Advice on Clamp type ballheads

[cktancktan]

Bros,

Any seniors here has advice on which brand is cheap and able to to hold about 8kg load that comes along with arca swiss compatible clamp?

Besides, Giottos and Triopo, is there any other Poor Man's Ballhead? (Poor, but need a clamp type for more stability and convenience). Wat I know is that some Giottos and Triopos cost about SGD$100 onwards, and able to hold 8kg, makes the Markins, Kangrins, Acratechs look like Ferraris next to Nissan GTR .....

I like the Nissan GTR performance and price (ie Giottos, Triopo) and cant afford the Ferraris (markins, acratech, kangrins,etc). Anyone else here knows of any GTRs or the likes?

Very appreciate yr recommendations. tks.

 

[hood]

Try Jason.

http://www.jl-photo.net/products/tripod-y560

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=433241

 

[YSLee]

I've yet to see a good ballhead in the $200-$300 range, unless you buy second-hand.

 

[Stoned]

I'd really recommend getting a good ballhead, even if you have a "light" set-up. The reason being is even with a stated load capacity of 8kg, the cheaper ball heads normally take far less(maybe 1kg +) before they'll start to slip, especially at certain angles. No amount of tightening gets around that.

The better ballheads have rated capacities up to 80+kgs and certain brands even exceed 90. Realistically, no one has camera gear weighing 80+kg(how will you even mount it?), so the idea of getting a ballhead with such a high load capacity it so it can keep your gear rock steady by using only 10%(or less) of the rated capacity.

I switched from a Manfrotto head to a Kangrinpoche NB-1A 2 years back and never regretted the purchase. No more blurred long exposures due to the ballhead slipping. Plus if you're willing to wait on the 2nd hand market, good heads often come by at 300 or less! A better use of your money than getting more lenses.