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05/01/2005 01:54:07 PM · #1 |
A few months ago I purchased the Bogen 3021BN Tripod Legs with the 322RC2 Grip Action Ballhead based on the reviews of forum members here. I *love* the set-up for the most part. However, I recently had an opportunity to shoot kite-surfers in action and I found that this head is *not* ideal for that kind of work.
It seems that the grip on this head is intended for a large, strong hand... which, as a woman, I do not have. After about 20 minutes of shooting, my hand was cramped and very fatigued. I also had a heck of a time co-ordinating left finger on shutter release of 300D while right hand squeezes head grip. (Tho the controls on the battery pack helped... a little.)
I also tried turning the camera around so that I could control the grip with my left hand while pressing shutter release with my right... but I had some severe technical difficulties with that as well. I think the problems with that set-up came about when I turned the camera from landscape to portrait.
Is there a head that would be better suited for fast-action panning?
Or is there some technique that may be helpful? Any ideas?
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05/01/2005 02:02:30 PM · #2 |
| Try a monopod instead they are more suited for panning than a tripod is. |
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05/01/2005 02:10:57 PM · #3 |
A monopod is certainly an option. If you want to be able to pan across a scene without vertical motion, however, you want a pan/tilt head. The Bogen 3030 is the one I use, it is about $60, woud be a good compliment to the ball head, just swap them out based on what you're planninng to shoot that day.
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05/01/2005 02:14:33 PM · #4 |
Ball heads are designed for people who primarily shoot unrelated targets. They let you set up easily, shift to another arbitrary point easily, and are fast, but they put most of the load on your hands. For lots of panning, you want one of the (appropriately named) pan and tilt heads, or if you are working with a very heavy lens, you might want to go to a gimbal head. For which heads are better than others within those categories, however, you'll have to ask someone else.
I don't recommend a monopod myself, as it's hard to keep the angle stable between shots.
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05/01/2005 10:15:43 PM · #5 |
Thanks all for the comments. I'll definitely take a look at the Bogen 3030.
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05/01/2005 11:47:26 PM · #6 |
I use the 322 grip head on a monopod and have no problem with panning. Just set the angle you need to see your subject and pan by twisting the monopod with the grip head locked. You could try this with your current tripod (by extending just one leg) to see if you like it before spending more bucks. Should be a lot easier on your hand too.
Switching back and forth between landscape & portrait is a lot easier when you are using a lens that has a tripod collar. Just loosen the collar, rotate the cam & lens together 90 degrees, and then tighten up the collar again. Takes less time to do than to type.
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