No recommendations, just a few ramblings:
Weight for weight ball heads offer more stability than 2-way heads but in addition to pan and tilt also have the undesirable characteristic for scope use of lateral tilt. This is at its worst when used on a monopod, when one lateral tilt compounds another.
I bought my first scope about 20 years ago and initially used it on an old Gitzo Studex, which had been bought for use with a view camera. It weighed nearly 6 kg and the 3-way head not only lacked smoothness but accounted for 1,7 kg. The head was soon replaced with a small FLM friction ball head to which I atached a Manfrotto QR clamp.
Though still too heavy, the combination worked satisfactorilly with a 65 mm scope and I later progressed to a Gitzo G2942L basalt tripod (inadequately stable) and a Gitzo G1277M ball head. The combination goes high and works excellently at binocular magnifications for stargazing.
Ball heads can be divided into three categories. There are the cheap lock or flop variety, which cannot be recommended for any application; then there are those (like the Gitzo G1277M) with a progressive locking function which also adjusts friction and these can be almost as good as heads with separate locking and friction adjustment.
For birding though, I eventually saw the light and bought the newly introduced Berlebach 552 2-way head about 15 years ago and it is currently fitted to a Berlebach 302 wooden tripod without centre column.
A few weeks back after endless cloudy nights we had clear skies and I took the Berlebach combination outside to observe Jupiter and the Pleiades with my Kowa 883. However at higher elevations the eyes go up and the eyepiece goes down and stooping was very uncomfortable.
The current Berlebach Report tripods are modular and the sensible solution would have been to purchase one of the three available centre columns (25 mm, 25 mm geared or 40 mm geared). However, on a whim I ordered a Novoflex ClassicBall 3 II to fit to the old Studex.
I'm something of a fan of Novoflex gear and have a TrioPod wit CF legs for my smaller scope. They often offer innovative solutions and the ClassicBall has three "drop slots" enabling me to eliminate the lateral tilt and rotate the scope 90° in its collar for normal viewing. Using the central drop slot enables me to place the locking lever on the opposite side instead of in a poorly accessible position on other ball heads.
An unusual feature of interest to panorama photographers is that the 1/4" / 3/8" stud on the top plate can be inserted in the base (with spirit level) and the ball head reversed and levelled.
Using the head as described it's very similar to a gimbal head. The pivot axis passes almost exactly through the centre of gravity of the scope and I only need the first of five friction settings. To minimize friction and wear I applied a soft pencil (graphite) to the machined inner surface of the drop slot and everything moves very smoothly in pan and tilt and stays in position. Couterbalances on 2-way heads are often too strong for scope weights and require force for higher elevations.
On some travel tripods the legs can be folded back 180° over the centre column to save space. This is possible with a ball head but seldom with a 2-way head.
One caveat for the use described above is that the centre of gravity of the set-up is off centre and there is an increased risk of everything being knocked or blown over if the tripod is very light or the leg angles are only around 20°.
John
Weight for weight ball heads offer more stability than 2-way heads but in addition to pan and tilt also have the undesirable characteristic for scope use of lateral tilt. This is at its worst when used on a monopod, when one lateral tilt compounds another.
I bought my first scope about 20 years ago and initially used it on an old Gitzo Studex, which had been bought for use with a view camera. It weighed nearly 6 kg and the 3-way head not only lacked smoothness but accounted for 1,7 kg. The head was soon replaced with a small FLM friction ball head to which I atached a Manfrotto QR clamp.
Though still too heavy, the combination worked satisfactorilly with a 65 mm scope and I later progressed to a Gitzo G2942L basalt tripod (inadequately stable) and a Gitzo G1277M ball head. The combination goes high and works excellently at binocular magnifications for stargazing.
Ball heads can be divided into three categories. There are the cheap lock or flop variety, which cannot be recommended for any application; then there are those (like the Gitzo G1277M) with a progressive locking function which also adjusts friction and these can be almost as good as heads with separate locking and friction adjustment.
For birding though, I eventually saw the light and bought the newly introduced Berlebach 552 2-way head about 15 years ago and it is currently fitted to a Berlebach 302 wooden tripod without centre column.
A few weeks back after endless cloudy nights we had clear skies and I took the Berlebach combination outside to observe Jupiter and the Pleiades with my Kowa 883. However at higher elevations the eyes go up and the eyepiece goes down and stooping was very uncomfortable.
The current Berlebach Report tripods are modular and the sensible solution would have been to purchase one of the three available centre columns (25 mm, 25 mm geared or 40 mm geared). However, on a whim I ordered a Novoflex ClassicBall 3 II to fit to the old Studex.
I'm something of a fan of Novoflex gear and have a TrioPod wit CF legs for my smaller scope. They often offer innovative solutions and the ClassicBall has three "drop slots" enabling me to eliminate the lateral tilt and rotate the scope 90° in its collar for normal viewing. Using the central drop slot enables me to place the locking lever on the opposite side instead of in a poorly accessible position on other ball heads.
An unusual feature of interest to panorama photographers is that the 1/4" / 3/8" stud on the top plate can be inserted in the base (with spirit level) and the ball head reversed and levelled.
Using the head as described it's very similar to a gimbal head. The pivot axis passes almost exactly through the centre of gravity of the scope and I only need the first of five friction settings. To minimize friction and wear I applied a soft pencil (graphite) to the machined inner surface of the drop slot and everything moves very smoothly in pan and tilt and stays in position. Couterbalances on 2-way heads are often too strong for scope weights and require force for higher elevations.
On some travel tripods the legs can be folded back 180° over the centre column to save space. This is possible with a ball head but seldom with a 2-way head.
One caveat for the use described above is that the centre of gravity of the set-up is off centre and there is an increased risk of everything being knocked or blown over if the tripod is very light or the leg angles are only around 20°.
John
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