anrkitec

Did anyone here honestly feel that this was intended as a completley serious statement?

Come on now...

Judging by some of the comments after mine I am guessing that you are giving everyone a free shot at me...whatever - I can cope.

Actually I prefer the RRS, anyway…

I really can't help what you personally choose to see as insulting. I don't recall quoting anyone here and then calling them an idiot.

Unless the money just isn’t there right now – which I completely understand is a very real concern - I continue to seriously advise SeAAtle to ignore everything else on this issue and get either the Arca-Swiss or RRS head.

Do we know have a "tenor" standard here?

Sorry but I don’t do the saccharine happy-happy, joy-joy thing. If you feel that my not flittingly placing everyone else’s opinion on the same level as regards my recommendation to SeAAtle then - oh well.

SeAAtle and I have enough of a "relationship" on FT that he knows there are a fair amount of implied winking smilies and good natured ribbing going on and it is to him that my posts on this subject are generally addressed.

As to your comment about "the right solution for everyone" I stand unequivocally by my statements that unless money is the overriding concern, every other head on the market is complete crap regardless of ones brand of equipment or skill level.

Oh, and by the way, the Arca-Swiss B2 in fact supports 150 lbs. It's not about buying a head for a 150 lb load, it's just that this is what some of these heads, by virtue of their engineering, will support.

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion and I don't recall saying or even suggesting otherwise. I openly welcome any and all opinions – always have.

anrkitec

So was I when I was where he is at now - which is my whole point.

What if someone came here and, by their own description of their wants and needs clearly was at the level of a D80, D300, 40D, etc. but said that they were looking at the D40x because it seemed like a good deal. Would just shine him on and say "get the D40x and be happy", knowing they would out-grow the camera in a month?

Or would you make your point that spending more now might actually benefit him greatly in the near future?

And please, no self-serving, "well, I would have said it in a nicer way than you did". I was joking around with SeAAtle and were he here right now he would have known that.

As regards the original issue, ball heads, I now know that I made a serious mistake and wish that someone had at that time counseled me to do what I am suggesting SeAAtle do.

I would have ultimately saved money and had a lot more fun and success with using a tripod, even as a beginner.

SeAAttle

Thanks. Perhaps I should reconsider. Just to be clear, are you saying that the elbow bracket accomplishes essentially the same thing as a pano head?

Now, heading back over to OMNI where things are bit calmer.

pdxer

all it does is let you flip the camera vertically while keeping its weight centered over the tripod. otherwise the camera/tripod might be off balance if you flip it with the tripod head (and rotating that would move the camera in a circle, also not ideal).

for panos, if there isn't anything that would be affected by parallax (i.e., something in the foreground) and you want vertically stitched shots, then an elbow bracket should be adequate.

for inexpensive pano heads, check out:
http://www.nodalninja.com/
http://www.stereoscopy.com/jasper/panorama.html
http://www.kingpano.com/gallery/index.php
http://gregwired.com/pano/Pano.htm

and if you want to build one out of lego bricks, there's this:
http://www.philohome.com/legophoto.htm

anrkitec

Have you ever used a pano camera like a Linhof, Horseman, or Noblex - just curious?

pdxer

nope. i've seen various film panorama cameras but never used them. i've only done panoramas with digital.

anrkitec

I've been so tempted to buy something like a used Noblex.

They look really fun but the bodies and lenses are so expensive for such a narrowly defined field.

Then as you suggest you also lose the convenience of digital and Photoshop.

cj001f

a)I know that I don't know what kind of pictures they take and who they are
b)photo forum end game is always buy the most expensive thing on the market
c)that a binary spend $1000 or spend $25 is silly

SeAAttle

Any comments on this combo? (the head, plate, etc, not the legs)

anrkitec

That is pretty close to my rig though that one is a bit beefier, a little overkill for the D200/300 unless you are using big glass - with those legs and the BH-55 Pro head [$455, $575 with the pano-head shown and up to 50 lbs] that rig could easily handle 4x5.

I have the BH-40 head which is almost identical to the BH-55 just smaller and lighter [$355 and up to 18 lbs] and Gitzo 1541 legs.

Based on your earlier comments I would guess that the BH-40 head would be best with either the Pro-II standard clamp and/or the PCL-1 pano-clamp and a camera-specific plate [$50]

For standard photography: BH-40 head w/Pro-II clamp [$365] w/D200/300 plate [$50] $415

For pano-photography add the PCL-1 head [$235] or buy the BH-40 with just the PCL-1 and not the Pro-II for [$515] with camera-pecific plate [$50] $565.