Quote:
Originally Posted by WyoNewk
That's nonsense. A good ball head will support any lens you'll ever need. As an example, a Kirk BH-1 is rated to hold 50 pounds.
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There's a catch to the load ratings though, that needs to be understood when making a decision on what to purchase.
The rating given is for "safe" use, in that it won't break. Hence it is absolutely correct that a Kirk BH-1 ball head will "support" virtually any DSLR type camera and lens combination. The question is though, would you want to use that? And the answer is
definitely not.
Figure about 1/3 of the load rating is the largest reasonable weight that is
functional. That is, the controls still work, to some degree. For that reason one
typically does not want to exceed about 1/4 the load rating. For the BH-1 then, probably about 13 pounds is it, and up to 18 or so in a pinch. (It's good for a pro model camera and up to maybe a 300mm f/4 lens.)
But it's also necessary to consider whether that functionality is the most versatile too. A couple of examples will help to see the point.
There are DSLR/lens combinations that hit right at 20 pounds. It just would not be a smart idea to use a ball head (Kirk or otherwise) for a Nikon D3 with a 2x TC and a 400mm f/2.8 AF-I lens. Even the lesser gimbal heads won't handle that without being just a pain in the whatever to deal with! That is the heaviest of Nikon's long telephotos, but I wouldn't use a ballhead for any of their lenses from 300mm f/2.8 on up.
Another case in point would be doing photomacrography at greater than 1:1 magnification. For example with a reproduction ratio in excess of 2x, using perhaps a 200mm macro lens and a 2x TC. There is just no substitute for a gearhead! And once again the smaller available models won't even do well in critical cases. I really enjoy being able to use a Majestic gearhead that would still work with ease even if I did actually put 25 or 30 pounds on it.
Those are two instances where a ballhead, even with a huge load rating, just is not the right tool. And obviously by the same token there are many many situtations where a ballhead like the BH-1 is just a suburb tool for dealing with a typical DSLR and "normal sized" lenses.
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