Bah! Gitzo.

[Vaughn]

I got to really love my old Gitzo #2 ballhead with my Gowland Pocketview (lighter than most 35mm and MF cameras). To each their own -- tho I doubt I would like a ballhead with the 8x10.

[false_Aesthetic]

OK,

Lemme start over:

Recommendations for lighter weight 3-way heads that'll hold 10lbs. OR a ball-head that has one of those collars to keep everything straight and nice.


Ideally I'd love to walk around with the camera still attached to the head BUT I'd also consider a QR plate that's not one of those 6-sided Bogen ones...


Ready.
Set.
GO!

[Ari]

OK,

Lemme start over:

Recommendations for lighter weight 3-way heads that'll hold 10lbs. OR a ball-head that has one of those collars to keep everything straight and nice.


Ideally I'd love to walk around with the camera still attached to the head BUT I'd also consider a QR plate that's not one of those 6-sided Bogen ones...


Ready.
Set.
GO!

Manfrotto 329.

[Michael Lichter]

Hi there. (I don't see your name listed). I saw your post that you cleaned your FOBA Superball but don't see any info on how you did this. Mine is so "stuck" right now, that I haven't used it for a long time. Any suggestions? Thanks, Michael

Take it apart and clean it yourself!

I have the big Foba Superball that gets "mushy" every few years. I cleaned it recently for the first time in about 4 years and it went from "mushy" (with a firm pressure required to lock it down) to rock solid with a flip of the finger. The cleaning also got rid of the starting friction when moving it from a locked position. It took a while because I was thorough. The Gitzo you have looks like it would be a lot simpler to do.

You don't say what you are plopping on the head. Personally I would prefer a geared head to the Foba I currently have for LF because leveling a 4x5 on a ball head is a bit of a pain and I don't really like 3 way pan heads. For smaller formats the ball head is the best.

I would love to get that Arca Cube.

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome to large Format Photography Forum

[Jim Noel]

I'm shooting with a Canham MQC 5x7 (6 lbs) and a 150mm Super Symmar HM (1.75 lbs). I cant imaging using a heavier lens.

I bought the ball head with a focus on weight. As mentioned, I'd like to keep the weight down but I'd also like something that works. I don't think I'd need something that's geared but QR would be nice.

Thanks guys.

If I had cameras that light I would go to the Manfroto 410 geared head. I borrowed one to use under an 8x10 Phillips several years ago, and nothing could have been smoother.
I am one of those who would never put a ball head under a camera larger than 110. They all have serious problems eventually,and usually while the owner is 300 miles from home and 140 miles from a camera store.

[thomasfallon]

The Cube is a fantastic head. Love it for fine adjustments, especially macro. I have no doubt that it is a creative tool helping me get better images easier. All the benefits of a geared head and not very heavy. To me that is worth the cost. I am concerned about getting too much dirt in it. Fot the beach, I have a beater head that I can just scrap if it gets balky.

[Scott Davis]

I know you were expressing doubt, or at least meh-ness over the Gitzo pan-tilt heads, but I have two of them (the 12 series and the 15 series). The 12 series gets used for anything smaller than 8x10, and the 15 series takes the 11x14 through the 14x17. They do a good job, they never fail, and they're light for their size. The other solution I can think of is the Gitzo side-arm ball head that gives you a lot more discreet control over which axis you're changing while still being a compact lightweight ball head. They're available with and without quick release plates, and the plates are square/rectangular so NOT the dreaded Bogen hex plate.

[Drew Wiley]

I don't have any problems with ballheads - cause I never ever use them!

[djdister]

The OP lost interest in this thread in 2012...