Hin's Photo Corner

I had my Linhof ballhead for a while. Special thanks to my good friend Hoa/SOldBear for letting me buy it cheaply from him. It is always good to have friends to share on interesting gear. Since the Linhof ball-head only comes with a fixed knob of screw that is not quick release type, I find it difficult to mount between lens. Hence I have been looking for a while for a quick release assembly that works with the Linhof ballhead. I am so glad to have found Giottos MH-652 in Adorama. It comes with a quick plate Giottos MH-642 though my copy doesn't seem to be in corkscrew type. The combo works great together. It is built strong and a bit on the heavy side. The quick release is secure and stable.


And I recently learned that Ned Bunnell also used this ballhead for a long time. When I saw the article from Ned, I quickly got my act together to find the quick release that would work with the Linhof ballhead.

The Linhof is a bit bigger than my cheapo Benro lookalike KS-0 Professional ball-head and it has a better plate where I can screw on tight with a ring like screw nut. Unlike the KS-0 ballhead, I have to use a coin to tighten up the release plate. And to my surprise, the nut is actually compatible between the two quick release plates. The plates are not compatible though. I am hoping to order a copy of Giottos MH-642 so that I can replace the screw nut in the quick release plate on the KS-0 to use it for a lighter setup.


I am happy to put the combination to work with my Pentax 645N and my Amvona AT-CF992 tripod.




I am yet to put the combo into more strenuous test with heavy and longer lens such as my Photosniper Tair-3 Phs 300mm f/4.5 in M42 or my Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5 with a TC.


Related:

• Benro lookalike KS-0 Professional ball-head
• Amvona AT-CF992 tripod
• Pentax 645N
• Photosniper Tair-3 Phs 300mm f/4.5 in M42
• Pentax F* 300mm f/4.5
• Hin's Camera Gear
  

I have been taken a hiatus from blogging after I get a bit burned out in setting out various milestones to trim my gear. I bought my 645N over six months ago and it was not until the last weekend that I got a reasonably sturdy ballhead that I could take it out for some test shots.


I have a better ballhead with Linhof but I don't have the right base plate for quick release. I took a gamble in getting a cheap and seemingly inexpensive ball-head to try from ebay on KS-0 professional tripod ballhead. It came from Hong Kong and with shipping, it only costs $40. I won't recommend it right away as the build is not as good as I would like. But so far it does the job fine for me. I especially like the two controls knobs to secure the ball-head firmly in place while having the 3rd smallest knob for rotation. The unexpected weakness is on the 3/8" screw that I need to secure with a coin on the quick release. That is very inconvenient to use.



The ball-head claims to support 8 Kg or 17.6 lb and I am yet to test it on a heavier setup with longer telephoto lens. When I mounted my Pentax 645N with a FA 45mm f/2.8, the setup is very sturdy on the ball-head. I can actually carry the camera mounted on tripod while looking for a spot to set up the shooting. When I use the ballhead of my Tamron SP 500mm f/8.0 adaptall-2 (55BB), the whole thing looks sturdy and easy to use.









Impressions & Notes

• Quite small and have two knobs to tighten the ball-head in place
• Third smallest knob is used for rotation, quite smooth in the field
• ball-head claims to support for 8kg/17.6lb and so far so good in first outing with Pentax 645N
• First weakness is on the use of quick plate that is difficult to tighten unless I use a coin to help
• Second weakness on the knob control on the locking plate as I found the knob getting stuck in unwinding a couple of times. It looks like some lubricant is needed to help to ease up the friction noted.
• I like the extra locking feature which prevents the locking plate from dismounting.
• Build is not fantastic but I find it reasonable for the price.
• Seems easy to use with exception on tightening the locking plate screw, a coin can address the problem but it is still inconvenient for quick release.
• The KS-0 ball-head seems similar in design to Benro ball-head that I have seen.

Related:

• Pentax 645N purchase
• Canon 8800F flatbed film scanner
• Linhof Ballhead and Giottos MH-652
  
• Amvona AT-CF992 tripod
• Tamron SP 500mm f/8.0 adaptall-2 (55BB)
• Pentax K-x White Arrival
• Hin's Camera Gear