Kirk BH-3 Ballhead VS. RRS BH-30 LR Ballhead

[kirsten_s]

<p>I am trying to decide between a Kirk BH-3 Ballhead with Quick Release and a RRS BH-30 LR Ballhead. Any suggestions? I'm looking for a lightweight ballhead for easy travel/hiking purposes. Thanks for your help!</p>

[howard_m]

<p>I've seen a number of people use/like the Acratech heads for travel & hiking because they are very light and easy to clean so that should be on your short list too.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>I had the same two on the list. In the end, choose the Markins M10 because of price and availability. After reading up a lot, the only thing I found was that all owners for Kirk, Arca Swiss, RSS and Markins are happy with their choice, and very little noise on clear downsides. So it seems to be a "can't really go wrong" kind of choice.</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>Kirsten,</p>

<p>If you do landscapes and panoramas I can't recommend the Acratech GP or GP-s enough, it is a bit more money but very well worth it. The unique reverse mounting, that effectively gives you a leveling base, is a superb feature and makes setting up the tripod effortless as you don't need to level it.</p>

[peter_e]

<p>The main difference, and strength of the RRS ballhead is the quick-release lever, as opposed to the knob on the Kirk (also an option for RRS ballheads). After using three RRS ballheads for several years now, I find that the quick-release of the RRS heads works flawlessly. Generally, the lever is considered to be faster, the knob to be more secure. However, the RRS clamp is made so well that it guarantees a secure hold provided you also use a RRS quick release plate. One caveat: the lever should be folded back for transport. When folded out it is possible to bend the lever (actually the pin on which the lever pulls) by accident (although easy to bend back).</p>

[kirsten_s]

<p>So many decisions! Now I really don't know what to get. I've never owned a ballhead before and I'm finally ready to stomp on and toss out the one I have and spend some money for a great ballhead. I do landscape photography so that Acratech feature is pretty awesome. I love the quick release lever on the RRS BH-30 LR but it doesn't have a spirit lever where as the Markins, Kirk BH-3, and Acratech do.. so I guess you can't have it all. </p>

[2Oceans]

<p>Kirsten, Just personal preference for me but I prefer the screw type clamps and have a Kirk BH3 since 2002 and BH1 (2004) as well as Arca Swiss B1 (2001) and B2 Heads (2009). The newer clamps made by Kirk require very few turns to open and close so they open and close very fast and offer the security of a screw type clamp. Also the Kirk heads are very adaptable to other Arca Swiss style plates and require no adjustments. Since I use a mixture of Kirk, Really Right Stuff and Wimberley plates this is a good thing. I don't know if that is a real problem with others but its definitely not with the Kirk heads. Just one last issue. As I have gotten older I have appreciate familiar and elegant design over all else. I am more drawn to conventional design in ball heads for that reason but then we all make choices for our own reasons. Good hunting! Andy</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>I also prefer screw clamps, but that might be because I am so used to them, I just don't trust lever clamps as they can need adjusting for different manufacturers plates. The Acratech has a patented double speed thread so it takes about a full turn to go from fully open to fully closed, but to actually attach a camera securely it takes around 180°.<br /><br />But for me the real big difference is the unique upside down feature, I can't imagine why every manufacturer has not seen the benefit of this idea and come out with their own implementation of it. I shoot a lot of real estate and it saves me so much time. The designers at Acratech are obviously photographers.</p>

[User_2000406]

<p>Kirsten, you can get the BH-30 with a spirit level: http://reallyrightstuff.com/Items.aspx?code=Ballhead30&key=cat. While I have the BH-30 I've hardly used it yet, but the somewhat larger BH-40 has been absolutely wonderful to use.</p>

[kirsten_s]

<p>Yes.. the only thing with the one that comes with a spirit level is that it says you also need to use L-plates.. I'll look into it some more</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>Kirsten, they say it is for L-Plate use just because most older hot shoe mounted levels don't work very well in portrait mode, there is no difference to the clamp. Also, obviously, if you rotate the plate 90° to do a portrait mode shot, the clamp mounted level is useless.</p>

<p>But I would caution against relying on a built in level anyway, they are not very good. A cheap hot shoe mounted level is far more accurate. I'd suggest a three axis one, they work in portrait mode, <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=hot+shoe+level&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma">just look through these</a>.</p>