Kenneth Waller
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/kennethwaller
----- Original Message -----
From: "Godfrey DiGiorgi" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Manfrotto Ball Head
The #496 head itself is fine, but I gave up on all the Manfrotto heads
that use the RC2 quick release mechanism. It's just too imprecise for
me ... I hate it when I get the camera and lens set up just right,
touch the camera to change a setting or do the final critical focus,
and the plate shifts 2mm in the clamp so the setup is ruined. If
you're not that critical or work your framing as the last thing you
do, this head and QR system can work ok. I used the RC2 system with a
couple of heads for some time.
Nowadays, I only buy heads that can take the Arca-Swiss type of QR
mechanism. Rock steady, no play at all between clamp and plate. The
ball heads I currently use are the Acratech Ultimate Ball Head and the
Markins Q3 Emilié ... both priced in the $250-320 range. I expect
these heads will last me the rest of my natural life, and a bit into
my unnatural one too. ;-)
For more precise work (table top product shooting, architecture,
landscape, etc) the Manfrotto 3D Junior geared head is what I plan to
buy. That one uses the RC4 QR system, which I'm also not so fond of
although it is much more precise than the RC2. Good news is that Kirk
Photo makes an RC4 to Arca-Swiss adapter plate with a clamp that will
take all my camera and lens plates, so when go for it, I have a
complete solution.
I've had that combo for several years now & it is my most used, due to the
precision of movement control it affords. Highly reccommended if your into
that sort of photography.
On Tue, Dec 14, 2010 at 10:33 AM, Eric Weir <[email protected]> wrote:
I've been wanting to get a ball head for my tripod. The two I have are
rudimentary and awkward to adjust. >I've had my eye on this one --
Manfrotto Compact Ball Head 496 with RC2 Rapid Connect Plate -- and now I
>see that Adorama has it for $29 with a $50 rebate through mid-January.
I'm on a tight budget. Not yet a "pro." Those two facts in mind, any
opinions about this ball head?
Thanks,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Weir
Decatur, GA USA
[email protected]
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