doug_meek1 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I've read the archives on comparisons between the Arca Swiss B-1 and the Kirk BH-1 ballheads. Many differing opinions were brought forth. However, few if any of the users of the Kirk BH-1 were LF users. Does anyone have any hands-on experience with the BH-1 with LF ? I have a Toyo 45AII and a Toyo 45G which weigh 6 and 13 lbs respectively. I'm sure the BH-1 will work with the 45AII but doubtful about the 45G. I even called Kirk and they said that the BH- 1 "should" work with the 45G. This response did little to inspire confidence in me. I presently own an Arca Swiss B-1 which I absolutley love, and am looking for a second head to augment my system. The only reason I'm considering the Kirk is the lower price. Thanks in advance for your answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Good question! Right now I am evaluating ballheads suitable for large format for a certain magazine that specializes in LF. You've reminded me to call Kirk to get a sample. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_atherton2 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 are you testing this beastie as well? http://acratech.net/products.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rw_hawkins Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I use a BH-1 with my Canham DLC45 and it works great! The Kirk heads, in my opinion, are overbuilt (a good thing) and I imagine the BH-1 could be used with your 45G. In fact, I have recently switched to using the Kirk BH-3 (smaller version) with my Gitzo Carbon Fibre and even this lightweight head gives me good stability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qtluong Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 The Kirk BH-1 is in the same class as the AS B1. The factthat it has no elliptical head shouldn't affect much usabilitywith LF. My opinion is that in general LF users think they need beefier tripods/headsthan really necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug_meek1 Posted January 14, 2003 Author Share Posted January 14, 2003 Tim - Thanks a lot. You've narrowed my choice from 1 out of 2 to 1 out of 3. Anyone care to comment on Tim's suggestion ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_hamley Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Doug, I've used both and the BH-1 will be fine. If anything it's more robust than the Arca-Swiss. If you love the Arca however, I'd stick with it. As others have noted, the Kirk doesn't have the Arca's elliptical ball and the camera can "flop" on you, so your technique has to compensate. Switching back and forth might be hazardous to your gear. Thanks! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foraker Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I used to have a BH-1 on which I mounted a 4x5 Wisner Technical Field camera. After using the BH-1 for a couple of years and lugging it around on my bag (it is a heavy bugger after all), I now have an Acratech. It is *VERY* sweet. Very light. Incredibly well made. (Of course, it helps that I have a camera that is also half the weight of my Wisner... but it's still quite noticeable without the camera) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guytal Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I use the Kirk head with my Wista metal field (VX). No problem. I only wish it had bubble levels embedded in the plate.<br> Another reason to consider Kirk, other than the price is that it doesn't seem to suffer from the random locking problem of the Arca.<br> <br> Guy<br> <a href="http://scenicwild.com">Scenic Wild</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Tim: Yes I am testing the Acra-tech. I've owned an Arca-Swiss B1 Monoball for around seven years. I bought it used. I have never, ever had any lock up problems, and I certainly don't baby it. lately I've been shooting in freezing and sub-freezing temperatures with it and I've had no problems. A couple of years ago there was a single batch of B1 Monoballs that had some bad parts that caused the problems the last poster mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_ellis3 Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 I've used the B1 with a Linhof Technika 4x5 and it worked fine. However, it has frozen up on me twice and, worse yet, while I was in the middle of a two week photography trip the screw thingy that is needed to be able to rotate the tension knob fell out and was lost, making it impossible to tighten the head. I learned from Arca Swiss that this problem has been corrected on newer B1 heads (mine is about 8 years old) but it cost $75 to retrofit mine to the newer version. Not something I would have expected considering the price and supposed quality of this head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_bridge Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 With the B1 and BH-1 heads it is more a matter of torque than weight. A BH-1 will do just fine; however, switching back and forth between a BH-1 and a B1 isn't something I'd want to do. There are just enough differences in the controls and orientation to make it difficult switching quickly between them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__jon__ Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 Ellis, Are you testing out this ballhead: http://www.markins.com/2.0/eng/ballheads.html Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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