I am buying a new tripod. need Head ideas.

[Paul]

I am have narrowed down my search for a new tripd to the manfrotto 055XPROB wich has a good rebate now bringing the price down pretty reasonably. I am a little torn about what type of head to get. I currently use a ball head, which I like a lot, but am wondering if I should be looking for a different type of head, or stay with ball head, I will be using tripod for Macro, Landscape and Wildlife. 60% Macro/Landscape 40% wildlife. If I go with ball head I am leaning towards the manfrotto 055 style ball head. Any reason to bump up to Carbon Fiber, other than weight? and 2x the price?

[Dbl]

I have that same tripod and it has served me quite well. Other than weight and cost I see no huge advantage to carbon fiber unless you travel a lot. I have no problem lugging the weight of this tripod around but some might.

As far as the ball head goes a good ball head such as the 498RC2 will likely be more than adequate for you. I use a similar design with the QR plates. They work well for me.

RSS makes excellent heads such as the BH-55 along with Wimberly and Jobu. A Wimberly side kick is a great option for wildlife, it keeps camera lens combo centered on its center of gravity. Makes panning easy and keeps vibration down to a minimum. Of course all this comes at a price, you will be investing upwards of $500+ in a heart beat.

Bottom line there are a lot of options that will cost the same as a camera! You have decide what combination of weight, and features you want and go from there.

[Paul]

Dan, I looked at that ball head when I was in the cities last weekend at West and Nat Cam. I thought that was an ok head, but I liked the way the 055 mangesium ball head, at almost double the price of the one you sugested. And surprisingly the the weight difference between carbon fiber and aluminum is only 16 oz. I had actually thought it was quite a bit more untill I looked again on Manfrottos HSOforum. I looked at the 190's also but they are too short, so the 055pro tripod had every feature I wanted and needed. adjustable leg positions, and tilting, and reversable center colum. I guess now I have to just decided how much ching to drop on the ball head. Of course I would be fairly happy with a nice weatherby Gimball head, but I dont want to sell my truck to buy it. LOL

Thanks for your response.

And I am not sure what my current tripod weighs, but I am willing to say it is not quite the 4 lbs the current one weighs, but the stability will be much better. time to say goodby to my old manfrotto 725b digi ball head tripod and let someome else have a few years of enjoyment with it.

[Paul]

Dan, I wanted to drop a quick line to say thank you on your ball head suggestion. I was really leaning towards the magnesium 054 but decieded to go with the 498RC2. I am glad I did, because I couldnt beleive how big that 498 was, then to go even bigger. Any way, thanks for the tip, now to go out and lug that heavy combo around the woods for while.

paul

[Dbl]

Great Paul, sounds like you have a good setup! I really don't notice the weight all that much, but I don't do long day long hikes with it either. It is a good combination for me. Happy hunting!!!

[Paul]

I unfortunatly do a lot of hiking with it, but I wanted something stable that doesnt blow in the wind when shooting macro or with my 100-400. I will have to rethink my hiking strategy, and since i sold my old manfroto 725b for $100 to finance the ball head, I am forced to put my big boy pants on and do some heavy carrying, LOL, once again thanks again. If the fishing is slow I may get some use out of it this weekend around the cabin.