Slik Ball Head 800

I have used the SLIK 800 ballhead for well over two years now. I use it with my Canon film SLR and a variety of heavy lenses. It replaced the Manfrotto ballhead and I find it vastly superior. Unlike the Manfrotto, the action of the SLIK is very fluid, almost like a fluid video head. the knobs are comfortable to use and the pretension know lets me preset the minumum tension on the ball so my camera doesn't flip over when the main knob is loosened. My biggest gripe with my Manfrotto is that there is always a good deal of tension on the ball and the ball is sticky making fine adjustments impossible. The SLIK is slick... pardon the pun. The knobs turn in the direction they are supposed to turn (righty tighty...), so there is no confusion there. The round top plate is the best feature of this ball head. A big lever locks the plate in place and when loosened just holds the plate in the base. A button beside the lever must be pushed to lift the plate out of the base. This allows really quick camera realignments without twisting knobs. It also lets you rotate the ball head under the camera, to position the vertical slot for example. When the camera is used vertically, the rotating plate can be used for camera adjustments instead of rotating the whole ball in the socket. The weight of the round camera plate makes spinning it off and onto a new camera incredibly fast. The head does not sport degree markings nor a bubble level. For the price I did not expect that and I don't require those features. I've made well aligned panoramas without degree markings, and I carry a level in my camera bag. This ball head is good for general tripod photography, in the studio or on location. Since it is a larger head meant for a heavy tripod, it is not well suited for the trail or city walks. This ball head is a good replacement for a video head if you want smooth panning with no handles sticking out.

Fluid head movement Precise engineering Holds heavy cameras Large round camera plate

No built-in level No degree markings

Manfrotto ball head with small camera plate tiny SLIK ball head -- also impressive for its size.

n/a

After poking my eye out several times with the 700dx's standard 3 way head I decided it was time to move to a ball head. I decided on the B800 since I like the slik quick release plate. well it's a mid sized ball head with seperate tension, rotation and locking knobs. as a ball head it works as it should, can support 5 lbs ( enough for a small 4x5 or my 35mm and telephoto lens ). It's smooth and the tension knob works well but you'll quickly confuse it with the rotation locking knob. I wish it had some more movement like the manfrotto heads to both sides not just one. Also no precise angle markings on base ( hey slik I think this head deserves it ) If you have a slik tripod with the round quick release system this may be something for you to look into. For it's price it's a 5 but I think slik could have added angle markings on the base and allow it to tilt to left and right with out rotating the head, tho that last part isn't so bad due to their rotating QR plate.

supports up to 5 lbs, same quick release as the 3 way 700dx standard head, smooth durable.

tilt only to one side, can confuse the rotation and tension knobs, no direction arrows on the locking knob, no precise angle markings on base.

manfrotto ball heads, arca swiss.

not needed yet.