Acratech GP Ballhead with Lever Clamp

Comments about Acratech GP Ballhead with Lever Clamp:

I have owned this head for a few weeks now and have had the opportunity to use it for landscape photography in the local desert. I am glad I chose the lever clamp rather than the standard screw clamp because the lever feels distinct from the other adjusting knobs; thereby enhancing camera security and preventing accidents. If you are like me, when working you don't always look at the knobs when adjusting the head and composing the shot. In getting used to the head it is easy to confuse the knobs. The lever prevents you from loosening the camera by mistake.The GP Ballhead is fine quality, sturdy, and provides great range of motion. (So far, I have used it only for a camera with a standard lens, not with a telephoto lens.) The tripod I am using allows the central post to be placed horizontally for low-down shots close to the ground. Such configurations in which you shoot horizontally with a horizontal post require the tripod head to have a wide latitude in positional adjustment, which this head does.I discovered that I must be careful when mounting the GP head to my tripod, which has 3 setscrews to prevent the head assembly from rotating and loosening on the tripod. If I tighten those setscrews too much, the base of the GP head is distorted, causing the GP adjustment in azimuth to bind. Therefore, only minor tightening of the setscrews is permissible.Acratech warns against carrying the camera while still mounted to the tripod head. This is good advice, but it is not always practicable to remove the camera when moving a matter of feet. Be sure the knobs are very firmly tightened or you may have unexpected & uncontrolled camera movement as I did. This would probably happen with most heads, given the right circumstances; so I do not view this as a shortcoming of the GP Ballhead.

Comments about Acratech GP Ballhead with Lever Clamp:

Nikon D7000 with Sigma 150-500.
Just the right combination for weight and stability

Comments about Acratech GP Ballhead with Lever Clamp:

It works as advertised. I used for the first time last weekend to photograph vintage cars. It worked great, easy to use, and it is nice to have the rubber knobs to control the head.

Comments about Acratech GP Ballhead with Lever Clamp:

Light weight, small in comparison to others, great feel - resistance - in the adjustment.

Comments about Acratech GP Ballhead with Lever Clamp:

Like the previous acratech ballhead i used, this is a great piece of equipment. I like the security and quickness of the lever compared to the knob, major upgrade in my opinion.

Like the previous model also, my only wish would be that the leveling bubble would be visible once the camera is attached to the tripod - rather than hidden under the plate. It's a small thing really, but I find with the weight of my camera it's much easier to level the lightweight head than it is with nothing attached.

Flipping the head into panorama mode is simple, and there is a hex wrench included, but there is also a slot for standard screwdriver (or small coin) to loosen while on the go. I did notice there is some slight difficulty re-attaching the quick mount head to the ball going back from panorama mode, but I think this is just something to get used to - seems like there is one bracket that is larger than the others to help align the top, but it took the first few attempts to notice.

Very high quality overall, love the laser etching, and easily holds both my smaller and larger digital cameras (M9 / 5DmkII)