Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hi everyone,

I am trying to purchase a ball head for my tripod, did a little bit research my own, now narrow down between 498CR2 and 496CR2. Anyone can give me some comments about these two heads or even better options? BTW, I mainly use Canon 5D Mark 2 plus 24-70 F2.8.

Many Thanks,

Janet

I own the 486RC 2....its fantastic ..but i like the pistol grip ...
I never used a pistol grip....From the looks of it... makes me feel that I can use it a lot better than my 486RC2....
good luck

But Yesh, do you think 486 can support Mark 2 very well? Plus a flash? Will be too heavy for it?

Yea it will

I use that 498 and it's more than enough for the combination you have, if you go into 300+ lenses then better get a bigger head

i'm not a huge expert, but i recently purchased a Vanguard SB-250 and it's absolutely solid. Many reviews out there said it was one of the better ballheads for the price (approx $100).

Very well built.. check it out if you're still open to other options.

Dimitri,

How come your still leave Etobicoke there, only adding "currently in Vancouver", does that mean you will come back to TO right after your study?

The 498 is about 0.5lb heavier than 496. If you and Yesh both think 496 is not enough for my body+lens+flash, I feel like have no other options other han 498 although I don't think I will use flash that often on my tripod, just need to be in case. Prepare for the heaviest setting for your head and tripod, right?

Janet

For a 5D II level camera (pro grade camera), I say steer clear of the Manfrotto RC2's. Nothing but problems.

A little more money, but I highly suggest going to an Arca Swiss style of QR plate. You can modify most of the ball heads mentnioned in this thread to accept an arca swiss clamp from various manufacturers, or get a ball head with one included.

You can get an Arca Swiss QR plate that is custom fit to your camera body, so it will not rotate on the tripod screw (an extremely common occurrence with the Manfrotto RC2's).

One example: http://acratech.net/home.php?cat=131
Or for the top of the line: http://reallyrightstuff.com/Items.aspx? ... k2&key=cat

Note, these plates or l-brackets need not be removed ever.

you should give me your rc2 plates

We can discuss a trade.

Not true, I can only say the 496 doesn't have separate panning control. Limiting. 498/488 is better

I am using a 496RC2 and i find it perfect for my use. I have used it with a 5d and a 70-200 f4 and flash and found it to be stable. If you are too demanding of your equipment, you will be spending a lot more money everytime you buy.

So what does that extra knob do? I thought one for the ball and socket, the other one for the panoramic rotation axis. Is that enough?

Have you given any thought to the Vanguard ball head. Ive been really happy with mine.

that's it. 486 only has one

The second knob is for tension I believe, not panning.

The Vanguard GH100 looks promising.

I looked at the GH100 but settled on the BH100. I felt the pistol grip was too bulky for what I intended. Here is a review of the GH100.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxFHMCFgSE8

Nope, it's panning control. 498 has 3 controls as opposed to 488: ball release, pan and tension control

Aren't we talking about the 496? .. I think we need pictures

Is the tension control really important for a tripod? The price difference is 30 bucks, plus 498/488 is about 0.5lb heavier, taller too. Before digging into this ball head topic, I thought two controls is more general setting. Now I am confused...

Come on, guys, read carefuly:
http://www.manfrotto.com/product/8374.3 ... ect_System

Do you see 2 controls?

only 488 and 498 have separate pan control. 498 is lighter and smaller than 488. 488 doesn't have a tension control as far as I remember. You don't need tension control at all.

I totally don't know which ballhead we are talking about now so I give up.

We had mentioned Manfrotto 486RC2, 488RC2, 498RC2
There is also a 496RC2, I believe. Best choice among those right now is 488RC2 or its newer brother 498RC2

http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-496RC2- ... 729&sr=8-1

Seems like now 496 has a separate pan control. Then which one will you choose?

Sorry, my bad...that extra knob is for tension control, still not the panning one.

I would recommend that you buy a Arca Swiss plate compatable head. Their clamp system if far superior to the proprietary plates. Great ball heads made by Really Right Stuff and Kirk Photo that you can find at their websites and cheaper ones by Induro / Benro that you can find on ebay.

true, except the cost goes up at least 2x

I used to have a 488RC2. Not too bad a head if your gear is lightweight but once you start mounting a 70-200f2.8 attached to a 5DMKII with grip or 1D body, you'll find yourself having to compensate for creep. I ended up selling that head for an Arca Swiss Z1.

Arca Swiss, Really Right Stuff, Kirk cost 2-3x as much but so worth it. Even the cheaper Benro Arca Swiss compatible heads were pretty solid too. Nice thing about that is that they all take Arca Swiss plates.

3x.

1x to buy the Manfrottol
2x to correct it.