RC2, and i love it. It's the most convenient to use of all the heads i have, but really can't use it with the Bigma. I have a huge old 3126 pan/tilt that works great, but is bulky. And mini ball heads on my monopod and window pods.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/27/2006 03:55:28 PM · #5

Yeh. i was that close to getting a pistol grip.
I may gey one when i'm over in the States in June :-)

zeuszen

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II

04/27/2006 04:01:46 PM · #6

Originally posted by alfresco:

...ball heads....

The 486 (referred to above) is the lightest I'd consider for your cam and lenses. This head (the 486) will still sag a little with your EF 70-200L, requiring readjustment. If you can afford it, I'd go with something a little heavier.

thegrandwazoo

Nikon D750

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

04/27/2006 04:03:52 PM · #7

I have this head and tripod

And I got this The Panosaurus head for use with the big tripod in the pic but I have not used it yet but I have mounted it and its COOL!

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

04/27/2006 04:09:48 PM · #8

Erick you'll have to let me know how the Panosaurus works out.

thegrandwazoo

Nikon D750

04/27/2006 04:12:03 PM · #9

Cool I will.

I think Ohlar got one too. He is the Pano King and I am sure he will report on it as well.

jent

Canon EOS-90D

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

04/27/2006 05:14:22 PM · #10

I have a bogen 3030 head on some bogen legs (forgot what model of legs but I love them). I sorta wish my head has a little more flexability in the vertical axis of movment. I also wish it had a little more flexability for the tilt movment (for macro shots). But regardless of this it has served me well for years and has not bothered me enough to buy a new head yet.

paddles

Pentax K10D

Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 AF

04/27/2006 05:57:00 PM · #11

Originally posted by bob_bobski:

Iâ��ve just got a 141RC head to go with my 055PROB Manfrotto legs.

What head do you have on your tripod?

Snap! I also have a 141RC head (on 190CL legs, a step down from yours but reasonably similar). I've been quite happy with it. Enjoy!

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

04/27/2006 07:16:39 PM · #12

I've always preferred pan/tilt heads, and I do have a Bogen 3030 pan/tilt head, but I use it very little. I switched to the 488RC4 ball head. Love it. The 488 is available with either the RC2 style plate or the RC4, which is larger, has a bubble level in the plate, and is *much* more secure, IMO. The one downside is that the mating plate that goes on the cam is large as well.

04/28/2006 04:42:55 AM · #13

Paddles, i had the 190 legs but they were just too short and the shop took them back to swap them for the 55's.

Kirbic, yeh you are dead right the mating plate is huge, i keep one on the body and one on the 70-200 lens. So when using the lens i have two of the things on :-(

Bob

ShutterPug

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/28/2006 05:01:00 AM · #14

I have the Bogen 3265 ball head, and have even used it with the Bigma. It does sag some, so I have to make adjustments. But until I get the funds to buy something more heavy duty it'll have to do.

Message edited by author 2006-04-28 05:03:06.

obsidian

Nikon D80

Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II for Nikon

04/28/2006 05:01:14 AM · #15

I bought a Calumet medium weight tripod with two heads, one of which was this one

that can be found here: Joystick

Real easy to use and play with but, like the tripod, could be used as ballast. I also got the head for about half of the current retail price, too.

Carl

eschelar

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

04/28/2006 12:05:50 PM · #16

I wrote some information on how to save some money in customizing a tripod head for Pano work in a thread entitled 'Pano Equipment that won't break the bank' Do a quick forum search on it.

I'm not terribly happy right now with my Giottos ball head... I am considering moving to a larger head. Not everything I do is Pano and it doesn't seem strong enough...

If you want to do Pano stuff, a couple of quick reminders. #1, you want your rotation to occur in-axis with the optical center of the lens. #2, you might want to find something that allows you to do this while rotated to Portrait orientation. #3, If you have an additional rig on top of your tripod for Pano stuff (ie a slider to help you center your lens with the rotational axis), it will greatly increase the amount of weight on your ballhead as it will increase the length of the torquing arm.

I'm not an engineer, but it strikes me that this would be measured from the point of friction diagonally to the center of balance of your camera +rig. The longer your lens's focal length, the farther back your camera needs to be, hence the amount of force on your head's point of friction will be much higher than what you would expect from the actual weight of it.

If you didn't catch that, It means that a 4 kg ballhead might have no problem with a 4kg camera plus lens combo when mounted right on the ball-head, when you move that back a foot, the EFFECTIVE amount of weight on the head will have tripled, quadrupled or MORE!

Yup, 12-20KG equivalent on a head designed for 6 or 8 kg is going to tick you off in usage...

I am probably going to look for another head in the 8-16kg range when I start doing that kind of shooting. Rainy season has to let up first....

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

04/28/2006 01:12:46 PM · #17

Keiran, great thread with very good instructions.
I shall be heading down to the hardware store for some angle brackets on the weekend.

Thanks

Bob

eschelar

Canon EOS-7D

04/28/2006 01:39:05 PM · #18

If you are going to go with a heavier setup, definitely consider the auto-rotating device mentioned in that thread. It's one of the cheapest things you can get for Pano specialization and I found that it did actually appear to be a good idea. I saw one recently being used by a pro taking pictures in the MRT system here. He wasn't doing a Pano, but seemed to like the versatility.

ericwoo

Nikon Z7II

Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-120 f/4 S

04/28/2006 02:12:22 PM · #19

I have the joystick-type, and I hate it. My next one is gonna be THIS ONE. The large, wavy rings are for large movements, the little knobs are for fine tuning. Its a fun one to play with in the store.

Message edited by author 2006-04-28 14:13:16.