Ball-head with L-Plate? (suggestions pls.)

I'm looking for some suggestions on a tripod head.

Currently I'm using a Nikon F3 to take shots from a tripod indoors and
outdoors. I have a Manfrotto #168 Heavy Duty Ball Head which I don't
want to use anymore because I find it too complicated. I like the
simplicity of the #482 ball head, but it's not perfect either.

I frequently switch from horizontal to vertical shots of a single
subject, so right now lens-droop (when the camera twists on the tripod
screw during a vertical shot and the lens droops down to the floor) is
a big annoyance to me. I've heard that an L-plate cures lens-droop,
but I can't tell from the info I've found whether it's compatable with
any ball-head.

Can someone suggest a good ball head that's fairly simple for general
purpose use and can take an L-plate (or anything else that might be
appropriate)?

Thanks.

P.S. I apologize if this is a duplicate post. My net connection
crashed the first time when I clicked "post."

"AnonPost" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking for some suggestions on a tripod head.

Currently I'm using a Nikon F3 to take shots from a tripod indoors and
outdoors. I have a Manfrotto #168 Heavy Duty Ball Head which I don't
want to use anymore because I find it too complicated. I like the
simplicity of the #482 ball head, but it's not perfect either.

I frequently switch from horizontal to vertical shots of a single
subject, so right now lens-droop (when the camera twists on the tripod
screw during a vertical shot and the lens droops down to the floor) is
a big annoyance to me. I've heard that an L-plate cures lens-droop,
but I can't tell from the info I've found whether it's compatable with
any ball-head.

Can someone suggest a good ball head that's fairly simple for general
purpose use and can take an L-plate (or anything else that might be
appropriate)?

Thanks.

P.S. I apologize if this is a duplicate post. My net connection
crashed the first time when I clicked "post."

Ball heads are not easy to make really well, because they need to be
machined to fine tolerances. This means that you really get what you pay
for...

What sort of budget did you have in mind? If simplicity is key and it is in
your budget, I'd look at the Acratech. If you can take a _little_ more
complexity, the Kirk is very nice (which I use as my lightweight ball head)
and if it is in the budget you can't beat the Arca-Swiss Monoball (which I
use as a heavier weight head). The new Really Right Stuff head looks very
impressive too.

I use all these with the Arca-Swiss quick release system, so a Really Right
Stuff L-bracket works brlliantly for me. If you want to use the F3
exclusively, and decided to go with the Arca-Swiss QR system (which I would
encourage you to look at closely, as it is superb) then you might want to
get a custom L-bracket specifically for that body and leave it on all the
time - Kirk or RRS probably make one.

If you need more info., post again...



Peter

I looked at the L-brackets you mentioned but I couldn't figure-out how
they worked. Do they somehow slide from one position to the other?
Do you need to unscrew the camera whenever you change from H to V?
How much do they weigh? Can you still compose a picture at say 80
degrees rather than the full 90 degree right angle?

Sorry for all the questions, but my local camera store has never heard
of L-brackets (or film) before.

-Thanks.


"Bandicoot" wrote in message ...
"AnonPost" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking for some suggestions on a tripod head.

Currently I'm using a Nikon F3 to take shots from a tripod indoors and
outdoors. I have a Manfrotto #168 Heavy Duty Ball Head which I don't
want to use anymore because I find it too complicated. I like the
simplicity of the #482 ball head, but it's not perfect either.

I frequently switch from horizontal to vertical shots of a single
subject, so right now lens-droop (when the camera twists on the tripod
screw during a vertical shot and the lens droops down to the floor) is
a big annoyance to me. I've heard that an L-plate cures lens-droop,
but I can't tell from the info I've found whether it's compatable with
any ball-head.

Can someone suggest a good ball head that's fairly simple for general
purpose use and can take an L-plate (or anything else that might be
appropriate)?

Thanks.

P.S. I apologize if this is a duplicate post. My net connection
crashed the first time when I clicked "post."

Ball heads are not easy to make really well, because they need to be
machined to fine tolerances. This means that you really get what you pay
for...

What sort of budget did you have in mind? If simplicity is key and it is in
your budget, I'd look at the Acratech. If you can take a _little_ more
complexity, the Kirk is very nice (which I use as my lightweight ball head)
and if it is in the budget you can't beat the Arca-Swiss Monoball (which I
use as a heavier weight head). The new Really Right Stuff head looks very
impressive too.

I use all these with the Arca-Swiss quick release system, so a Really Right
Stuff L-bracket works brlliantly for me. If you want to use the F3
exclusively, and decided to go with the Arca-Swiss QR system (which I would
encourage you to look at closely, as it is superb) then you might want to
get a custom L-bracket specifically for that body and leave it on all the
time - Kirk or RRS probably make one.

If you need more info., post again...



Peter

I looked at the L-brackets you mentioned but I couldn't figure-out how
they worked. Do they somehow slide from one position to the other?
Do you need to unscrew the camera whenever you change from H to V?
How much do they weigh? Can you still compose a picture at say 80
degrees rather than the full 90 degree right angle?

Sorry for all the questions, but my local camera store has never heard
of L-brackets (or film) before.

-Thanks.


"Bandicoot" wrote in message ...
"AnonPost" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking for some suggestions on a tripod head.

Currently I'm using a Nikon F3 to take shots from a tripod indoors and
outdoors. I have a Manfrotto #168 Heavy Duty Ball Head which I don't
want to use anymore because I find it too complicated. I like the
simplicity of the #482 ball head, but it's not perfect either.

I frequently switch from horizontal to vertical shots of a single
subject, so right now lens-droop (when the camera twists on the tripod
screw during a vertical shot and the lens droops down to the floor) is
a big annoyance to me. I've heard that an L-plate cures lens-droop,
but I can't tell from the info I've found whether it's compatable with
any ball-head.

Can someone suggest a good ball head that's fairly simple for general
purpose use and can take an L-plate (or anything else that might be
appropriate)?

Thanks.

P.S. I apologize if this is a duplicate post. My net connection
crashed the first time when I clicked "post."

Ball heads are not easy to make really well, because they need to be
machined to fine tolerances. This means that you really get what you pay
for...

What sort of budget did you have in mind? If simplicity is key and it is in
your budget, I'd look at the Acratech. If you can take a _little_ more
complexity, the Kirk is very nice (which I use as my lightweight ball head)
and if it is in the budget you can't beat the Arca-Swiss Monoball (which I
use as a heavier weight head). The new Really Right Stuff head looks very
impressive too.

I use all these with the Arca-Swiss quick release system, so a Really Right
Stuff L-bracket works brlliantly for me. If you want to use the F3
exclusively, and decided to go with the Arca-Swiss QR system (which I would
encourage you to look at closely, as it is superb) then you might want to
get a custom L-bracket specifically for that body and leave it on all the
time - Kirk or RRS probably make one.

If you need more info., post again...



Peter

"I'llGetItRightSoonerOrLater" wrote in message
om...
I looked at the L-brackets you mentioned but I couldn't figure-out how
they worked. Do they somehow slide from one position to the other?
Do you need to unscrew the camera whenever you change from H to V?
How much do they weigh? Can you still compose a picture at say 80
degrees rather than the full 90 degree right angle?

Sorry for all the questions, but my local camera store has never heard
of L-brackets (or film) before.

-Thanks.

In the most basic form, an L-bracket is just, literally, an 'L' shaped bar.
It fixes to the camera - via tripod screw or a QR plate - and provides
another fixing - tripod or QR as appropriate - in more or less the same
place as the original on-camera one, _plus_ a second fixing point on the
'end' of the L. So you can fasten your camera to the tripod as you normally
would for landscape format pictures, or use the other mounting point to
attach it vertically for portrait format.

The bracket is a fixed 90 degrees, but you still have all the movement of
your ball head to make adjustments either side of that however you want.

Kirk Enterprises, Really Right Stuff, and Novoflex make a lot of
L-Brackets - both generic and 'form fitted' for particular cameras. A look
at one of the websites - the RRS site is very good - will give you lots of
pictures that will make all this clear.



Peter