Novoflex has launched a trio of new Classicball tripod ball heads that can be mounted upside-down for producing level panoramas. The new lineup is comprised of the CB 2, CB 3 II and CB 5 II models, each able to accommodate cameras and gear weighing up to 5kg/11lbs, 8kg/17lbs and 12kg/26lbs, respectively. All three models feature a leveling bubble built into the base of the mount.
According to Novoflex, all three new Classicball models are compatible with all 'common' tripods, and each can be used with optional quick-release accessories. A lever on the side of the ball head clamps the camera into position; users can also adjust the friction using the blue 5-stop friction dial. Each model features a trio of 90-degree openings for positioning the camera fully backward, forward, and to the side. The ball head's design allows for 360-degree rotation, including in reversed (upside-down) mode, which itself supports optional L-bracket, plate and quick-release accessories.
The new Classicball models are available on Novoflex's website now for $495 (CB 2), $475 (CB 3 II) and $692 (CB 5 II).
I bought a CB 5 II almost 2 years ago. It looks identical to the CB 5 II in the video and yes it has the bubble level in the base and is capable of being mounted upside-down. Seems like old news to me. Must just be an updated video.
No worries. It must be a new video. Thought it was strange that DPR had a piece about this functionality. Either way, it's a great ball head, I've been very happy with it. Cheers.
Novoflex does not get a lot of attention on this site... as we all know, it is not that you offer a generic ballhead, but how it performs - and Novoflex does whatever they do extremely well. I use their gear for quite some time and was never let down.
These are some years old now. Are they just released in the USA? Otherwise I don't get the new... I have the CB3 and CB5, albeit the first version. I believe I can mount them "reversed" too, they just don't have the scale. For the rest I have no idea about the differences between the 2014 versions of this "news" article and the "really old" ones that I have.
That being said, they are awesome and I have not one regret buying them!
Regarding the "upside down functionality", what is the functionality exactly? You just have to make the male connection a female one to mount it the other way around, as far as I can see. And that is possible with the old version as well. The only thing that's missing is the scale. But of course, maybe I miss something there.
Mounting a ball head upside-down looks like a great idea until you try it, then you realise it has one MASSIVE flaw. As with any panning clamp, It only works with the horizon dead-centre of the frame. I guess it's better to have the ability than not have it, but a levelling base together with a ball head mounted the right way up is a much better solution.
That's a point I frequently make to users of simple nodal slides, and you have the same problem with a leveling base. It isn't so much a defect as it is incomplete. A vertical arm and upper rail are needed to allow for adjusting the other axis - pitch - around the no parallax point.
I have used an Acratech ballhead inverted for years, without such limitations. The ballhead serves as both base rotator and leveling base, so I don't have to carry around those extra devices.
You know what I like best about these videos at dpreview? You don't have to sit through a 30 second commercial before you get to see what you were interested in.
Acratech GP does the same thing, or simply add a Panning clamp to your existing ball head, you can find those as cheap as $30 from Ebay to $255 one from RRS. to me those works much better than the " upside-down ballhead. for those who like this style, there is already the Arca Swiss P0 out there.
I have two RRS BH55 with the panning clamp installed instead of a regular clamp, and also installed the same Panning clamp on my Arca Swiss Z1 head, I really hate those AS clamp. I also installed one cheap panning clamp I got from eBay on my Markins Q3 for hiking.
it's real pain to level the tripod legs, especially when I am shooting out somewhere out there in the mountain, panning clamp makes it so much easier so I basically have that on every single ballhead I own.
If one is buying a whole new head, this feature seems worthwhile... But yeah, panning clamps seem more cost effective overall... I don't really get the argument against them, a whole ballhead hanging over the stem isn't any lighter than a pano clamp... Horses for courses I guess.
The "new" ballheads (the second incarnation of them) were presented first at Photokina 2014 and are available worldwide since spring 2015. So, where's the news? And what's going on with our beloved DPR?
PS: The headline from the original source is an "alternative fact", because they are (and were not) the first reversible heads, even not the first ones that were made to be mounted reversible.
Also be aware that Novoflex's double-dovetail open channel (in other words: the Arca-Swiss design) QR clamps and clamps are narrower in width than just about everyone else's, narrow enough that their plates do not really fit anyone else's clamp.
Ah, panoramic photography—I remember it well. Those were the days when sites would publish huge charts containing the nodal points of every lens made and there were millions of brackets and panning heads. But the software was not quite ready and early DSLR panos always looked very odd to me because they were rendered a little too accurately. All those swooping lines. The real question: Will this gadget produce better photos than the panoramic mode on the iPhone?
If you're happy with phone noise performance and resolution, pan away. No phone can match the quality and dynamic range of a large sensor camera stitch.
Actually I just shoot panos without a tripod (or head, obviously) and find the software is really good (oh and my Acratech GP head does do the upside-down trick too, but I don't use it that way). http://www.viewat.org/?i=en&id_aut=7366&id_pn=26484&md=vt&sec=pn
Gentlemen, you misunderstand. I was feeling nostalgic for the days when panoramic photography was an arcane art that required an understanding of geometry and lens design, plus several hundred dollars of gear. As for iPhone panoramas, try having one printed—even at a joint like Costco—and you might be surprised how beautiful they can be when framed, matted, and hung on a wall.
My point is I still see it that way... I can tell you the no-parallax point of some of my lenses too, although I will probably find better things to do than get involved in explaining why I didn't call it the nodal point... :-)
I love these guys. I wish they'd take on a geared head because every system they make tends to be a clever re-think of what is currently possible with metal and haptic input.
I meant that I have used my ballheads and other types of heads upside-down for years, just reverse the middle column on the tripod and viola, and they are not Novoflex, so whats new with these?
OK .... you have misunderstood. They do not reverse any column. Look at the video (at 1 minute). They reverse the actual ball head. And then - under the head there is a bubble level and also a track for mounting stuff. And if you do that, and use the level, you have a perfect pano head, that you can rotate perfectly level.
Maybe you can do this with other heads. But ... I cannot with mine.
I use Markins heads upside-down on the top of the column or Gitzo platform. With that configuration there's no need for a heavy leveling add-on underneath the head to quickly set up a level pan. But you can do the same with any ballhead with a removable clamp and 3/8" threading.
Pffff. Arca-swiss p0, guys. Even less expensive, and you have the original. It's time saver for who need panoramas or shooting leveled. One of my best investment.
The p0 is one of the best photography items I've ever invested in. I can't see myself ever going back to a traditional ball head where any panning requires an entire re-positioning.
The AS p0 is a gem - of course. And it nicely replace most of the use cases, when this ball head is upside down. But - otherwise, the p0 is not a general ball head, this is.
The beauty lies in the smallest of the 3. With ~300g it is the lightest full fledged no compromise ball head I know off. Really lovely when you want to travel light.
ps.: Considering those ballheads are around for quite some years - in one version or the other - I'm woundering where the news is?
I don't care for my P0. The clamping action makes it hard to hold the head level when locking it down. The action isn't very smooth, so it's hard to be precise with it.
@Ellis - I see practical problems when tilting the camera for portrait or trying to use it tilted down. The rotating part is in the wrong place then. This ball head's main use is keeping the rotating part horizontal and taking landscape oriented images.
Therefore - it do not look as a general ball head.
Of course, if you add a rotating platform under it. That is another story!
@Ronald Karlson : my main tripod has a rotating center column which eliminates the need for a panning base. Or purse you could just flip the pO upside down!
I have a few tripod heads: the main ones I use regularly for still photography are the Arca-Swiss p0, an An Arca-Swiss B1, and a Foba ASMIA. All of three are fitted with Really Right Stuff panning clamps on the camera platform.
@Roland: use the same trick all of the upside side head advocates use: a threaded stud inthe base of the unit.
That said as I think you can tell from an earlier post of mine I much prefer to use a head with dual panning mechanisms: one at the base of the head and one at the camera platform level. But if you hold a gun to my head and make me choose just a single location for a panning mechanism I'd want it atthecamera platform level.
The CB 2, CB 3 II and CB 5 II are new in April 2017. You cannot have seen them for many years at B&H. It is totally impossible. And - the upside down pano thingie is new from CB5 II. Reread and do your research.
Leveling the tripod can be more challenging, but yeah you can approach this half a dozen different ways... Playing with the legs, using a leveling base, using a regular head then clampung a small pano base on it, using an upside down head like this with integrated panning functionality, etc etc.
If one does a lot of panoramas, a separate leveling adapter between tripod and ballhead is a very worthwhile attachment. These usually will only compensate for a maximum of 15degrees in any direction, but it sure beats fiddling with tripod legs once the tripod is in the ball park.
Of course, if one has an Arca-Swiss PO, a separate leveler isn't necessary and you've also saved a minimum of $200.
Think about it: What are ALL tripod heads designed to do?
Allow you to set the base of the camera to any angle you choose.
In other words: all tripod heads whether ball or double tilt are leveling devices.
Having a panning mechanism at the camera platform instead of the base of the head then let's you pan the camera in the same plane of the angle you set with the head.
Here's another way having a panning mechanism as part of the camera platform helps: if you tilt the camera platform to set just the roll (left/right tilt))angle you can then then use the panning mechanism to seperately set the pitch (fore/aft) vertical angle.
You might also consider Acratech GP heads "for this aproach" (or/and RRS, Photo Clam Pro Gold II, etc., or just add flat paning devices such as at Sunwayfoto). Should not be special or luxury or nec+ultra, but standard commonsense in the first place.
Mounting any of those heads upside-down is relatively easy, provided you can remove the clamp. Having the panning base at the top of an inverted head saves you from having to add the bulk and weight of a panning clamp or secondary panning base under a clamp. You also have one fewer action that can slip on you when you're trying to get the pan locked down.
When you rotate for a panorama, you need the base to be level so the rotation is level. Flipping it upside down, the ball becomes the base, allowing it to be leveled, therefor providing a platform than can be evenly rotated.
The complexities of nodal points and parallax correction have always scared me away from panoramas, but I once had a tripod head with a leveling base so at least that part I understand how it works hahaha.
It's not that complicated either, figuring out the nodal point for the lens is about the hardest part, after that it's just about offsetting things to a predetermined distance...
I'm going to blame you guys when my wife asks me why I'm swearing at my laptop as I lean to stitch haha. Seriously, though, maybe I'll give it a go. Always wanted a pano from South False Creek looking north.
Heh, I found it fun, tho I did end up buying a couple panning clamps and rails I don't use a ton... They're fun to play with when I bust them out tho, and useful for doing 360 degree or VR shots too (the hard but higher IQ way). The rails are useful for macro too so w/e...
Can someone explain the advantage of the upside down feature? Couldn't the rail accessory just be mounted to the top of the ball instead? It seems like the ball needs to be locked down tight regardless.
Normally, if you pivot a lens at the center of the camera, the lens sweeps side to side. This causes the relative position between near and far objects to change a little bit. So at one point in the sweep, a faraway tree might go from being hidden by a nearby light-post, to being visible. That's called parallax.
This head allows the camera's point of rotation to be at the end of the lens, which removes parallax errors. The lens is no longer moving side-to-side as it sweeps, so no parallax.
You don't need to level your tripod for a perfect panorama shot. Instead you just level the head which is much easier than leveling the tripod and then level the head. The ergonomics are not that great in my experience when you flip heads that were designed for "right side up" default mode. The best designed ones are the natively "upside down" heads like the Arca P0 (the clamps suck but just swap it out for a RRS one).
If you are not using a leveling base for your tripod - the panning base on the head may not be level on an uneven ground surface (unless you adjust the legs). Assuming you level the clamp & the camera which is on top of the ball head - and then try to pan - you may not be able to pan completely level as your panning base may not be level. Hence RRS has an option for having a panning clamp on top of the ball to achieve a perfectly level panning - as the panning is done with the panning clamp (hence the camera) level. Making the ball head upside down will have the same effect/advantage as ball-heads with panning clamps - as the panning base will be on top of the ball with the camera leveled. Hope its clear.
(at) balios who wrote: 'This head allows the camera's point of rotation to be at the end of the lens' More exactly: ... at the location of the entrance pupil. If known.
@whoosh1, that makes sense now. I see now that normally the panning rotation is below the ball head and thus cannot be leveled without carefully adjusting the legs. By allowing you to flip it lets the panning control be leveled by the ball as well.
This kind of makes me wonder why we don't just always put the rotation above the ball.
At one point you could find cheap panning clamps between $30-100 all over Amazon which you could slap on any old ballhead and it worked out better than trying to flip it (or buying a head made for it which worked better in that way)...
RRS sued the stuffing out of almost everyone that tried to sell panning clamps whether they work exactly like theirs or not tho (including Sunwayfoto which had some really nice ones, but even no names like Newer disappeared from Amazon)... Many were in fact better. Wouldn't be surprised if upside down heads end up being more popular in the long run simply because RRS patented the hell out of the panning clamp concept...
I have a RRS L plate/grip that I do think was genuinely worth the very large premium vs everything else that was on the market (removable grip w/nothing exposed underneath, magnetic hex tool holder, adjustable vertical rail for full display use), I wish they'd stick to competing on the merits of their products like so... That kinda litigious tactic and the owner's politics are kind of a turn off.
@ techjedi Balance, by flipping you end up adding even more weight up top, which is more weight to balance and more weight to secure properly, so potentially you end up needing a beefier and/or larger head. With smaller bodies it's also more crap that could obstruct things near the mount or display, but with smaller bodies the whole first argument is less of a concern so that's kind of a wash.
There's always lightweight panning clamps your can slap on any tripod or substitute for the stock clamp too, except not so much lately, see comment above. >_<
I have one of these balls. The first version not the new one. The locking lever breaks off very easy. There is no way to fix it yourself. I have sent mine back and they were great about it. It has broken off again. They said I could send it in again but whats the point. A slight tap to the top of the lever and the thin metal the shaft is made off gives way. I now have an expensive paper weight. I do not recommend these balls
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