Novoflex Magicball - anybody?

[kosta_cherry]

Hi All!

 

I'm looking for advice from someone who actually used Novoflex

Magicball . I'm upgrading equipment for my wife (she is the

photographer, I'm just sort of "technical director"). I'm sold on

Gitzo 1325 as for tripod, but cannot decide on a ballhead. I really

like the idea of Magicball - that you always are using only one knob

for setting camera in any position always - not two as on traditional

ballheads when camera is set vertical. Problem is, there no store

nearby to try any of ballheads - even traditional, so it would be sort

of "hit or miss" purchase. My main question is - does handle goes in

the way on a Magicball? I mean, haw far is it stick out? I can't find

numbers how long is it from the center of the ball to the end of the

handle. It seems that for their middle model (MB 50) total length is

150mm (which is too big for my taste), but I have no idea on

distribution of the length. Simply speaking, will the handle stuck

into the face or the camera?

 

Details: camera is Canon 20D, lens are 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 100/2.8L,

135/2.0L, 24-70/2.8, 70-200/2.8L IS, tripod Gitzo 1325 + quick column

(may be quick column is not a good decision?), her height is 5'4",

main work is portraits (studio/location/outdoors), weddings and still

life. I do the carrying job, so it's not an issue :).

 

I aware that Arca-Swiss, Kirk and Markins are considered the best, but

my second choice after Magicball (if it turns out to be not as good)

is Manfrotto 468MG as it features hydrostatic ball head. This is very

important as my wife is not strong (I'd say rather subtle), so

tightening knobs is an issue. In fact, I still cannot deside what is

more important in her case - ease of tightening with 468MG or ease of

operation with Magicball.

 

Did anybody used Magicball and/or 468MG here? I would really

appreciate any input. Or any other input considering our specific

situation/equipment.

 

SY-

Kosta.

[kosta_cherry]

Sorry, forgot to mention flash - Canon 580EX and planning to switch to doubled FP-38 or better model (if it ever goes to the market).

 

So, total weight of the heaviest lens + camera + flash + all the batteries will be ~2600g. Novoflex small Magicball model could handle ~5000g and has length 110mm, so it seems that if fits way better, but I hate to buy equipment twice in case anything heavier will be attached (I can't think of anything right now, but who knows?), so I was looking more for their middle model (MB 50). Or may be I'm wrong here?

 

And yes, we are dreaming about eventually going to middle format (saw that Leaf 22i? Yammy...)

 

SY-

Kosta.

[theorist]

Why exactly have you decided to go with a ball head? It sounds like she doesn't do any action photography, so IMHO a pan head might make more sense.

 

Anyway, I can't comment on the Novoflex as I have the Acratech head (which I adore).

[kosta_cherry]

Well,

 

when you shoot weddings and smaller kids, it is close to sports :).

I mean that for weddings you'd better react quick. You cannot ask B/G to wait when they exchange rings, you cannot ask them "Wait, keep that kiss, I have three tripod head handles to adjust to get you in frame!" and so on. With smaller kids (below 9-12, depending on temperament), they also don't like to stay in one place/pose longer than half of a minute (well, still child is photographers dream, but it looks like novadays almost all of kids got ADD - or they are getting it same moment they enter studio :)), so you also need to react fast.

 

Yes, for still life shots ballhead is an overkill :). But it is still more convinuent than traditional. In my opinion the only time when you need a pan head would be panorama/landscape or some special sports video shooting.

 

SY-

Kosta.

[ilkka_nissila]

Avoid it. Once you release the knob, the head rotates freely, and your chances of having the head flop with your camera and the camera hit something are 100.0%. How about a nice Kaiser ballhead? They don't flop and are cheaper than the A-S.

[andrew robertson]

I love my magicball. It's true that if you release the head, it moves freely, but after the first

time your camera goes 'CLUNK' and hits the base of the head, you learn to hold it steady.

 

I like it because it offers much more freedom than any other ball head I have seen. Most of

'em out there have stupid notched that you need to slot your camera in to for vertical

compositions, and they are never in the right spot, so by the time you have it all figured out

it's about a minute too late.

[ilkka_nissila]

Probably you learn but I prefer my heads to offer a degree of security. (I have one and it's closed in its box. I don't want to use it and I refuse to sell it because it's not what I would recommend to anyone.) But of course it has its good points, I just don't think they're worth the risk.

[kosta_cherry]

Andrew,

 

since you actually have this ballhead, could you comment on how far handle is sticking out? What I afraid of is when trying to shot vertical, handle should point towards the photographer, and might just stuck into his/her face or camera itself. Do you have any issues with that? Does handle create problems that you cannot fully "glue" your eye to the viewfinder?

 

As for keeping camera - oh yes! When I have something that costs several grands, I'd better always hold it tight no matter how tight ballhead/panhead or whatever else is :), so that's not an issue at all.

 

SY-

Kosta.

[andrew robertson]

The handle only sticks out a few inches, and I don't find it to be a problem. It's a really nice

gadget.

 

Unfortunately, it's rare to find a dealer that has the Magicball in their store so it can be hard

to ascertain if it's the right product.

[g_guhan_gunaratnam2]

I was just wondering...does Manfrotto claim that the hydrostatic ball head makes tightening knobs easier than an Arca Swiss for example? Any of the kindergarten children I teach could easily over-tighten an Arca Swiss ballhead...so I wouldn't worry about that being a problem for your wife. I'm not saying the 468MG isn't a nice ballhead, I'm just saying, the Arca isn't at all hard to tighten, quite the opposite. I still love the Arca Swiss. You also didn't mention RRS ballheads, which you might want to look at also.

 

I owned the Magicball for two weeks before returning it. It isn't in the same league as an Arca or RRS ballhead. You have nice lenses, get a sturdy ballhead to support them.

 

Have you considered QR plates? Does your wife use a flash bracket? If so, I'd think about your flash bracket/tripod combo. Wimberly and RRS brackets use arca style plates...you'd have to change the Manfrotto clamp if you use either of these two systems and their ballhead.

 

I'm also wondering about using a ballhead a lot during a wedding, I think I'd rather use a P&T, but her style is her style...and if I was going to have only one head...it'd be a ballhead.

[sabrina_mueller]

Kosta, I do use a Magic Ball 50 with my EOS 20D. The handle is 6.5 cm long and it can stick in your face if you mount the camera in that way that the handle points in your direction. But in this position the head is not easy to handle anyway, so I mount the camera that way that I can handle the knob with my left hand, so this is not a problem. If you don't have a L-plate for shooting verticals, you can mount the camera so that the handle points away from your face. The handle is not a problem in my opinion.

 

The Magic Ball 50 has friction controll, so if you use this feature, the danger of uncontrolled flipping of your equipment is not so big as you would think in the first place.

 

What I like: it is quick to use, it has a very broad range, you can point it nearly anywhere, and it cannot be damaged by sand, dust or water because of its construction.

 

What I don't like (compared to my Arca Swiss B1): it doesn't have a panorama plate, so if you want to shoot panoramic pictures the magic ball is not easy to use. It is quite hard to fix a camera or lens or quick release system on it. You need quite a lot of power to fasten the screw tight enough.