I have two Arca Swiss Z1 monoballs that are weight rated for something ludicrous, but I have never had an issue with them - even with a 300mm f/5.6 lens mounted on my Wista wooden field camera - the camera starts to bend before the ballhead moves. They are very solid when locked.
Marc!
I had gotten a tripod with a ball head from Really Right Stuff, a manufacturer in San Luis Obispo here in CA, a family owned company. Heinously expensive but US. I had called them because I too questioned using a ball head with my 8x10 Kodak 2D. They claimed the drag function would work great for LF, makes the head movements slower. A total waste of time and money. Came close to losing the camera numerous times. Other times it locked up on me. Even 2 strong young men tried to get it to loosen up to no avail. Returned it and the company charged me for "damage" that was actually caused by the head flopping over with the camera on it.
I recently purchased an old Ries with a rock solid Otto head. Tilts, pans, etc, not a ball head. Got it from the son of the owner of the last large photography shop in Sacramento that recently closed. Good deal on it. I'd never go with a ball head again.
It's too bad you had that problem, but you obviously learned from the experience. I'm surprised you did not damage your camera in the bargain.Originally Posted by Pamelageewhizz
You did well to change to a traditional style head.
I know there are many people happily using ball heads with their view cameras.
However, IMHO a view camera on a ball head is recipe for disaster - especially for larger formats 5x7 and up.
A large camera on a loose or semi-loose ball becomes unwieldy.
Forget about weight ratings, if the the tension is not properly adjusted or fails to hold, the resulting flop can be potentially damaging.
For medium format or smaller, lighter weight formats, a ball head Is practical provided it's carefully adjusted. I've had an occasional flop with such cameras and always felt lucky there was no damage.
I'm familiar with the RRS ball heads. I use one myself. It's well made, but the ball tension adjustment can be changed too easily or accidentally because it does not have a positive lock. That's where the problems begin.
The RRS salesperson should NOT have suggested even their largest head for use with an 8x10. However, I doubt any of those sales people know very much about LF.
If one insists on a ball head for LF use, there are better options from other manufacturers.
.
I know just enough to be dangerous !
Linhof makes view cameras, Arca makes view cameras, Linhof makes both ball and leveling heads, Arca makes ball and a geared head. Why not check out their heads since both manufacturers obviously have long experience in making heads for cameras, including view cameras?
The Kaiser head listed in a for sale ad some time ago had a handy feature, a friction adjustment separate from the locking knob that permitted adjustment without the whole thing becoming unstable.
All pro quality ball heads have separate tension control.
I am enjoying the discussion. I do have the 3-way head with the soccer field sized mounting plate for this tripod and it works fine, but it is almost 3 lbs. and the camera mount knob and the grips on the 3-way are woefully inadequate size wise. My hands are only average size but I can't hardly get a good enough grip on camera mount to put any decent torque on it. And the grips on the other handles are tiny, and tough to get ahold of.
I do have a 35-year old Vivitar tripod with a three way that still locks down like the day it was new. The problem is the proprietary tripod mount. If I can figure a way to adapt that head to a standard tripod head mount I will do that.
--- Steve from Missouri ---
A note about "tension controls": these are only useful if they maintain their tension under all conditions, I.e. When the main ball tightening knob is tight or loose. With the RRS head (bh55) when the main knob is tightened, the tension knob loosens noticeably and turns rather freely. In that condition, the tension knob can accidentally be moved from its setting. It has no lockdown capability.
On several occasions I've accidentally rubbed against the tension knob while making other adjustments. This causes the knob to move to a slightly lighter tension, (but enough not to hold the camera securely). As a result, the camera moves. unexpectedly when the main ball Knob is relaxed. Something to beware of.
I don't know what other ball heads offer in terms of securing the tension adjustment, but the RRS ball head line needs improvement in this respect.
I know just enough to be dangerous !
Manfrotto (Bogen in U.S ? ) have such a beast. The model with the locking grip on the side is better.
Static weight weight ratings mean ZERO. This could simply be marketing BS; or even from reputable companies they tell you little about actual stability. I personally consider ball heads to be the root of all evil when it comes to view camera stability, especially if you're looking for something lightweight overall. It will be counterproductive. Sometimes big ones are successfully employed in the studio because flash exposure allows very fast shutter speeds. In the field you can get vibrations from wind etc, amplified by that little neck on a ballhead. Simple torque vector physics. The wider the camera bed, and the longer the bellows extension in relation to lens weight, the less stability you'll have. The dumbbell effect: wobble. When in doubt, arrange a mockup with your own camera and tripod before purchasing. That's the only way you can be certain if something will work or not. But for lighter more compact view cameras, a high-quality ballhead might be OK.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks