I think ball heads are a very personal thing... or maybe it depends on
the quality of the ball head. I have a Manfrotto aluminum tripod about
15 years old. I don't remember the number but, functionally, it's
similar to the 190XPROB except mine is not black. I would recommend a
tripod similar to this since it allows re-inserting the column
horizontally. Mine also has a separate stubby column to allow going
close to the ground.
<http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=manfrotto+190xpro&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=>
When I bought it (for use with OMs) I got a Manfrotto ball head. It
could get very floppy if you loosened the screw too much and you had a
risk of a heavy camera and lens falling over. I soon replaced that with
a Manfrotto 3-way head which I liked much better except that one of the
axes was not smooth operating. It was kind of herky-jerky in some
places making accurate setting very difficult at times. I even tried
lapping the bearing surfaces with some valve grinding compound to no
avail. Over the years I've purchased two other low cost ball heads and
found them really no different than the Manfrotto. I don't know where
the Manfrotto is at the moment but maybe (like the other cheap one
that's at hand) there is no drag adjustment which may be what's required
to keep them from flopping over. It took me many years but I finally
bought a 410 Jr. geared head
<http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/124665-REG/Manfrotto_410_410_Junior_Geared_Head.html>
and that has made all the difference in the world. Not light but very
precise. Makes landscape and pano work much easier.
Chuck Norcutt
On 7/27/2013 12:30 PM, Johnie Stafford wrote:
> OK, at the risk of starting a religious war, I would like some advice.
>
> I'm looking for a steady, reasonably priced aluminum tripod to use with my
> E-M5.
>
> http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/748116-REG/manfrotto_mk294a3_a0rc2_294
> _aluminum_3_section_tripod.html
>
> Has anybody used one of these Manfrotto 294's with the ball head? How is
> this ballhead? I've always used multi-axis heads before, but the simplicity
> of a ballhead is attractive.
>
> TIA
>
> Johnie Stafford
> McKinney, TX
> jms@xxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
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