What's the difference between pan head and ball head?

[revenant]

:dunno:

 

[Tweek]

kinda like a head with 3 hinge joints in the 3 axes, and a head with a ball-and-socket joint. The latter allows faster adjustment.

 

[Adam Goi]

An example of a 3 way pan head:
http://www.manfrotto.com/products/m...ompany=MNO&doc_from=gerarchia&contatore=primo

An example of a ballhead:
http://www.manfrotto.com/products/m...ompany=MNO&doc_from=gerarchia&contatore=primo

 

[revenant]

So, any idea difference beside the ball head allows easier adjustment?

Why would you all want a ball head than a pan head?

 

[Adam Goi]

Originally posted by revenant
So, any idea difference beside the ball head allows easier adjustment?

Why would you all want a ball head than a pan head?

If you got time, just go to CP and try out 141 and 308 to see the difference!

 

[revenant]

Originally posted by AdamGoi


If you got time, just go to CP and try out 141 and 308 to see the difference!

And a ball head is around the $100 region right?

 

[Adam Goi]

Originally posted by revenant


And a ball head is around the $100 region right?

That last time I heard John 3:16 was selling their 308RC for S$65...S$10 off what CP was offering then...you may want to check it out!

Speaking of which, have you begun to research on which ballhead which will suit your needs?

 

[revenant]

Originally posted by AdamGoi


That last time I heard John 3:16 was selling their 308RC for S$65...S$10 off what CP was offering then...you may want to check it out!

Speaking of which, have you begun to research on which ballhead which will suit your needs?

I have yet to get my dc :bsmilie:

 

[MaGixShOe]

a pan and tilt head will be better for landscape photography
and not forgetting the spirit level

 

[Midnight]

Originally posted by revenant
So, any idea difference beside the ball head allows easier adjustment? Why would you all want a ball head than a pan head?

I normally use a pan-tilt head because I tend to spend quite a bit of time fine-tuning the composition of my photos, and the head makes it much easier to make precise incremental changes in the camera's position. One other point you may want to consider is that a pan head is virtually essential for panoramas.

However, a ball head is much more useful if you tend to move around a lot during your shoots and prefer not to spend too much time setting up each shot. In particular, it is well-suited for following the action in sports photography.

I daresay that the best option is to get both a pan-tilt head and a ball head. However, if you really have to choose just one, I would generally say that a ball head tends to be more versatile; nonetheless, you'll have to make the decision based on your own needs.

 

[revenant]

cool, thanx guys.