Very sturdy and stable all metal midi ball head with the RC4 quick release system.
With its solid aluminum construction and phenolic resin ball, this head is the ideal support for all traditional or digital small or medium format cameras. It features separate fast action "ratchet" locks on 360° pan and +90 -90° tilt movements. You can position your camera anywhere in 180° sphere with confidence and ease. Equipped with a quick release 410PL camera plate system with a secondary safety catch and two spirit levels for precise levelling on both vertical or horizontal axes. Camera plate has 1/4" male thread. Head to tripod attachment is 3/8" female.
Registered: November 2007 Location: Sussex Posts: 440
Review Date: Tue January 1, 2008
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 7
Pros:
Sturdy, quick release
Cons:
price?
Firstly I don't actually have the quick release version of this head.
I have the 'plain' 488 but my comments will actually be more relevant, hopefully!
I usually use a 029 three way head but this is quite a beast and I wanted to save (luggage) weight for our summer hols. I therefore went with the plain 488 as it was the lightest head that could take a decent load. Oh and it was a sensible price.
Build quality is good and the ball lock offers quite a reasonable amount of friction adjustment. It doesn't have the same precision as a 3 way head but then no ballhead does. I doubt the friction adjustment is good enough to act as a panning head but do people want these kind of facility? It's also unlikely to be as smooth as a Acratech but hey it doesn't have the same price tag!
Now my biggest gripe with a 488 is the lack of quick release. Manfrotto have a clever sprung loaded screw thread for either 3/8 or 1/4. Very nifty but it is quite tedious to try and thread a camera on, especially if you are trying to do it quickly.
Consequently this version with a plate solves that issue and I'd whole heartedly recommend it on this basis.
I can live with my compromised choice of the 488 but if you're looking for just one head, then this would mate very well with a set of 190 legs.
