Tripod Head


Personally I prefer the ball head, gives you greater range of angles, if you carry more than one camera or camera body, the heads with the q/r plate are a must have. No two ways about it, those plates are great for rapid switching. Now if you only have one body ATM it may not seem that necessary, but if your shooting continues to progress at this rate, you will more than likely have more than one body before long.. but if not a similar head w/o the q/r plate on it.




Or these are really nice, but they are a bit more cumbersome (not that much), I like the way the ball head ones are all in line (no arms sticking out, makes for easier travel, MHO there) This type can be easier to use than the ball heads at times, it will boil down to your personal preferences. 6 one, half dozen the other.


Also, don't forget to get your self a good tripod travel bag (something that will protect it, in flight and under the bus)

I have just put 2 and 2 together, and figured out that what I keep 'calling' Bogen is now 'Manfrotto'? So its the same company I believe, the tripods look very nearly the same, so I assume they are.

EDIT-
Ah.... one thing however, if you do get one with the plates ALWAYS triple check the plate lock to make sure your camera is secure. My boss and I were on a Dillards shoot one time, he put MY N90S with MY 180mm 2.8 (about $3000 for the body and lens) on the tripod and didnt check it.... can I tell you the things that flashed thru my mind as WE watched the camera and lens tumble towards the ground (and pool, it was a bathing suit shoot ) But I also was fully insured threw our studio (so they covered all repairs or replacements) But still the lens was brand new at the time... I nearly cried. But Nikon is some tough equipment, had to send the body to NPS, but the lens was ok.
And that is another reason its a good idea to buy you some clear filters (the glass screw on type) and put them on your lens (I used to keep a warming filter on mine) and the filter was destroyed, but the lens optics were fine.

I never could quite find Bogen, LOL.

Thanks for the explanation on the tripod heads. I have q/r plates now on my cheap tripods and I would never own a tripod without one. The ball head looks like what I'd like.

Since we do have two bodies (D50 and D80) I will need multiple heads. I might get one of each.

And I took your suggestion about the clear scratch plates a while back... never take a lens out without putting a clear filter on it now.

Thanks again

Dave, what keeps the ball head from going forward... I mean, how do you get it perfect straight up and down... bc it looks like technically you could accidentally rotate to forward or backward... or to left or right (toward the ground at a slant).

Does it have locking mechanisms?

Well the head has a tension screw that locks the ball in place, its the knob on the right, in the picture, I believe (there will also be one that controls the side to side movement). They are quite stable, once you have it locked in, it wont move. There should be a level on the top where the q/r plate locks in. But this is another bit that wouldnt have come up in regular conversation. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get the cheapest, lightest, smallest level (if they have a pocket one, those are best) and carry it in your camera bag.
95% of the time, your eye leveling will work, but if you have a shot with a buildings or right angles in it,
well a level will make your life easier.

I guess I am just worried about locking in that 90 or 180 degree angle on the camera... funny that's not a lock default on the tripod heads.

As long as you have the plate locked in.. even if the ball is not tight.. that part may slip, but your camera wont fall. It may bounce off the legs (depending on the size of your camera) That one I have done, and pinched many a finger and.... oh that webbed part in between your thumb and index finger, man that one hurts. lol. But as long as the plate is locked in good, it wont come off (speaking for the Gitzo, or Bogen 'Manfrotto' tripods). Thats why those tripods are so expensive, the Bogen company used to have an ad with Mr. Bogen (yes he was a real guy) sitting on top of one of their tripods. Very stable. (Of course, making sure all legs and connections are locked good and tight).

IF you go with a Bogen/Manfrotto (which they are very good) most of them have these types
of connections, make sure you get a nut driver (just get an exact size) and keep that in your
camera bag also. (nothing worse than a leg that wont stay extended).

It just dawned on me that unlike a traditional cheap tripod, where you have to move the legs to get a level (flat horizon) shot, the ball would alleviate that issue altogether by allowing you to adjust the camera until it appears level with the horizon. Or using the scale to verify the camera itself was in fact level.

kanaloa wrote:

It just dawned on me that unlike a traditional cheap tripod, where you have to move the legs to get a level (flat horizon) shot, the ball would alleviate that issue altogether by allowing you to adjust the camera until it appears level with the horizon. Or using the scale to verify the camera itself was in fact level.

You dont always have the luxury of choosing where you shoot from, might as well give your self all the help available. The ball head is (for lighter, 35mm style or sized) IMHO the most practical head out there.
If you had a real heavy camera, like a view camera or some big video job,
well the adjustable arms are very nice. But the ball head gives you an infinite amount of adjustments. (And a pocket level can assure that you are level with the horizon, when need be.)


EDIT- another quick photo anecdote here: how I came to love the ball head (oh that sounds bad doesn't it? lol) One of my clients was Caviness (they guys who make boat paddles) and I shot most of the catalog work out in streams (attach the paddle to a base and stand it in the stream, sounds easy, ya LOL) well you can imagine stream beds, not very level. It was a real bear, I had one of the three way adjustable heads. It was a real nightmare, till I got my ball head .......

(But im not going into the fun of leveling the paddles, getting them to stand in the streams.... and all that was before I ever got a camera out. LOL)

OK, I just found a new cool trick. Set the Aperture to like 36 and the Shutter Speed to something crazy like 30" (sec) and then take a photo of something. Go and quickly stand in the photo and hold perfectly still for about 10-18 of the total seconds. Then quickly duck back out of the shot.

You'll become a ghost, LOL. Seriously, you look like yourself with Aero on Vista installed.

Okay Dave, my turn.

About tripods, I see you've mentioned Manfrotto (ex Bogen) as being good equipment. I'm quite pleased with this as I was looking at getting this kit but, having read your glowing report about ball heads, I'm now leaning more towards this one.

What do you think? I know they're not at the top end of the price range but having just spent the best part of £500 ($1020) on my camera, I'm thinking my wife may not be too pleased if I shell out about £300 ($600) on a 'pod, especially when I still place myself in the 'enthusiastic amateur' category!