i'm researching for ballheads because my current setup won't allow me to compose precise 1:1 macro as the ballhead always creep...
just to share with you my research results after my week long research... mainly from the big 4 brands, i.e. Arca Swiss, RRS, Markins, and Kirk... please note that this is the result of my research reading forum, website, and even products comments by buyers...
if you want ballhead to lock up and the creep to count by pixel (NOT MM), then RRS, Arca Swiss, and Markins... RRS BH-55 shifts by few pixels, Arca Swiss Z1 in between, Markins M10 shifts max 60 pixels... those are first tiers... (Note: a lot of people don't really lock Markins ballhead as the tension load (if set correctly) could actually hold the camera and lens without creeping... also, Markins as the smoothest of all to provide very fine adjustment to the ballhead for macro composition...)
Kirk's biggest ballhead BH-1 would shift up to 1mm... Acratech Ultimate and GV2 would creep quite a lot, more than 1mm, but some said that Acratech creeping is predictable that you could compensate the creep... Ultimate is having a free movement advantage if paired with Horizontal capable center column on some tripods...
Manfrotto ballheads creep... unless you use the geared head which is heavy... this is quite true for Gitzo ballhead as well... not sure about other brands because can't find reviewers to use those brands for 1:1 macro...
hope this helps...