Recommendations for ball head & QR system

[trof2]

Gentlemen,
I would like to ask for your recommendations of a medium grade ball head and quick release system. I've been searching for a viable product for a while, but haven't seen something that suits my needs:

• Minimum support weight of 12lbs
• Price as low as possible, but somewhat flexible, as utility is primary concern.
• Plates to be on the long side, in order to provide enough surface area for camera to be braced against the flange on a horizontal surface other than tripod.
• Plates to have some sort of safety catch so they can't slide out (I had a camera slide out and fall once with an arca plate)
• plates to preferably have 1/4" thread at the bottom to enable attachment to standard tripod mount without removal of the plate

RRS has a very good system that I really like, but it is so bitterly expensive, that I can't justify the investment. Their plates are just unreasonable.

Any recommendations?

 

[Loswr]

Are you looking for just a plate recommendation, plate and clamp, or plate and ballhead? Just a body plate, or do you have collared lenses? Do you shoot in portrait orientation, which is best served by an L-bracket vs. a base plate alone?

Regardless, I'd really encourage you to get an Arca-Swiss type setup - maximum security, utility and flexibility.

 

[Eldar]

Well, as you said, RRS has a very good system, which is hard not to like. But it is not cheap. An alternative you may look at is Benro. Not in the same league as RRS, but still quite good. And it is Arca Swiss compatible. There are also cheaper AS-plates available from Induro
.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/743914-REG/Benro_B3_B3_Double_Action_Ballhead.html

 

[trof2]

Are you looking for just a plate recommendation, plate and clamp, or plate and ballhead? Just a body plate, or do you have collared lenses? Do you shoot in portrait orientation, which is best served by an L-bracket vs. a base plate alone?

Regardless, I'd really encourage you to get an Arca-Swiss type setup - maximum security, utility and flexibility.

I rarely shoot in portrait orientation. Sure, I'd like an l-plate, but its not critical.
Nothing collared (yet).
Looking for a ball head-clamp-plate set, and maybe additional plates for other cameras.
The caveat is that I don't really want to spend much more than $100-ish at the moment, so as much as I like the RRS system, I can't justify the expense.

 

[slclick]

Another vote for Arca-Swiss. Personally I like Kirk products but only because RRS is out of my budget!

 

[Loswr]

Looking for a ball head-clamp-plate set, and maybe additional plates for other cameras.
The caveat is that I don't really want to spend much more than $100-ish at the moment, so as much as I like the RRS system, I can't justify the expense.

In that case, I'd consider a Manfrotto 498RC4 (note: RC4, with the larger 410PL plate - not the more commonly seen 498RC2).

 

[Deleted member 91053]

The most rigid (locking) ball head I have yet tried is my Triopo RS3, it is small/light and very cheap. If you look at it then it will not inspire confidence, however it will happily support ANY Canon lens/camera combination currently made (note I do not include the 1200 F5.6 as I haven't tried one!) at any available angle with just a light twist of the (plastic!!!) locking lever. I use mine with the Triopo 60mm QR Clamp which is Arca compatible - though there are plenty of others that fit. I have tried it against several large and very expensive (50mm +) ball heads and their lockup was simply not as good.
I do not advocate using long lenses on ball heads but the attached is for illustration - please ignore the quality of the pics!

 

[Drizzt321]

I'll second going for Acra-Swiss compatible. There's a pretty good selection of manufacturers on everything from heads, plates, brackets, etc.

Benro is actually pretty decent. I decided to go for their travel carbon-fiber tripod with a AS head. Works quite well, although I imagine I'll eventually upgrade to some sturdier legs without a center column & a heavier duty head if I go more into landscapes.

 

[trof2]

The most rigid (locking) ball head I have yet tried is my Triopo RS3, it is small/light and very cheap. If you look at it then it will not inspire confidence, however it will happily support ANY Canon lens/camera combination currently made (note I do not include the 1200 F5.6 as I haven't tried one!) at any available angle with just a light twist of the (plastic!!!) locking lever. I use mine with the Triopo 60mm QR Clamp which is Arca compatible - though there are plenty of others that fit. I have tried it against several large and very expensive (50mm +) ball heads and their lockup was simply not as good.
I do not advocate using long lenses on ball heads but the attached is for illustration - please ignore the quality of the pics!

Thank you for this recommendation. This is a very interesting product, and at a very attractive price point. I'd love to procure one somehow, but I can't seem to find a single seller that ships these to the states...

 

[Deleted member 91053]

I got mine from these people (shipped free to UK):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Triopo-RS-3-Ball-Head-Load-20kg-Weight-only-250gram-/160472504953?pt=UK_Tripods_Monopods&hash=item255ce81a79

I believe they also ship to USA.