As I Xi It v2.3

I’ve previously reviewed the Manfrotto 486RC2 ball head here which sits on my Slik Pro 340DX. Since getting my fancy Gitzo tripod legs as reviewed here back in May 2009, I needed a more substantial ball head to go with it.

Now, I could’ve gone all out and brought an Arcaswiss, Kirk, Really Right Stuff or Markins ball head, but given that my heaviest camera combo weighs in at under 5 kg, I thought it’d be overkill to splurge £300+ on a ball head. I opted for the more modestly priced Manfrotto 468MGRC2 ball head at just over £150.

Like the 486RC2, this 468MGRC2 oozes solidness. I have no doubt that if you were to lob it at someone, it’d take them down fairly easily, assuming your aim was accurate. My favourite thing about this ball head is the friction control which stops the camera from flopping about, something which I found rather annoying with the other ball head. The ball rotates smoothly and locks down tight without much effort. Given that I’m planning to use this Gitzo/Manfrotto combo while I’m off to Swedish lapland next month, the large rubberised knob (tee hee) would be easy to operate with gloves on. I’d assume it’d be easier to use for arthritics too.

The 468MGRC2 has a rated minimum operating temperature of -30^oC so I’m hoping that it’ll hold out while I’m shooting the aurora in in the arctic circle where temperatures are reported to reach -35^oC at night. If it does lock up, then I’d have to bind one of those self heating hand warmers to it.

My brand spanking new tripod is pretty cool. Lightweight and virtually infinitely manouverable while also being extremely steady. The only issue I have is how to conveniently carry it while scrabbling around out in the wild. My Lowepro Primus has a tripod holder built in, but it kinda puts you off balance when you’ve got a tripod strapped in and can be a bit awkward. If I’m using a monopod, I tend to strap it to the side and stick one end in the water bottle holder. For tripod carrying, I prefer to use a strap. I didn’t fancy springing £20 for a dedicated tripod strap and Amazon had the Lowepro Transporter camera strap on sale (£10) so I figured I’d do something with that.

Why the Lowepro Transporter? Well, it’s got a slidey shoulder pad. I initially used a knock-off Optech weight reducing strap I had lying around, but since the neoprene was in a fixed position and too far from the end, I took it off. It was way too long as well, even at its shortest length. It’s not compulsory to use Lowepro Transporter, but I found that it worked best for me. I guess you could substitute it with whatever strap works for you.

For this mod, you’ll need the following items:

• 1x Lowepro Transporter camera strap (or equivalent)
• 1x racket grip tape (or bicycle handlebar grip tape)
• 1x small cable tie
• 1x dog collar with quick release
• 1x rubber band style bracelet (for some reason they became very popular at one point in recent years)

Illustrated instructions below.

At some point in the near future, I’ll make some tripod leg pads.

Currently, my main tripod is the Slik Pro 340DX. Its fairly light, sturdy, compact and well priced. It came as a kit with legs and a three-way pan head. While the head was perfectly capable for most tasks, sometimes it could take a while to assemble from the “storage position”, where one of the handles is screwed into the other, to the “ready position”. It’s not a particuarly taxing thing to do, but I found it to be enough of a nuisance to warrant purchasing a ball head. I’ve heard many good things about the Manfrotto 486RC so I thought I’d give it a whirl.

The 486RC2 is solid, robust and oozes quality. One thing to remember while purchasing any tripod head is to note what the thread sizes are on the legs and head. I think most if not all Manfrotto tripods/heads have a 3/8″ mount while for Slik this is 1/4″. By getting an appropriate adapter (1/4″ to 3/8″ converter bush), one can reduce the 3/8″ hole in the ball head to 1/4″ to accomodate the screw on the tripod legs.

The heaviest combo I’ve put on this Manfrotto/Slik hybrid is my 40D with attached battery grip, 430EX flashgun and 100-400mm lens which comes out to a total of 2.740 kg (excluding batteries) and its pretty sturdy. The rated manufacturer’s maximum load is 5 kg and 6 kg for the legs and head respectively so you wouldn’t want to put on more than 4.5 kg of kit (factor in the weight of the ball head (0.46 kg)) . This set up is probably fine for most uses, but definately not for those super heavy, supertelephoto lenses.

This Manfrotto/Slik hybrid is rather compact and will fit in most rucksacks (60 L and above), some larger daypacks (ca. 30 L, depending on shape) and most suitcases making this an ideal travel tripod. The whole thing measures 49 x 9-11 cm and weighs less than 1.5 kg.