Choosing a Good Head for My Tripod

[Laron]

Hi everyone,
I would like to ask you for recommendations for a tripod head for Velbon Sherpa 600 R tripod.
Mostly I take outdoor pictures of children, dogs and some nature macros aswell.
I was thinking about buying a ball head, but I don´t know how to choose. The price should be max. 100-120 $.
I wonder, in case I would choose one from Manfrotto, would it be a problem to adjust it to my tripod?
Thanks for any advices in advance.
B.

 

[bratkinson]

In looking at the description of the Velbon Sherpa 600 at the Adorama website, I'm concerned about its' maximum weight of 8.8 pounds. That might become a limitation, especially if you are shooting with some long lenses that can weigh more than you'd like to carry. The consequences of getting an 'underweight' ball head means your camera will 'droop' if it can't fully support the weight. I found out the hard way with a cheapo $65-70 ball head on my monopod when I mounted my 24-105. You need both a tripod that can support the weight of your gear (don't forget a flash, too, if mounted!) and the weight of the ball head itself, part of the 8.8 pounds the tripod can handle.

The next question is how are you going to mount your camera to the tripod? If you're planning on simply using the screw hole in the bottom of you camera, that might be a limiting factor on your choices. If you intend to get an L bracket for your camera, then you'll need an appropriate clamp for the top of the ball head.

I myself have an old Velbon tripod from 35+ years ago, that has a pan head similar to the one shown on your tripod. That worked fine for me until I put an L bracket on my camera. But rather than buy a ballhead in the $250&up range, I simply bought a clamp that works with my L bracket, and kept the pan head. I don't need the 'fast flexibility' of a ball head on my tripod.