Ball Head that will take my P20 plate

[Bruce Miller]

I have a P20 plate on my 100-400 and use this for birding. Now that it is summer I've been shooting dragons and butterflies. I would like to use a ball head for this instead of the gimbal style. I don't however want to buy a new plate unless I have too.

Will the Giotto MH 1302-655 that Artie recommends on his site for landscapes, work with a P20 plate?

It's unlikely I will tighten the head down, rather use it loose. However, I like to get the tension just right.


Bruce

[Chris Klapheke]

Bruce--

Your P-20 plate is an Arca-Swiss standard style plate, and will fit any ball head that accepts Arca-Swiss plates. The Giottos MH 1302 does accept those plates with a small modification (taking out one screw). It's a great little ball head for landscape lenses.

Your 100-400 would be too much for the Giottos to handle comfortably, so if you are going to use that lens, I'd consider a heavier ball head such as the Induro BHD1 (http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/store/induro-bhd1-ballhead.html) or BHD2 (http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/store/induro-bhd2-ballhead.html), both of which use Arca-Swiss plates. There are a lot of other good ball heads out there, and I'm sure others will chime in with their favorites.

Chris

[Bruce Miller]

Chris, Thanks for your reply. I'll look into those induros. I am wondering if this light weight head can handle the lens. Do keep in mind I do not intend to lock it down. I will be adjusting the tension so I can follow butterflies and dragons.

Continued opinions are welcome. I'd like to get a head soon!

Bruce

[Roger Clark]

Bruce,
In my opinion, the tension on the ball will need to be too much to maintain the heavy lens without falling over and that will make following a subject too jerky. I recommend a Wimberly sidekick with a ball head for such tracking. I use an arca-swiss B1 ball head with a sidekick when using short telephotos. You can keep zero tension on both axes for free smooth movement and the lens stays balanced.

Roger

[Gene Potter]

Bruce,
It just so happens that I’ve just shopped for a arca-swiss style ball head. My purpose is to mount my lighter weight lenses on my Gitzo 3530LSV. The research turned up what Rodger and Chris have already mentioned. The Induro BHD 2 supports about 40 lbs. while the BHD 3 will hold up 55 lbs., per specifications. The Arca-Swiss ball heads are considerably more expensive, but spec’s are up to 130 lbs.

The least expensive Acra-Swiss I could find is the Z1 at $395 (B&H). The BHD 3 is $228.

Hope this helps!<O:p