Ball Head for a Monopod: I need some advise please. I recently purchased a Manfrotto Monopod - here's the link to the one I purchased :...

Grace98 Loc: Waterlooville, Hampshire - United Kingdom

I need some advise please. I recently purchased a Manfrotto Monopod - here's the link to the one I purchased : https://www.jessops.com/search?q=manfrotto+elements+monopod. i'm looking for a ballhead for it but don't know which one to get...don't wish to spend a lot of money, having just purchased a Nikon D7500. Any suggestions please. For the interim, I'm using the ballhead which I had with a Joby GorillaPod SLR-Zoom which fits and seems to work. Any help much appreciated. Thank you...Grace

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I purchased this one, seems to work fine. Good for 6-1/2 pounds.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=email&A=details&Q=&sku=687361&is=REG

delkeener Loc: SW Rhode Island, USA

I use a monopod very often for sports photography and never found any need for any kind of head. The monopod by it's very nature is extremely flexible.

Suggest you use your monopod as is for a while before making it more complicated to use.

Grace98 wrote:

I need some advise please. I recently purchased a... (show quote)

thrash50

I use a ball head on a mono pod, for roof pictures, in my insurance survey job. I take 400 to 1000 pics a week, with this setup.
I went with one of the lest expensive ball heads, I could find online, and bought two, over a year ago and still use this setup daily.
I don't know the brand name, currently I use a very light camera on the mono-pod, but when I started, I was using a much heavier DSLR.
Obviously you do your research before buying, check pictures of product, weight rating, and both stainless ball, and set screw, (stainless/nonstainless combo will cause rust).

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Grace98 wrote:

I need some advise please. I recently purchased a... (show quote)

I prefer a tilt head on a monopod. Left and right action with a monopod simply requires turning. The tilt helps with up and down. I find the tension on a ball head too loose for a monopod.

Here is one Manfrotto 234RC Tilt Head for Monopods, with Quick Release

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554098-REG/Manfrotto_234RC_234RC_Swivel_Tilt_Head_for.html

rdubreuil Loc: Dummer, NH USA

Grace98 wrote:

I need some advise please. I recently purchased a... (show quote)

Rather than a ball head you'd be better served with a tilt head as you can already rotate about the axis of the monopod.

alx Loc: NJ

Grace98 wrote:

I need some advise please. I recently purchased a... (show quote)

Since you seem to be into BIF photography, you might want to think gimbal. See Steve Perry's recent video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wbQgQKqglc. Makes a lot more sense than a ball head for long lens work.

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

rdubreuil wrote:

Rather than a ball head you'd be better served with a tilt head as you can already rotate about the axis of the monopod.

The first decision is whether to use a pan/tilt head or ball head. A pan/tilt head is simpler to use and cheaper than a ball head. However when panning, you have to either move your body and/or relocate the monopod's foot to keep the image horizon level. That may or may not be practical for you. If you want a ball head, get one that can handle much more than the weight of the camera and lens. A heavy long lens forces the camera/lens down. Thus, you'll need a ball head that can handle several times the total camera/lens weight.

Bill_de Loc: US

I tried a ball head on a monopod and didn't like it. It might work if the monopod was the type that has feet. Otherwise things can move in too many directions at once. I went with a tilt.

Steve's use of a gimbal is interesting even though it adds weight. He actually uses it as a tilt head, having the panning motion locked as it is unnecessary. The advantage is that with a properly set up gimbal when you let go of the camera it stays pointed in whatever direction (up or down) you left it. You do not need to lock it in place. The knob can be completely loose.

BTW - At least 1/2 the visuals I see are not set up right.

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SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

I've used a small ball head on my monopod for several years and can give you a little advice. They do work well if sized correctly. The smaller ones simply will not stay in place with a large camera and a large lens. I'd get one rated for double the weight of the camera to allow for the weight of a long lens. The nice thing about a ball head is that you can switch the camera from horizontal to vertical format without the monopod being moved. This feature comes in real handy in tight spaces.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Grace98 wrote:

I need some advise please. I recently purchased a... (show quote)

Forget the ball head for a monopod. You want a pivot head. Some are very inexpensive.

User ID

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Plain 1-axis tilt. It's a monopod after all ....

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OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

I use these for Sports http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/heads/monopod-heads

rdubreuil Loc: Dummer, NH USA

SonyA580 wrote:

I've used a small ball head on my monopod for several years and can give you a little advice. They do work well if sized correctly. The smaller ones simply will not stay in place with a large camera and a large lens. I'd get one rated for double the weight of the camera to allow for the weight of a long lens. The nice thing about a ball head is that you can switch the camera from horizontal to vertical format without the monopod being moved. This feature comes in real handy in tight spaces.

Generally use of a monopod is with a camera and large lens combination, the monopod affixes via the foot on the lens collar, no need for a ball head to go vertical, loosen the collar and spin the whole rig to the vertical position.

rdubreuil Loc: Dummer, NH USA

alx wrote:

Since you seem to be into BIF photography, you might want to think gimbal. See Steve Perry's recent video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wbQgQKqglc. Makes a lot more sense than a ball head for long lens work.

It does make more sense than a ball head, although the OP is talking inexpensive. You'd be hard pressed to find a good quality gimbal for under 200 to 300 dollars. The gimbal head Steve's sporting in the video is a Wimberley, to the tune of 500 to 600 dollars, I pretty sure it's out of her price range.