A while back I was looking into ball heads for my tripod. I have always wanted one, and the 3-way pan/tilt head I had was no fun unless the tripod was perfectly level.

On Dan's advice I was looking at Really Right Stuff heads, and I found great reviews of Acratech heads as well. In my research many online reviews compared one to the other!

As luck would have it, craigslist NYC smiled down upon me and an older Acratech head came up for sale upon which I pounced. Its an Acratech V2, which is an older version of the current "GV2" head. I am quite happy with this head.

Now, fast forwards to last weekend when I went on a photo-taking trip with the local camera club. As luck would have it there were many people with tripods on the trip, and one with an RRS BH-55. Naturally I asked to play with it a bit.

Here is what I think:

The clamp thing that looks like a bike-wheel-release lever is totally badass. The Acratech camera release knob is also very nice requiring just a snap of the fingers to release your camera.

The ball action on the RRS is nicer than the acratech that I have. At the extremes of motion the acratech changes friction in its socket (when you move it towards the notch to take a vertical shot, or if the center column is at a 45* angle) while the RRS head has very even friction at any position in or out of the notches for vertical shooting.

The friction adjust knob on the RRS had more control range, using almost a full turn to go from sloppy to pretty stiff, where the acratech knob has a little less than 1/2 turn for the same amount of control. OTOH the ball lock knob on the acratech requires only a snap of the fingers to release the ball where the RRS knob took a good turn and a half.

I didnt actually take any photos on the tripod, or even bring a heavy lens (I only brought wide primes & my 90mm macro which is pretty light) so I cant comment on creep or shift on the RRS, but I doubt there is much. On the acratech there is a minimum of "sag" when you take your hand off of the camera, but once it settles it is LOCKED. It feels like slack in the system being taken up, ya know? Its pretty predictable and can easily be compensated for. If I had a better system for balancing the camera (an L-plate, or lenses with their own tripod mounts) I think most of it would go away but as it stands now the weight of my camera/lens is never evenly distributed over the head.

So all in all, Im quite happy with the head I got, but if craigslist comes up with an RRS I may be upgrading.

On the tripod front:

Ebay smiled down upon me and provided a huge unilock (benbo) tripod for a silly price. This is what I brought on the trip. I call it tripodzilla because it weighs just under 10.5lbs with the acratech head and packs "down" to just over 3ft long. If you like to take pictures upside down, at or below ground level, from 8ft above ground level, or even right side up (yawn) I HIGHLY recommend it. Its a bit of a pain to use, but IMO makes up for it with its ability to contort its self into some freaksih poses and very good stability. I have been getting into macro photography of flowers and this guy lets me get right in there. Its also fun for shooting from the middle of a stream if you dont mind getting your feet wet.

Now, the above mentioned RRS ballhead was on a bogen/manfroto carbon-fiber tripod (190cx?)with 4 leg sections... I'm not such a fan of these legs. They weigh basically nothing, and pack down to basically nothing, but the stability just wasn't there. I think I have been spoiled by the unilock/benbo tripod which you can almost kick without screwing things up but these did not inspire confidence compared to my older Bogen/manfroto 3021. Maybe the 3-section version would be more stable, but eeh. I'l deal with carrying tripodzilla.

I have a Kirk BH-1 (used to be one of the #1 contenders before RRS seemed to knock them off) and I've been pretty happy with it but with the big glass (400+mm) on it the sag can become a massive PITA but my impression is that all of them will have some amount of that. It is what it is.

IMG_0432 by drjlo1, on Flickr

bleh this is driving me nuts.

heading to ireland at the end of the summer. wanted something nicer than the s95 for the trip. as of right now im considering panasonic gf2, gh2 and sony nex5 with some sort of wide angle lens. id like to buy this sooner than later so i have time to play with the camera and figure things out before i leave.

suggestions? budget is ~$1300 +/- a little (little being subjective ) but thats for both body + lens. used would obviously be preferred.

Edited May 6, 201115 yr by crappyjones123

the nex5 with the kit zoom is fairly wide and takes great pictures. and with that budget you can get an adapter and great old rangefinder glass too for when you REALLY want a nice picture.

Grawkers is right on about the rangefinder glass. Get a Leica 35mm F/2 Summicron and laugh at every SLR lens ...ever.

heh. that lens alone costs more than my whole budget. might look into it seriously if this nex5 really is the cats shit.

Look into used M mount Leica glass. It's not a bargain by any means, but far cheaper than the cost of a new lens. Also, I think you can get an adapter to use older Leica screw mount lenses. That enables you to go back to the 1930s or so. Don't laugh, a lot of those lenses are stellar performers, particularly stopped down.

Thanks dan, kd. So nex 5 with the kit 18-55 then? I dont think I can stomach a $2k lens right now. There are one or two used nex5s floating around. Would it be cheaper to buy just the body used and then get the lenses elsewhere? Or should I just spring for the kit?

How is the culture like on fredmiranda.com for newbies? I sent very polite emails to a few people but no response.

Just spring for the kit. You can get a voightlander 15mm f4.5 lens for $500 on ebay for example. Add $20 ish for the L39 adapter, and you're golden. But really, I think the kit lens will do what you want on this trip, and you're WAY under budget. Maybe get both kit lenses. Some people aren't big fans of the 16mm lens, but considering the cost, it's still a good value.

Was reading some more and found that the nex 5 doesnt have in body in body image stabilization. There are some is lenses though. My hands do shake a lot which is not a terrible bad problem for very short exposure times but it gets worse very fast. It would be a reasonable assumption that buying non is lenses as great as they might be wouldn't be terribly smart. I sort of just took the is of the s95 for granted and never tried to shoot without it to see what differences I got. Would it be better to just stick to something that does in body is or just go with this?

Are the 18-55 and the voightlander lens you suggested Dan fairly close? Could I get away with the pancake and that lens from eBay? If I am walking around with 3 lenses I might as well just get a Dslr as it will probably take as much space.

This stuff is so much worse than headphones. Infinitely more options. With adapters this shit gets even crazier.

the 16 and the voigtlander are closer. The 18-55 is a zoom, which the voigtlander isn't at all.

nex 5 it is then. thanks for the help everyone.

just picked up a bnib from fredmiranda.com for $40 less than amazon/bhphoto/ebay. should be here next week. fun

Edited May 7, 201115 yr by crappyjones123

for $40 idhave gone b&h

folks, plan on going to Zion National Park next week for photo hunting. Any tips for a good spot or other useful tips? Thanks. Just out of curiosity too, I've heard comments that Zion is better than Yosemite ?

If it's anything like denali, my recommendation is to bring a REALLY wide lens and a REALLY long lens, with a teleconverter. And a tripod.

i have tokina 11-16, a tripod, but no telephoto......only 85mm. just hope the crop factor of 1.6 helps.

You've got the sony, right? See if you can find the minolta maxxum 500 f/8 mirror lens. It autofocusses, and does a pretty good job. Barring that, beg borrow or steal the longest lens you can, preferrably 300 or longer.

Broke out the Olympus OM-1 and some drugstore film to make sure everything's working before I put the good stuff through it.

You've got the sony, right? See if you can find the minolta maxxum 500 f/8 mirror lens. It autofocusses, and does a pretty good job. Barring that, beg borrow or steal the longest lens you can, preferrably 300 or longer.

nope Nate, settled with EOS550D......Rebel T2i I believe in US. If what u think telephoto is important for wildlife, then i don't think i wanted to shoot wildlife this trip.....

If you're going to a national park without the desire to photograph wildlife, then you probably don't need a telephoto lens, I agree.

http://dealnews.com/Sony-Alpha-NEX-5-14-MP-Mirrorless-Lens-Camera-Bundle-for-700-13-s-h/460597.html

i might have access to a zeiss zm 25mm/2.8 lens. would have to tutor someone's son for a few weeks but the kids very bright so it wont be too taxing. got to talking with the guy about cameras today. from what i have read it is about as sharp a lens as one can get without trading in a vital organ. i do not have steady hands as i have said before. the nex 5 does not have in body image stabilization. would taking the lens instead of the money be a mistake in this case? i know i could sell the lens for cash if i cant use it but the guy is going to pay cash up front which i could use to buy another lens which would be better suited. with recent luck at the poker tables my budget for a good lens has been relaxed a bit.

Edited May 10, 201115 yr by crappyjones123

Pics from a weekend trip to Tampa/Sarasota, these are from Busch Gardens. First out-of-state trip where I finally shot in RAW too, have a ton of pics to fix up where the exposure was less than stellar. Posting this batch first since I don't anticipate changing the exposure much, if at all.

Edited May 10, 201115 yr by Asr

cj ... go for the lens. Also, stop stressing over the lack of in body is. It is a non starter for 90+ % of your actual photos. IS matters for long lens + long shutter, but should never bother you with that lovely 25mm Zeiss. What mount is the Zeiss? I'm sure you can find an adapter to use with the Nex.

ASR - nice shots, show us more. I am away atm, otherwise would arrange to meet you in Sarasota or near by.