Did I buy the wrong tripod head?

[jwbryson1]

I just ordered this from B&H:

Manfrotto 327RC2 Joystick Head 327RC2 B&H Photo Video


Then I saw this on the B&H website which appears to be nearly identical but a bit smaller for smaller camera + lens combos:

Manfrotto 324RC2 Joystick Head 324RC2 B&H Photo Video


Did I order the wrong thing? Is the 327 too big? I have a D90 and my "biggest" lens is the 18-200mm.

 

[cgipson1]

I would stay with the larger head personally.. overkill is better than not enough....

 

[480sparky]

Have 'more' tripod than you need today prevents you from having 'too little' tripod down the road when you upgrade your gear or invest in long glass.

 

[jwbryson1]

Okay, then I will keep what I have. I just didn't want it to be "clunky" to use with my D90.


Thanks gentlemen...

 

[cgipson1]

Okay, then I will keep what I have. I just didn't want it to be "clunky" to use with my D90.


Thanks gentlemen...

larger units tend to be smoother and have better control than smaller units also.... no clunky involved!

 

[jwbryson1]

Good to know...

Know what's cool about that particular head? You can turn the camera 90 degrees from landscape to portrait without having to monkey with the legs and pull out that extender bar. I think that will be very helpful.

 

[cgipson1]

Good to know...

Know what's cool about that particular head? You can turn the camera 90 degrees from landscape to portrait without having to monkey with the legs and pull out that extender bar. I think that will be very helpful.

Cool! But a standard ballhead will do that also!

 

[jwbryson1]

Cool! But a standard ballhead will do that also!

:blushing: Yeah...I knew that.....so.....what.....(sniff...sniff...) :hail:

 

[cgipson1]

Cool! But a standard ballhead will do that also!

:blushing: Yeah...I knew that.....so.....what.....(sniff...sniff...) :hail:

hahahah...... you are cracking me up!

 

[Big Mike]

Good to know...

Know what's cool about that particular head? You can turn the camera 90 degrees from landscape to portrait without having to monkey with the legs and pull out that extender bar. I think that will be very helpful.

That will put the camera off centre, not ideal if you want to shoot vertical shots for stitching into panos (and that is the better way to shoot images for stitching panos).
Also, having the camera off centre will compromise the stability somewhat. It probably won't fall over, but it will be more susceptible to small vibrations, which can affect image quality.

 

[cgipson1]

That will put the camera off centre, not ideal if you want to shoot vertical shots for stitching into panos (and that is the better way to shoot images for stitching panos).
Also, having the camera off centre will compromise the stability somewhat. It probably won't fall over, but it will be more susceptible to small vibrations, which can affect image quality.

Agreed! L bracket is better!

 

[sovietdoc]

I wouldn't get a L bracket.

Maybe I am wrong but I always thought L bracket increased vibration. It's like always using your tripod with a few inches of column up, but instead of 1 inch diameter column tubing, your camera is connected to the tripod by a couple of pencil thin bits of machined aluminum.

I also thought it forced you to reorient the ball head whenever switching from a lens with its own tripod collar (which use plates with dovetails running fore and aft, the way Arca designed them to work) to a lens that requires you to use the plate on the camera (which use dovetails running sideways, the way someone at Really Rite Stuff (where "rite" is "rong") decided they should go).

I don't see a problem with stitching panos when you have ballhead with a pano base, that can do portrait mode at perfect 90 degrees lock, plus if you have a built-in electronic level in the camera.

 

[Derrel]

I have always believed in massive overkill on tripod heads when the head is of the ball-type or any variation thereof. Ball heads inherently have a pretty skimpy,sketchy "clamping" mechanism compared with the utter simplicity of a pan-and-tilt style head...so on any variant of a ball head, I have had the best luck with the MOST-massive models. I think you'll find the one you ordered to be "about right" in use.

 

[cgipson1]

I wouldn't get a L bracket.

Maybe I am wrong but I always thought L bracket increased vibration. It's like always using your tripod with a few inches of column up, but instead of 1 inch diameter column tubing, your camera is connected to the tripod by a couple of pencil thin bits of machined aluminum.

I also thought it forced you to reorient the ball head whenever switching from a lens with its own tripod collar (which use plates with dovetails running fore and aft, the way Arca designed them to work) to a lens that requires you to use the plate on the camera (which use dovetails running sideways, the way someone at Really Rite Stuff (where "rite" is "rong") decided they should go).

I don't see a problem with stitching panos when you have ballhead with a pano base, that can do portrait mode at perfect 90 degrees lock, plus if you have a built-in electronic level in the camera.

Putting the center of rotation dead center on the tripod is going to make for more accurate panning (but I do think the difference is minimal). I did read an article a ways back (will see if I can locate it).. that having the body centered on the tripod actually reduced vibration since it equallized stress on the tripod legs. Again.. very minimal difference if I remember correctly.. but there was some. I don't think better L brackets are going to vibrate much.. they are pretty heavy duty. And a lot of top PRO's use them... which says to me, rather loudly.. that they don't degrade IQ with vibration!

 

[Solarflare]

What would be really cool would be if you just could roate the sensor.

Or even better, if the sensor would be a circle at the maximal diameter, thus allowing to freely choose whatever format you like (like square, golden ratio ...) at maximum resolution.