Giotto ballheads

[anthony_harrison]

Ballheads - still looking around, still can�t pluck up courage to lay

out the substantial sum for an Arca Swiss. While in Germany I came

across a brand previously unknown to me, called Giotto - four heads

in different sizes, two having a separate adjustable tension control, each with integral locking pan/rotation. The one at approx 100UKP is roughly Arca size; the Arca currently lists at around 250UKP. Anyone know Giotto heads, and care to share an opinion?

BTW since one or two tripod threads are currently running, I just got

a little Manfrotto 190 with the Midi QR ballhead for travel and casual use, immediately gave it a workout in Germany and here in UK, and think it�s great - very stable and free of vibration for such a small item. It can�t compete with the big Manfrotto 058 of course, but I have lots of pin-sharp Provia/Astia trannies from my Nikon F90X with the 80-200 zoom, which sits surprisingly well on the little tripod, and of more MFD relevance, from my Fuji GA645.

BTW2, I note mention of the gee-whiz flip-up polariser for Leica M,

but wonder how much it will cost� I commonly use a standard Hoya

polariser on my Fuji, and have no difficulty in previewing a scene

through it, then re-fitting. Carrying filters around is another

matter - hate those waistcoat things! How do others carry a selection

of filters so they�re accessible yet safe?

[chris_patti]

Sorry for the delay; just saw the original question. I have one of the medium-sized Giottos heads (the store where I bought it had three sizes, this is the middle one) which I bought about 6 weeks ago and used extensively on a recent overseas trip. I was attracted to the Giottos ball heads because they are light, compact, look similar to the Linhoff "Profi" ball heads (which I have always coveted) and were quite cheap. The one I bought would be is equivalent to the Profi II. I put the Giottos on a Gitzo 260 and used it with a Mamiya 6 system. For this application, and given the extremely reasonable price price of the Giottos ($80 in the store vs. about $300 for a Profi II), I was very happy with it. I has tension control, panning, can tighten down firmly, and seems durable. It's not as silky smooth in operation as the Linhoffs, but does feel nicer than the larger Kaiser I own and much nicer than the two Bogens I have used. (If I needed a larger ball head, I would probably pick up the large Giottos.) I would think the medium sized Giottos would work very well with your Fuji.