Ball Head

[mud711]

I have a MeFOTO travel tripod...so far it suits my needs. My concern is the ball head, will a larger or more heavy duty head be needed? I've gone from a Canon T3i to a 70D, I am looking at purchasing a Sigma 150-500. I would like to do some birding or other wildlife photos.
I imagine this has most likely been addressed several times in other posts, but right now I'm too tired to search through many threads, sorry.
TY

 

[SnappingShark]

I would check what wight your tripod legs are designed to hold.
I would then check the weight that your ballhead is supposed to hold.
I would then check the weight of the camera and equipment to make sure it can be held by the ballhead, and then weigh the camera equipment and ballhead to see if the legs can support that.

If all is yes, then you should be good.
If any part is no, find the weakest link

 

[mud711]

TY for your response.....after checking all the specs the tripod is stated to hold 17.6lbs, the camera and 150-500 lens weighs approximately 5.5 lbs.... so all should be good.

 

[tirediron]

TY for your response.....after checking all the specs the tripod is stated to hold 17.6lbs, the camera and 150-500 lens weighs approximately 5.5 lbs.... so all should be good.

What is the tripod HEAD rated to hold? A head rated for 17.6 pounds would be a pretty substantial beast indeed.

 

[TCampbell]

You'll need to test it. In astronomy we find that the "marketing" version of what a manufacturer claims a mount will hold vs. what the "user" considers adequate for a task (being able to take long exposures without being "springy" and allowing vibrations to blur the shot) are two entirely different values.

Our general guideline is not to exceed 50% of what the "marketing" values claims. For a tripod rated at 17.6 lbs... I probably wouldn't want to exceed 9 lbs.

 

[table1349]

As TCampbell said you need to test it. When it comes to ball heads generally the more you spend the better you get. A lot of ball heads will "hold" the weight. A good ball head will hold the weight with no movement once the head is locked. A large majority of heads will have sag once you let loose of you gear. Also design is important. You want a ball head with a separate friction control knob as well as panning. The shorter the ball stem as well as the entire head the better for stability. One thing to keep in mind, if you buy a good head you can conceivably use it the rest of you life. This is my personal choice and it performs flawlessly; BH-55 Full Size Ballhead There are many other good heads out there by other companies as well.

Lastly you might want to consider is going with the arca-swiss mounting system. Most all the top quality and even intermediate quality heads are now arca-swiss. By far one of the most stable and universal quick release systems available.

 

[mud711]

TY all...the MeFotto web site does not break down the weight bearing aspect of each component.
As suggested I will test my tripod whenever I pick up the lens. The travel tripod is great for travel, I was able to pack it in my baggage while traveling. But I think what I will eventually be doing is to purchase a sturdier tripod in the near future.