RRS BD200-L nd which ball head?

<p>Hi,<br>

<br />I recently acquired the RRS BD200-L plate for Nikon D200. I was wondering which ball head in the $200-$300 range will go with this plate? Prefer a Quick release system recommendation please.<br>

http://reallyrightstuff.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=BD200-L&type=0&eq=BD200L-001&desc=BD200-L%3a-L-plate-Nik-D200-%26-S5-w%2fo-grip&key=ait<br>

<br />Thanks.</p>

<p>The L-bracket you have is a Arca Swiss quick release system, so any head with a Arca Swiss will work. How heavy is your heaviest lens? Obviously the ballhead should be sturdy enough to cope with that, so it'll be useful to know.</p>

<p>Like many who care about maneuvering a camera smoothly and then holding it still, I use an Arca-Swiss head, but RRS and several others also make excellent ones. You might have to raise the budget a bit, or look for a good used one. If you don't get a head made by RRS, there can be an advantage to a head with knob-type clamp as opposed to the flip-lock type.</p>

<p>Don't skimp on your ball head. It is a good investment, it will last through many camera bodies. Knowing what lenses you are using will help. These will work well with anything but big, big glass and in a pinch might even work with big glass. A little over your budget, but anything smaller, isn't worth using IMO.<br>

RRS BH-40<br>

Arca Swiss Z1 sp<br>

Or, a used Arca Swiss B1 should be under $300.</p>

<p>Thank You for the response guys.<br>

I completely agree that a good ball head will last many years. I am pretty happy with my Manfrotto tripod. Will the BH-40 LR II be able to handle a 70-200 lens? Currently I have the 18-200. But I am thinking of the 70-200 for sometime now and may get it next year. I don't think I will ever get a lens bigger than that.</p>

<p>Hi Milind,<br>

I have the BH-40 and have no doubt that it would readily handle a 70-200 lens. Like RSS themselves say, they are very conservative about the weight handling capabilities and I've found that to be true in practice.</p>

I have the BH-30 on a tqc-14 and it's ok with a 70-200. FWIW, I agree with Hector. I have the flip-lock - it's fine, but I wish

I had ordered the knob clamp. RRS makes beautiful equipment and their customer service is wonderful.

<p>Firstly, if you plan to support D200 + 70-200mm f2.8 combo, then I'm afraid that a camera L-plate (or "Only" a camera L-plate) is not the ideal way to go. For that combo, it's best to get a plate for the lens and mount the combo on a ballhead via the lens plate. Though you can certainly mount the combo via the camera L-plate, it will not be nearly as stable with awkward weight distribution toward rear of combo thus making it front heavy. For your existing D200 + 18-200mm f4.5-5.6 VR (or any other lens that is similar in size and bulk) combo however, the L-plate on the D200 will work nicely. RRS BH-40 will easily handle D200+motor drive+70-200 f2.8 (mounted at lens) with room to spare. In fact I've used it to support D3+300mm f2.8 (mounted at lens) without sweat. If your largest lens will be 70-200mm f2.8 and your body is a D200 witout drive, then even RRS smallest BH-25 can make do, but a BH-30 will be your best solution IMHO as it is compact and yet provide ample torquing and support. You can keep your L-plate on body to mount various lenses and still mount on a RRS head, but if you're going 70-200 f2.8 or larger, I highly recommend also obtaining a lens plate (either an add-on plate or a more expensive but sleeker foot replacement) as well. With the lens plate on the f2.8 telezoom, you can swivel easily between horizontal and vertical.</p>

<p>As for the lever-lock on RRS, it is as secure as their screw-lock, though not necessary so from other manufacturer. This is what Hector was implying in the latter part of his posting. The RRS lever-lock is not easy to get caught in the action and be pulled off as the lever very much conforms to the contour of the mount profile, or in another word the lever doesn't stick out much at all. You'll want to think about how you will be using your support system. Will it be a lot of quick set up and break down in the photography that you do (then lever-lock,) or will you mostly set it up and leave the combo mounted (then screw-lock)? </p>