Ball Head for Large Format?

[Bill_1856]

I recently attended a Workshop where several people were shooting Large Format, and was surprised that most seemed to be using ball heads on their tripods. A peek through the "Show me your LF camera" thread shows that is seems to be the preferred system -- again a surprise.
I've never been able to successfully use a ball head with any view camera. 35mm and digitals, yes; Rolleis, yes; even Speed Graphics so long as I'm using the viewfinder but not if I'm using the ground glass to focus and compose.
Anybody care to comment?

[Old-N-Feeble]

I use a cheap Smith-Victor BH-8. It's plenty strong for a very heavy Toyo 810G monorail and it cost a whopping $59. For a lightweight 4x5 a BH-2 works fine for me.

[Leszek Vogt]

I've never been able to successfully use a ball head with any view camera.

Why not ? I don't use a ball-head (yet), but am aware that some of them, such as larger FLM type, Arca-Swiss or older Linhoff are capable of doing the job. Well, perhaps not on something like 11x14 or larger. Hmmm, maybe I'm delusional ?

Les

[Kirk Gittings]

I have one that will easily handle a 4x5 but I VASTLY prefer a geared head. I really want a head that moves in one axis at a time. I actually think a geared head is faster to use than a ball head for LF because it is less fiddly.

[Christopher Barrett]

I have one that will easily handle a 4x5 but I VASTLY prefer a geared head. I really want a head that moves in one axis at a time. I actually think a geared head is faster to use than a ball head for LF because it is less fiddly.

Yup.

[Oren Grad]

I really want a head that moves in one axis at a time.

+1

OTOH, if a ball head is what works for you, that's cool too.

[EOTS]

I'm into the RRS BH-55 for my 4x5 ...
perfectly stable and vibrance dampening ballhead.
Perhaps on the heavier side circa 850g

For 8x10 however i prefer 3-way heads,
because the massive beast of an Toyo 810M
plus lens is tedious to position otherwise...

Best regards,
Martin

[Ari]

Ball heads are smaller, lighter and less bulky than 3-way heads; if a ball head can do a good job of keeping things steady, then it's a matter of personal preference whether or not to use a ball head.
I used a Manfrotto 229 for many years, and loved it, but once I found the right ball head, it added to my enjoyment of shooting, since I could now take the tripod/ball head anywhere, and carry it for hours without complaint as to weight.

With respect to LF, having a ball head that can move one (or more) axis independently is priceless; as far as I know, FLM and Arca-Swiss are the only manufacturers to have introduced such equipment.

[Ari]

Stone, I used a 3047 for a while, and liked it; then I got the 229, which I really liked.
It all comes down to personal preference with a ball head, some love it, some hate it.
Which brings me back to my original answer to the OP's question:

Ball heads are smaller, lighter and less bulky than 3-way heads; if a ball head can do a good job of keeping things steady, then it's a matter of personal preference whether or not to use a ball head.
I used a Manfrotto 229 for many years, and loved it, but once I found the right ball head, it added to my enjoyment of shooting, since I could now take the tripod/ball head anywhere, and carry it for hours without complaint as to weight.

With respect to LF, having a ball head that can move one (or more) axis independently is priceless; as far as I know, FLM and Arca-Swiss are the only manufacturers to have introduced such equipment.

[StoneNYC]

Stone, I used a 3047 for a while, and liked it; then I got the 229, which I really liked.
It all comes down to personal preference with a ball head, some love it, some hate it.
Which brings me back to my original answer to the OP's question:

Ok back on track, the confusion I have is about geared ball heads. Is this basically a three-way handle head like mine, but with mini knobs that rotate the ball on different axis?