Ball head tripods are a pain to pan.
 

So, I try out a ball head tripod on my HC7 and let me tell you it is a pain in the butt to smoothly and slowly pan for HD...

So what do I have to do? Get more training on how to pan correctly on this thing or get a head with a pan bar/get another tripod kit with a pan bar?

Whoa there Tiger.........
 

What tripod? What head? Why don't you have a pan bar - that's what they're for?

It could well be your tripod/ head system is totally incapable of functioning properly with a video camera - it could be designed for still cameras in which case smooth panning is a total non requirement.

Why not tell us what you have under that camera so we can give some advice.

I have a feeling a moderator will be re - locating this anytime soon...............see you over on "Tripod Sticks and Heads".

Cheers,


Chris

We just got a Manfrotto 190XB/486RC2 tripod kit with a ball head... It didn't come with a pan bar.

Ah never mind, so I guess I'll have to get another tripod capable of doing pans... shaky footage on travel tapes till I get another tripod... :(

Hi Jack....
 

If I understand you correctly, and it's one of those tripods with a dinky little ball fixing under the camera platform, it's totally unsuitable for panning a video camera, and in my personal opinion, unsuitable for a video camera period.

If you're going to replace it, do a bit (no, a lot) of research on what is best for video. If you recoil at the prices, well, welcome to Hollywood!

Cheers,


Chris

The Bogen-Manfrotto 486RC2 Compact Ball Head is not a video head. It's a photo head. You can't possibly expect to pan with it. You need a proper video head; any of which will come equipped with a pan bar.

Oh Dear.......
 

I just checked the Manfrotto web site - I'm almost afraid to ask what possesed you to buy a still camera system for an HDV video camera. In fact, I won't.

Hey, you could always return it, maybe. Definately a bad buy.

Bad luck.

Cheers,


Chris

Well, actually my dad bought it for his digital camera so he's happy. Guess we'll have to buy another tripod...

well, i find lots of uses for my ballhead tripod in video applications. panning just isn't one of them. although, i can imagine getting good enough at it that it would be adequate for light, periodic use in an unconventional set-up. i've used mine mounted to a bogen super clamp to make 1) a bike dolly 2) a noga arm that mounts to my tripod and holds my Marshall monitor and 3) to beef up my Stickypod mount.

i don't care how many posts you have at DVinfo. every one of us is always either learning something new or trying to share something new. that's the whole point of participating.

I didn't know better that a ball head tripod wouldn't work with an HDV camcorder... The only way I found out about these heads was just today when our tripod came. All I knew before then was that Manfrotto tripods provide fluid motion that's good for HDV and the only Manfrottos I ever knew were the ones equipped with video heads at our school, so how was I supposed to tell the difference between a photo and video head? And I wasn't even there when my dad bought it. (if you wanna know my age, I'm in the late teens.)

Well, as Meryem points out, you can certainly use a photo head for video work in certain applications, as long as they don't involve panning, such as a locked-down shot for instance. But yes, a proper video head is a definite requirement for what you're doing. Whether or not you need an additional set of sticks just depends on how often you and your dad will be using both cameras at the same time. But I would suggest that each camera has its own dedicated tripod.

of course a good fluid tripod head is an essential piece of equipment. but there are things which do in a pinch, hence the popularity of the beanbag. i've gotten useable panning results with a beanbag, but it has taken a bit of effort to perfect the technique, and it's not always reliable, depending on how focused i'm feeling on a given day. that's why, even if you get good at panning with a ballhead, you need a nice beefy tripod to get consistency--and even operating an expensive tripod head takes practice. you can't buy technique, any more than you could plunk down money and suddenly play the piano.

just to add, all of these are tools not orthodoxies....

Well, we just got a 190XB/701RC2 kit so now I can pan correctly.

You could get an Arca-Swiss ball head, with an independent pan-lock, intended for panoramas.

But spending $500 not even intended for video?

That's a great little fluid head. I think you'll be very happy with it.