Ex. if you will be panning a fair bit, you will want a head that has an independent panning base..

If you need precise control, and not speed, a 3-way head might work better for you than a ball head. Whereas if you need the flexibility to adjust all axes at once... a ball head will work better, or maybe a pistol-grip head. If you intend to take a lot of panoramas, there are heads designed for that....

If you need to be tracking moving objects with a long telephoto... you might want to look at things like the Wimberly gimbal heads, but those tend to be overkill for most people...

Hello, I have a Nikon D40 currently, I am just starting off in photography but decided on a good quality tripod, so that when I eventually upgrade to a bigger camera with a better lens and so on, I wouldn't have to buy a new tripod. I just want a head that will suit a beginner, have a high load capacity and isn't too expensive upto 60?.

I am running for Diabetes UK in the Great North Run (Half-Marathon - 13.1 miles) I need to raise 400 so Please disg deep and sponsor me. You can sponsor me here:http://www.justgiving.com/jackhinds..

Bogen Manfrotto 486RC2 Compact Quick Release Ball Head should be enoug for you for 3+ years at least.http://www.stan-pustylnik.smugmug.com..

Thank you very much Stan! just one question I have been looking at the 322RC2, and the 222 (joystick type) Would you recommend either for the 055XPROB? I loved the feel of the two heads and ease of use, obviously a ball head would be easy to use aswell, but I really liked the look of them.They did look much weaker though! You can't go off looks so thats why I am asking the question!.

Thank you,Jack.

I am running for Diabetes UK in the Great North Run (Half-Marathon - 13.1 miles) I need to raise 400 so Please disg deep and sponsor me. You can sponsor me here:http://www.justgiving.com/jackhinds..

I have the 3265 (joystick) and it's great for some uses and poor for others. Most of the negatives have probably been resolved with the 322rc2 but I've never used ot so can't say for sure. The longer joystick model had a lot of leverage problems if tilted too far from vertical or to "portrait," the ball and mount are a lot closer together on the 322 so most of that should be minimized. The 3265 would require servicing periodically (mine once in probably 4-5 years) to get the grip back to working well..

They are very fast in use, require some good grip strength at times. As I have a pan/tilt head, the lack of a separate panning function wasn't an issue..

I've got a standard balltype head on a small tripod now so am getting used to the difference in handling..

The 804rc2 is simple (and a bit awkward as a pan/tilt usually is) but it sets up for some types of uses very readily, like panoramas or architiecture where you want easy horizontal or vertical motions. The 486 ballhead is less expensive than the 488 but doesn't have the separate panning function. Unless you want to pay substantially more, I'd suggest the 488. To jump to full tension control and/or Arca-Swiss qr systems usually means $100-$150 to add to compatible heads or $250 and up for the better tension type heads...