Cheap Chinese ball head

[Leo.G (Leo)]

I'm searching for a ball head for a recently acquired Manfrotto with 15KG load capacity. I can't afford a suitable Manfrotto head.
I've been looking at several different Chinese made units around the $100 mark (some a little more, some a little less).
I like the units with the twin cut-outs and took a liking to the Weyllan units but the feedback I've seen in reviews isn't overly good.
The Bexin get decent feedback on AliExpress but finding reviews isn't easy.


From my own research it seems some of them are not so good in the colder weather and the town I live in sits in a cooler climate region and my primary use would be through winter when the skies are clearer and crisper and my son stands out with me at -12c in bare feet (his mother is Uruguayan and part red Indian, I know which part, lol. That's a fallacy, her feet were always like her heart, freezing (wait, one she didn't even have what am I saying.....))


Has anyone had any experience with the cheaper Chinese made ball head mount (arca Swiss compatible) or any recommendations?
Yes, I'd like the Manfrotto unit, the XPRO BHQ2 which suits the tripod but it's beyond my financial means


I like the following unit but it's single cut out but it looks like it's a Russian made unit and it would likely support the Eiffel tower. The issue is many of these items use/require a lubrication grease, something expensive units don't require. I'd prefer not to have to lube the head (it's bad enough I have to do that with my own).


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32792656780.html

[Crater101 (Warren)]

I have a variety of tripods with different brands of heads. Recently, I've picked up two "Artcise" Brand, one slightly smaller than the other, on eBay. I don't remember what the big one cost, but the smaller one - the NB28 - was about $50 delivered. That one takes a load of about 10Kg, and is about 4cm across the base. The other is slightly larger.
I've found them reasonably good to hold a camera and lens for wide field astro/landscape images, no major dramas at all. I'm talking along the lines of a Canon 6D and Samyang 14mm lens.

There are a couple of sellers with them on eBay, just make sure you check the feedback rating of them before you buy.

[Leo.G (Leo)]

Thanks Warren!
I've seen the Artcise brand, they are apparently also the company behind the Weyllan brand too.
They do look good, especially for the money.

[JA]

Hi Leo,

Whether the head you're after is for photography, videography or for a scope, I'd much prefer a "fluid" video pan tilt head to a ball head. There's far more control and usually much better load capacity. the only thing you have to be sure of is whether the head can tilt up to the zenith. On my Manfrotto 501 video head it will do about a 70° tilt upward, but if you reverse the mounting it will get to 90° (zenith).

If you go for such a fluid head (and there are Chinese copies of such) see if you can try before you buy as smoothness of motion is important in helping with tiny adjustments and also check for range of motion in reaching the zenith. You also need to decide, but looks like you already have, on Manfrotto versus Arca Swiss compatible heads.

I suspect something like this would be OK, but this uses a Manfrotto compatible plate. I'm sure you'd find similar with Arca Swiss compatibility. Whatever you do ... Don't buy a dinky little head of either type. Remember try before you buy.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/27643632...Bk9SR-qSjLfmYw

Best
JA

[Leo.G (Leo)]

Thanks JA!
Main use will be still photography and an occasional light weight original Megrez SD 80mm refractor.

I have a smaller Manfrotto tripod I got used here some time back, it has a small head with very short levers and takes the 200PL plate. I'm not overly fond of the plate system as used on that particular head. It's a funny thing that doesn't look to sit flat and I've nearly dropped the camera a few times when I thought it was on (I always have the strap around my neck when mounting it).
That's not the fault of the plate or the head, that's probably more on my crappy sight and my other quick change plates on cheaper tripods sat flat.
Once my camera is set correctly in the head (on the plate) it's very secure. However I've used the Arca plate system on a friends 5D MK4 with his Gitzo equivalent CF tripod and didn't mind the ease of use of the plate.


My current Manfrotto has trouble reaching the zenith. I've found ways of reversing the camera and other strange ideas which I don't remember but worked on the night, all astro related. Though it's a 4Kg limit.

I'm not so fond of the ball head for astro, repeatability is not an option I've found but they are cheaper than the fluid heads.
Sadly unless I were to travel to Sydney (or outskirts) the chances of trying a head are slim.
I also have a pistol grip ball head here I'm quite fond of but it too has a 4Kg load limit. My D810 and old (91) 80-200 f2.8ED is just on the limit. The pistol grip isn't bad because the grip gives me a level of control but as I said, repeatability with ball heads for Milky Way shots is close enough to non existent.


Edit: Looking at the video heads they all seem to have rather large base diameters. I understand why (I have some old camcorders here (possibly even a full size VHS unit but I may have thrown that one out)) but it does limit me a little, either fluid video type head with 6-8Kg capacity or ball head with minimum 10Kg limit and correct size base (58 mm base but I will go to a 60mm head).