Has anyone tried the Dynatran ball heads?

[bill_oneill]

These seem pretty good.

 

http://www.amvona.com/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=3064

 

Has anyone tried one yet?

 

As a lark, I bid $30 on one on ebay and won. With shipping to Canada it came

to $65. If it's half as good as the specs say it is, it's the bargain of the

century. Plates and clamp are Arca-Swiss compatible. I'll post a short 'first

impressions' review when I get mine.

[nickwhite]

BEWARE AMVONA!

 

I have had two very poor dealings with this outfit via ebay (the only ebay trader that has caused me problems out of 300+).

 

One item took three months to arrive - they sent it by sea after I had paid (through the nose) for premium air-freight!.

 

Other time they increased the postal charge after the auction end!

 

In both instances I had won the items at so called 'bargain' prices!

 

They are totally impossible to contact/ get any response from, never replying to emails etc.

 

AVOID.

[twelle]

I have a tripod from Amvona and two heads. One is a grip style ball head and the other is a standard ball head (but not the same style as yours). Both of these were purchased on Ebay without any problems. Shipping was fast and they were easy to deal with. Recently, I purchased an extra QR plate for the ball head so I could keep it on my long lens at all times. This was purchased with a phone call direct to Amvona and was an easy transaction.

 

Quality isn't too bad. I think you get what you pay for, but I have had no problems with the tripod or the heads. The tripod is very sturdy and durable, and the heads both operate smooth. Good luck!

[jimschu]

I bought a couple of things from Amvona last year, I am an engineer by trade and can tell you this, (O.K. I will be kind), not great. I would not waste any of my hard earned money on anything Amvona sells that is mechanical. I purchased a Carbon Fiber tripod, which was horrible (had a hard time unlocking the legs and needed two hands) and a ball head that had so much oil on it, I dropped it. I am now a pretty strong believer that you get what you pay for. I hope you have better luck than I did, if not your only out $65.00.

P.S. I sold mine on eBay

[frank uhlig]

Actually their Arca camera plates with the rubber cushions (front of the website that you linked to) will cause a wobbly mechanical connection from camera to tripod etc. And will enhance vibrations, rather than attemuate them. So, you would be at least better off NOT using their Arca-Swiss plates. If you are interested in good results, that is. Google RRS or Kirk and see how they design theirs.

[JDMvW]

I got a monopod from them, and it works just fine. Sturdy as a rock. I also later bought a grip ball head that is an almost exact duplicate of the Manfrotto 222 (Dynatran ATH 918). I've compared the two side by side and they weigh the same and seem to work equally well. On the other hand, communication is the weak link. Most of the time, they work out ok, but if something is wrong, then you find out why everything is so cheap--they have essentially no support. On the other hand, if you keep at it, they eventually do react, sort of. I would never pay their list prices for these reasons, but on eBay, with patience (since they list the same products in a repeating cycle), you can sometimes get real bargains.

[erik_loza]

Are these made in China, by chance?

[JDMvW]

Where else?

 

At least some of these knockoffs look like they came out of the same dies, etc. used to make the originals.

[bill_oneill]

Thanks for all your input. It seems the experience is either all good or all bad. Well, I already have an Arca-Swiss B1 and a couple of huge Manfrotto heads, so I will not be relying on this one to be a great performer. I just bought it to see what it's like. If and when it comes I'll leave my impression here.

[bill_oneill]

Well, the Amvona ATH-A03 head arrived early today.

 

It's reasonably well made and very much reminds me of the Kirk BH1. It has separate friction and locking knobs.

 

Controls work smoothly and predictably and the QR plate clamp is quick and effective.

 

Like the Arca-Swiss B1, it seems to have an aspherical ball that increases the friction as the ball rotates away from vertical. Not quite as effective as the AS B1 though.

 

The action is not as smooth as the AS B1 but is on par with the old Manfrotto 298 monster I have.

 

The QR plate appears to be a machined extrusion and has small rubber anti-slip pads on it. These pads only extend about 1/3 mm above the surface of the plate and do not introduce a source of instability. They compress completely into their mounting depressions on tightening the mounting bolt on a metal lens foot.

 

On the whole, at $65 shipped to my door, it represents a considerable bargain and would be ideal for someone wanting to buy a sturdy ball head on a budget. Since the shipping is only $15 in the US, you might save $20 or more on the price I paid.

 

I'll use this head in place of the ancient Manfrotto 168 on my #3 tripod.

[bill_oneill]

As an aside, I called Amova at their toll-free line to check on shipping. The person that answered the phone spoke perfect English and was very helpful. The head took a week to arrive, which is pretty quick coming up to Canada. It actually shipped the day I ordered it and was held up in Canadian customs for 3 days. I'm surprised that some of you have had difficulty with them.

[bill_oneill]

Last update: I recently also bought two more of these Dynatran ball heads. The two smaller ones (ATH-A02 and ATH-A01) for my backpacking and macro tripods. I'm delighted with the value. All 3 heads, delivered to my door were only $160 and all use the same AS type plates. Now I've completely replaced my Manfrotto heads. So far I have no issues with the quality or function of these units especially considering the price I paid. They are not quite as buttery smooth as the Arca, but then again, I got 3 of them for 1/3 the price of the Arca. Think of them as enablement on a budget.

[joshua_fell]

Hey guys! I'm brand spankin' new to this forum, but wanted to throw in my 2 cents about the Telos line of the Dynatran heads. I have the ATH-A03 and am not very impressed with it. Out fo the box, it seems to work fairly well. It's heavy, feels solid, and is rather fluid. But over time, I've begun to notice more glitches. I've had it for about 6 months and used it lightly (~20 times). After returning from the beach a few month ago, I noticed the ball sounded fairly gritty, so I disassembled the head to remove any grains of sand that may have gotten inside. What I saw was very soft metals used throughout the construction. The friction and locking knobs are simply screws with rounded off ends that pish into a brass (?) plate that cups the underside of the ball. As the screws tighten, they force the plate upwards, which squeezes the ball between the cup and a thin ring of plastic (teflon?), thus providing your locking force. Even after light use, there are obvious gauge marks or channels on the underside of the brass plate. Recently, I've noticed that I need to tighten the knobs more to retain the original locking force and the friction is "catchy".

 

Many users note that the panning base does not have a bearing, so this action may not be very fluid. For my head, the panning action is quite fluid, but the locking pin once again is a problem. As you tighten the screw, it tightens against the rotating upper portion of the head. Originally, this worked fine, but now, as I tighten the knob the last little bit, it creates friction on the rotating portion and torques the bead by 1-2 degrees. This may not sound like much, but if you've already framed your shot and try to lock the base, it shifts you off position. This really bites if you're shooting at +300mm. So, you either need to readjust the ball or account for the twist while framing your shot.

 

To be fair, once the head is locked, it's rock solid. But that's where it ends. There is very little control over the friction, the movement isn't fluid, and I doubt the head will last another 6 months. Having said that, I'll probably be stuck using it untill a can justify spending $300 for a good head.

 

I have some photos of the weak points I mentioned above. If you're interested, let me know. Thanks,

 

Joshua

 

P.S. I just received a pair of the Velbon 630A tripod legs, and they are great! Very easy to use, very light, and very stiff!

[william_pitt]

I will echo Joshua Fell's assessment. I also identified the issue with the panning lock. The set screw presses against the aluminum upper portion of the head creating gauge marks around the circumference of the head. If you happen to land on a spot proximal to the last indent you created it will shift the head 1-2 degrees. Soft metals for clamping as well with identical observations on tear down. You are able to use wet paper to remove the burs but this is not a long term solution. I have since replaced it with a Feisol CB-50D head and I am having better luck with it (although at twice the cost). With ball heads it really does seem like you get what you pay for. I am seriously considering the move to a Markins Q3 or RRS head. As for the Dynatran head, make me think of a junky used car with a pretty paint job.