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Tripod: Ball v. 3-way. Can someone help me?

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DukeBlue01

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I was wondering what the pros and cons were versus using ball heads against 3way pan heads?

Specifically I am looking at manfrotto tripods and looking to get either a 486rc2 or a 3029/3030 and can't decide. I have no experience with either, which is better?

One question is can I pan a ball head without worrying about the horizontal plane for something such as a stitch?
 
I have the 3030 head. I wished I bought the 486RC2.

I hope this helps.
DukeBlue01 said:
I was wondering what the pros and cons were versus using ball heads
against 3way pan heads?

Specifically I am looking at manfrotto tripods and looking to get
either a 486rc2 or a 3029/3030 and can't decide. I have no
experience with either, which is better?

One question is can I pan a ball head without worrying about the
horizontal plane for something such as a stitch?
Click to expand...
--
John from Southern California
http://www.pbase.com/domdom
http://www.pbase.com/johnrweb/favorite

F707 and 300D
 
http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/cache/offonce/pid/4154?fullList=0~67~80~81~83&idx=83

I used to like my trigger head on the manfrotto. Its got the same movement as a ball head but dead quick. Ball heads give you speed of use, manfrotto have a good selection. The pan and tilt ones are ok but i find I fumble with my Jessops one a bit, epsecially with a long zoom becuase you put it where you think it will stay, let it go and it can move, its not ideal. The manfrotto - 4 times as expensive but at least that in presicion. Manfrotto also give you the flexibility of having different heads anyway although the head itself can be twice as expensive as a half sensible velbon tripod
--
If we learn from our mistakes, I am getting a fantastic education!
 
is ball-head for set-up/change speed needed in sport or wildlife and 3-way for landscapes especailly when using UWA lens (Sigma 10-20) to get the precision in horizon and tilt setting these lenses require.

For other use I decide case by case (or just use what's currently installed in the 3-pod).

So I'd say you need -at lest eventually- both.
DukeBlue01 said:
I was wondering what the pros and cons were versus using ball heads
against 3way pan heads?

Specifically I am looking at manfrotto tripods and looking to get
either a 486rc2 or a 3029/3030 and can't decide. I have no
experience with either, which is better?

One question is can I pan a ball head without worrying about the
horizontal plane for something such as a stitch?
Click to expand...
 
is it difficult to get the horizon lines straight with the ball, does it stick or rub inside the joint?

Also, the 3ways look much sturdier than the balls. The 486rc2 is rated at 8lbs and the 3025 3way is rated at 6.60, are these numbers accurate? I have a 70-200 f/4 without the collar right now, will it cause a problem for either?
 
When I use my ball head, I use a canon 100-400mm attached to a custom bracket with the pivot ring, and a quantum T5d. All of this is attached and I never have an issue getting horizontal. It works really really well. The handle from the custom bracket is opposite of the ball socket grip, so the two used in tandem give me the ultimate control of finite movements.
 
DukeBlue01 said:
is it difficult to get the horizon lines straight with the ball,
does it stick or rub inside the joint?
Click to expand...
Not actually if you only want straight horizon, but with UWA lenses you also want the lens optical axis to be stright horizontal and controlling both direction at the same time is a lot easier in 3-way where you can make each adjustment separately.

I also use as standard Slik fast remove plates where I have separate sideway and up-down tilt levels to make the adjustment easy and fast.
DukeBlue01 said:
Also, the 3ways look much sturdier than the balls. The 486rc2 is
rated at 8lbs and the 3025 3way is rated at 6.60, are these numbers
accurate? I have a 70-200 f/4 without the collar right now, will
it cause a problem for either?
Click to expand...
A good heavy weight ball is surely quite sturdy enough. And if you need fast one move adjustment (like I need for sport or wildlife) then this is IMHO the right choise.
 


Sorry, wrong URL on earlier post, this is the trigger head I had. much lik the guy before, this one is vertical rather than horizontal, does the same job. They are very rigid once stopped in the position you want.
--
If we learn from our mistakes, I am getting a fantastic education!
 
I liked this vertical version, but was advised against it since I was using such a heavy setup. When I would aim the camera down, the weight of the setup is farther from the ball and is more likely to move (slip).
 
Thanks for all the responses everyone, its been very helpful.

One final question, the weight on the tripods varies greatly with the head setup, namely the 3029 seems to be significantly heavier. Do you find that this plays a major role in how much you choose to carry it? I'm going to be doing alot of moving around/hiking/traveling and Im already pretty weighted down.

I do alot of landscape work and generally, when I want to use a tripod, I have alot of time to compose the image, thus i'm leaning towards a 3way pan head.

The weight numbers for the 3001BN with a 486rc2 is 4.8, with the 3029 its 5.4.

This is in contrast with the Slik 340dx tripod which has a similar weight rating but weighs only 3.5 lbs.

I used to have a nice light but cheap sunpak 8001 and appreciated its weight, but not it's wobbliness. Any recommendations for those uses?
 
I have a heavy duty Bogen 3021 with a 3030 head. I also have a cheap lightweight tripod that somewhat broken, but usable tripod.

So what do I use? I use the cheap broken tripod with a cheap head that can barely hold my camera.

The moral of the story is that a heavy good tripod spend its time sitting in the trunk of the car. The low quality light weight tripod that barely perform its job gets taken out and into the sunlight.

My personal opinion is to stay away from heavy tripods.

--
John from Southern California
http://www.pbase.com/domdom
http://www.pbase.com/johnrweb/favorite

F707 and 300D
 
There is a consideration that is more important than weight when getting a good tripod and headsetup.

Plan for weight of the equipment being used, I orginally bought a nice $200 tripod, but the weight of the custom bracket and the Quantum T5D caused the legs to slide and not stay locked. so I have a useless tripod for my setup, unless I am laying down, lol.

Also after using a monopole lately, unless my shots where night shots, or long durations in the telephoto range, I will not be using a tripod for my shooting style.
 
asellers98 said:
Plan for weight of the equipment being used, I orginally bought a
nice $200 tripod, but the weight of the custom bracket and the
Quantum T5D caused the legs to slide and not stay locked. so I
have a useless tripod for my setup, unless I am laying down, lol.
Click to expand...
$200 tripods in my experience have locks with adjustable tension.
If that's the case with yours, have you adjusted the lock range?

--
A digtal picture is worth int x[1000000];
 
It is a carbon fiber tripod, so I paid the extra for the lightweight, and it had a three way adjustable head included in that price. It works fine with just the camera and the lens, but with the custom bracket and flash, it slides just enough to be annoying.
 
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