The long, silver Leica Ball Head 18 is a compact head ideally suited for tabletop tripods or other camera supports with a 1/4"-20 threaded stud. It is 5.3" high, has a load capacity of 15.4 lb, and weighs just 8.8 oz. A large locking knob controls the movement of the ball, and a 90° notch allows you to easily switch from landscape to portrait modes.
| Head Type | Ball Head |
| Base Mount | 1/4"-20 Female |
| Camera Mounting Screw | 1/4"-20 Male |
| Quick Release Plate Type | No Quick Release |
| Ball Sphere Diameter | 0.7" / 18 mm |
| Load Capacity | 15.4 lb / 7 kg |
| Weight | 8.8 oz / 250 g |
| Package Weight | 0.65 lb |
| Box Dimensions (LxWxH) | 8.1 x 3.3 x 1.55" |
Solid addition to the tripod. Only small detail is that the actual stem is black, not silver as shown in the details above.
leica ball head the cleanest operable sturdiest tripod head
I have had one of these since the sixties, and use it a quite lot. Since that time, I have acquired a number of ball heads, but always reach for this one. I finally decided to get another, so that I always have one readily available.
This is one of those pieces of gear one holds off buying, but finally gives into paying the price - and never regretting the purchase. I always carry this onto location, dissembled from the tabletop tripod. Separately, the two pieces stow away in remarkably small space. There are two versions of the ball head - the short and the long. I recommend the long one, since the longer versions allows for a handgrip to further steady the tripod when absolutely needed. The engineering for the head and tabletop goes back to roughly 70 years and the Leica folks have kept the patent without need for improvement. Apparently they got it right on the first go. It is amazing how much weight such a small head can handle, thanks to its grooved ball head. Anyway, German engineering/manufacturing at its straight forward finest. (If you can fine it second hand at a good price, jump for it. The gear is virtually indestructible.)
I have been a pro shooter now for over 30 years. I bought one of these heads back in about 1984 and i still use it often. It now sitting on top of my little carbon gitzo about to head of to India for its 4th trip there. I used it daily for years on a leitz table tripod for ground level fashion shots with a Hasselblad 500 ELM. Traveled with it and my Leica M's through Kalimantan Borneo , Perched my Linhof 4x5 on it when i needed a low shot, and now use it with my Sony A7's. Its my oldest bit of gear that i still use and worth every cent i payed and then some. In the long run this will be the cheapest head you will ever buy.
Very sturdy , it hold even a Nikon D850 with 24x70 mm lens , it is very helpful .
I needed a long ball head to mount my D850 and Q2 to my old majestic head on my Arkay stand. Going vertical using the majestic is too much cranking. This ball head hold solidly and has the clearance I needed. One strange thing is that the circular insert around the 1/4 20 fell out. I put it back in and it works. Just did not expect that piece to fall out. Still works. Still glad I bought the ball head. Forward March. Would have been a 5 but for the fallout thing.
Frankly, I can mount my camera directly to the tabletop tripod. This ball head enables you to tilt the camera whichever way you want. It adds about 5" to the height of the tripod which I need. Very beautiful and solid construction.
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