So this post will be a review of the Manfrotto 054 Magnesium Ball Head with Q2 Quick Release based on my own user experience. I haven't used it for any shoot as of today (4th June 2012) and I haven't had it for long, like a week? But the experience has been great when messing with it at home. Guess I shall start with why I got this particular ball head and not the others in the series.
Why this ball head?
Why did I choose this ball head? I choose it for the balance of strength and weight. The 055 series could carry up to 12kg and the 057 series could carry up to 15kg while mine could only carry up to 10kg which honestly, was good enough for me since I don't use huge lenses like 500mm lenses and such. The heaviest I see myself carrying, either by renting or purchasing, should be the Nikkor 200-400mm f4 lens which is only 3.275 kg, with my D3, it doesn't hit the 10kg mark yet. And the heaviest combination I use most often would be the D3 paired with the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII. My tripod is the discontinued 055 PRO which is pretty heavy, and though I can carry it without much issues, I don't want too much additional weight pulling me down. And its pretty much get according to need.
Why I choose the Q2 quick release head is because I'm familiar with it and I love it. The basic round disc looked like you have to spin the camera on it, but watching the video on the Manfrotto website here, click on videos, it seems that you can actually turn the disc itself. But its not very convenient when I want to remove the camera. The RC4 and Q5 heads have a removable plate like the Q2, but the need something flat like a coin to screw it, which is very troublesome for me especially since many times, I can be quite a klutz, hence my choice in the tripod head.
My experience so far
My experience with the head so far... Initially, it was very shaking because it was brand new and a little different from my previous 3 way head in the quick release mechanism. When I turned, and pushed down on the safety release, it didn't budge, so after a while I decided to use more strength and finally! It popped open and released the plate, after that, its been smooth as butter. The knobs all felt good except the pan head which was a little hard to turn, probably because its new, but I'm unsure, might be a good thing especially if I were to record videos. But for normal stills (not including panoramic), I'd probably be using the ball release instead of the pan head. Its very solid and smooth. Holds my D3 with the 70-200 at an angle without any movement.
Photos of the tripod head
Out of the box
The base of the head
Top of the head, showing the quick release
The vertical selection
Ball lock
Mounted on my trusty tripod
When using the head and the tripod socket closest to my camera on the 70-200, the D3 will hit the lock
Fortunately, the 70-200 has 2 sockets and using the one further from the camera, the D3 has a short distance away from the lock, making orientation easy and hassle free.
Closeup of the tripod collar foot
Conclusion
Sorry users from other brands, I can't say much for them but as a Nikon user, if you have the 70-200mm vrII, its not an issue, but if you don't use the tripod foot, or you're using a lens like the 80-200, it will be an issue to switch orientation. Depends from lens and body as well. I saw a review of someone using 70-200mm f4 with Canon EOS 40D and battery grip, his camera couldn't clear the lock, but without a grip, there shouldn't be an issue. But if you have to use a battery grip, then probably look at other heads or live without the grip when using the tripod head. Looking at the lens collar (unsure which one) for the Canon lens, there's only one tripod socket, so it might be an issue for that particular lens.
For people living in the states, you can actually buy and return, shouldn't be an issue. For the people living in countries like mine without a return policy, please go down to local stores and try it out, or if you can find review like mine which shows a particular lens and body in use, then not its not much of a problem. As many people have told me, try out to see if it fits you and if its to your liking. Personally, I'm loving how solid the head is and yet how smooth it is in use and I can't wait to use it in actual shoots which could happen pretty soon. I'm waiting for the weather to clear to shoot some sunsets, but I'll find time to do some night shoots.
Photos taken using the tripod head
Shot of the moon (composite 2 images, 1 to preserve moon details, one for building details) and the moon was blown up a bit. The glow is digitally created. Shot with the D3 and 70-200 aimed up, tripod head didn't move at all.
Lasalle School Of The Arts in HDR
Central Fire Station in HDR
More to be added
