Redsnapper / Marumi Ballhead

[isaac sibson]

<p>Recently I've been helping a colleague get into photography, since he wanted to buy a new camera for a couple of great trips (Galapagos and Patagonia). He started off looking at 10X zoom prosumer P&S, and eventually I got him into an EOS 450D with 18-55IS and 55-250IS. From there, he's really got into this, and is already (within a couple of months) hankering after a 100-400 IS.</p>

<p>Another thing that he decided that he needed was a tripod. Often on this forum there are questions asked about lower-cost tripods and heads (I hesitate to say cheap, as cheap is a $20 walmart tripod and head). Almost invariably the response is "Don't bother, spend $300 on a head and $200 on legs, $100 L-bracket". Simply put, that's just not realistic for most beginners and those who don't have huge incomes - it would mean spending as much on the tripod, head and plates as they did on their camera and lenses. </p>

<p>Recently there have appeared on ebay and in some online shops some lower-cost chinese-made ballheads with Arca-swiss style clamps. One that seems to have garnered a decent reputation on some other forums in the UK is what is sold here as the Redsnapper RSH-12. This appears to be the same as the Marumi TB-12, but for badging. On the basis of that reputation and the lack of anything else that looked as good, my colleague ordered the redsnapper tripod and head combo. </p>

<p>Given my interest in it, and that I think a fair few people would be interested in this head, he lent me the head to have a play with. </p>

<p><img src="http://www.askisaac.com/images/rsh12.JPG" alt="" /></p>

<p>This is it next to my Markins M10. As you can see, it's a very similar size. Also obvious is that the finish and knobs aren't as high quality. However, at UK prices the Redsnapper is about £50, while the Markins M10 comes in around £320. The ball finish is not as smooth as the markins, and you can see a seam or machining line around the ball. </p>

<p>When he handed it to me at work and I was playing with it in my hands, I was somewhat unimpressed. The locking knob requires many turns from loose to tight (as opposed to the light twist that can lock the markins solid), and I dislike the kirk-style separate min friction control (preferring the Arca / Markins thumb dial). The Redsnapper has an elliptical ball, like the Arca-swiss heads do, and when playing with the head on its own it seemed like the transition between "normal" and "tight" tension was too sudden. </p>

<p>However, once I got home and put it on my tripod and got a camera on it, things were really quite different. It is actually remarkably good, once the tension is well set. I tried a couple of combos, ending up with my EOS 5D, 300mm F4, 2X TC and 550EX mounted on it (as this is about as big/heavy as the sort of lenses that someone going to buy this head instead of a Kirk/Arca/Acra/Markins/RRS/etc is likely to use) and it was very solid and stable. It has a little more initial stiction on movement than the markins does, and I prefer the Markins sweet-spot system, but the RSH-12 works very well. It had no problems with my Kirk L-bracket or my Wimberley lens plates. The panning base of the RSH-12 is very smooth and damped - dare I say even better than the markins, although the minimum tension on the base is quite high, possibly working against very fast pans. </p>

<p>Ultimately, I don't think that there's any picture I'd be able to get using the Markins that I'd be unable to get with the Redsnapper, with the sort of equipment mentioned above. Of course I'm not going to trade down, and I do feel that in 10 years time the Markins will be every bit like it is now while the redsnapper may have worn, or bits fallen off, etc. Being realistic, however, the Redsnapper really does seem like a bargain - it's a different league to the other cheap ballheads I've used and hated (cullmann, uni-loc, etc), feeling far closer to the likes of the markins, but cheapened. The added bonus, of course, is that this head gets you into the arca-swiss QR system. </p>

<p>Overall, I wouldn't hesistate to recommend this to someone looking for a lower-cost head. If you've got the money, spend more. If you haven't, this is not a bad head. </p>

[titospna]

<p>Looks like some Chinese companies have been very busy. That ball head looks like an almost identical clone to Adorama's F-2 head, sold in the U.S. for about $60. I use it for a monopod. Next to my Markins M10, it looks like mother and son. The price differential though, is quite substantial.</p>