RRS BH55 Ballhead

[Mike Guilbault]

Does anyone in the GTA have a Really Right Stuff BH55 ballhead? I'm considering purchasing one, but would really like to see one first. Also looking for opinions on this head from anyone that has had one for a while. I'm particularly interested in whether it droops/shifts after locking in place (kind of a settling effect), and how durable it is.

[Alastair]

I have a couple of friends in the US who have one, and although I've never seen one, apparently it is absolutely bomb-proof, and without question one of the best heads on the market.

However, it's big and heavy. Some people have gone with the smaller heads...

People talk about their (RRS) stuff in superlatives, and wonder why everything isn't made as well as what they make.

Course you could always get the Arca Swiss Cube... It's pretty nice. But a bit on the expensive side...

Cubed head

[Mike Guilbault]

Wow.. that Cube looks like you'd need an engineering degree to operate it! Nice piece of equipment - but like you said, on the expensive side.
I've been wondering if the BH40 will suffice, save a little on the weight, but I only want to buy one, that's why I was considering the BH55.

[glombick]

I'm in Edmonton, but I am using the BH-40 ball head with a Berlebach ash tripod. It is quite a sturdy set-up. I can't remember the specs, but I think it is good up to 25 lbs or more.

The quality and craftsmanship of the BH-40 are superb. I was amazed. It is bombproof, durable (so far), and pretty much maintenence-free as there is no lubricant. In addition to the locking lever (nice and big) and the horizontal panning lock, there is a tension control knob. This prevents your camera and and lens from falling forward if you let go for a moment, depending on the friction. If I am panning wildlife, I keep it quite loose. I am very happy with the controls, except I wish the knob had a rubber coating to use in cold temperatures. It's big enough to use with mitts though. The locking lever is set up so you use your left hand and the right hand for the other two. There are two recessed slots. I use an L-plate with my D200 and it works great for switching from landscape to portriat. Much easier than finding the recessed slot.

The BH-40 is plenty sold for a D200 and a Nikkor 18-200mm VR. It would be fine for a Nikkor 300mm f4as well. If you use really big glass, you may want to get a separate lens mount. Unless you shoot large-format or use very big glass often, I suspect the BH-40 would be fine. I would call them up and talk to them personally. It also depends on which tripod legs you are using. Putting the BH-55 on super light carbon fiber legs would make it top-heavy.

As for price, it's not cheap, but it may be the last ball head you ever buy. I've never used an Arca-Swiss, but I would say they are comparable in quality, except the BH-40 doesn't seem to lock up. I would rather spend less on legs and more on a great ball head, than spend an large amount on carbon fibre legs for a marginal weight savings and end up with a top-heavy tripod with a cheap ball head instead.

This is off-topic, but I also love my Berlebach wooden tripod. It's a bit on the heavy side, but quick and easy to set up and fine unless you are travelling light or backpacking. As I'm disabled and can't walk far, it perfect from me, as most of the things I shoot are in my home studio or very close to a road. I just jump out of the van, pull out the legs and lock them down, slip the camera plate into my BH-40 and I'm ready to shoot. Infinitely better than my old Manfrotto tripod system which my wife still uses for backpacking.

Hope this helps.

[Mike Guilbault]

My RRS BH-55 Came Today!

First of all, I was told it would take about a week, so I should have got it this coming Thursday, but it arrived today instead - Not bad for shipping to Canada.

First impression: beautifully made, smaller than I expected but a nice 'heft' to it. Even with the large main knob, it still is smaller than the old Manfrotto ball I'm replacing (I think it was called a Midi, but I'm not sure anymore - had it for about 15 years). The 55 has a very low profile, part of the design, but makes the head look and feel very sturdy.

It was simple to attach to my Manfrotto 058 (Triaut). Screwed on without a fuss. The Manfrotto column also has three set screws that help keep the head locked in position. I read somewhere not to overtighten these as it could lead to less than smooth panning action - so I didn't. Just tight enough to feel the resistance.

Next was to mount the RRS L-Plate to my D200. Nothing could be easier and it's such a tight, secure fit. The plate isn't intrusive at all and my hand still holds the camera the way it always does for handheld work. The two rubber doors are a little tricky to open, but I rarely use them anyway, so it's of no concern to me. It's light but solid and mounts quickly with a supplied allen key.

Now to attach it on the BH-55. The lever clamp is very well made. A little stiff to close at the moment, but I think that will loosen up a little (I hope), but on the other hand, there's no mistaking it's not locked in place. The action is smooth and positive. The camera/plate easily slid into place and a quick press of the lever and it was locked. I played for awhile switching from horizontal to vertical, checking the lens displacement when switching (virtually none). This operation took only minutes to become second nature and is much quicker than dropping the camera down one of the two slots for vertical and repositioning the tripod. My only problem is that on the Manfrotto 058 tripod, there is a knob to lock the geared centre column in place when it's extended. Unfortunately, this knob prevents the camera from going to a full 90 degree drop into the left side slot. I have to either raise the centre column slightly or use the pan and move the head around a little to avoid the knob. It's not a fault of the head, but more of the tripod. But since I have the L-Plate now, it's not of any concern.

Ok, the camera is mounted, now the knobs. The main locking knob is large, fits nicely in my fingers and is positive and precise. You don't have to 'crank' it to lock it tight. And joy of joys - I found no creeping or slight movement, or dropping, or shifting (when locking) what-so-ever. I frame an object precisely and once locked - there was not shift at all. I'm VERY satisfied in this regard.

Next was the tension control... a seperate knob, tucked away nicely but easy to get to if needed. I already like the seperate knob and find fine-tuning it quite easy. Although, the manual recommends that you loosen the main knob, and tighten the tension until you feel the desired control. I found this method produced rather jerky results and was hard to turn to the point I needed. I was quite disappointed all of a sudden. Movement of the head was jerky, stiff and difficult to position the camera precisely.

However, I then locked the main knob first, then tightened the tension control until I felt some 'good' resistance. Loosened the main knob and the tension was almost perfect. Of course with a larger lens on the camera, it becomes very 'front-heavy' and needs a little more tension to stop if from drooping when the main knob is loosened. This makes it harder to move the camera around, but it's still possible. As I used the head throughout a shoot today, the smoothness increased. I think it needed to be broken in a little. My initial disappointment turned to pleasure. The more I worked with it, the more I liked it.

The manual recommends that you place the drop notch to the left and the other drop notch to the front. This places the main knob pointing at about a 45 degree angle to your left and towards you and the other knobs slightly forward and to your right. This seems logical, allowing you to hold the camera in your right hand as you tighten the head with the left. However, I found it much easier to place the main knob to the right. I thought I held the camera with my right hand, but more often than not, I'm actually cradling the camera and lens with my left. I found that I could hold the camera steadier with my left hand and there was less movement to lock the head with my right hand. Once locked, and my right hand back on the camera controls, my left hand was then free to work the panning and tension control knobs. Wow - this worked beautifully!! This does place a drop notch directly to the rear rather than to the front, but again, with the L-Plate it's of no great concern. In fact, I prefer it this way as I can always drop the camera 'back', so that I can see the settings and the top of the camera more easily when changing something... especially when the camera is positioned higher than me (which at 5'7" is more often than you would think! ) Of course if I need to point the camera farther than the top of the head will allow, I can always pan a little and reposition the notch for the odd time I need it. The other advantage of no notch at the front, is that if you loosen the ball and the camera does flop forward, it only goes about 45 degrees rather than the full 90 and stops before being damaged. (This happened to me before I got the tension control working the way I wanted it.)

I received the 55 literally moments before I had to leave on a shoot. Within 10 minutes I had the plate mounted to the camera and the head to my 058. Played a few minutes and the rest was 'on the job training'. But within an hour of the three hour shoot, the 55 was performing like it was second nature, a natural extension of my hand, and mind. Very intuitive, ergonomically excellent, and simply a pleasure to use.

I want to thank everyone that put up with me, including my wife, over the last 7 months or so that I was trying to decide on which head to get. Your many comments, insights and all your feedback was invaluable to me in making my decision.

Cheers everyone!

Mike Guilbault
http://www.mgphotography.com