Review: Manfrotto 327RC2 Handle-Grip Ball Head with Quick Release

Although I do shoot some studio set-ups, the majority of my photography is a spontaneous reaction to the scenery around me, often while hiking. Therefore, when I’m using a tripod or monopod, I value a head that is both light and that can be adjusted quickly. By the same token, I’d like it to also be rock-solid for when I am taking longer exposure or extreme zoom shots.

We’ve long owned a Manfrotto 3221WN tripod with 490RC4 ball head, which are great for studio set-ups, but too cumbersome for more spontaneous shooting outside the studio. Therefore, I’ve been on the lookout for a mobile alternative. To that end, Manfrotto kindly sent me some gear on extended loan to try out, including one of their light duty handle-grip ball heads. After living with this head for several months now, I wanted to share my impressions.

Snowblind

A few years ago, I made a decision: I was going to save every image I shot using the Camera Raw file format. This decision is as automatic as waking up for professional photographers, but may bring apprehension for many amateur and semi-pro shooters. Indeed, I dare say more are creating multi-image HDR files (thanks to the profusion of tools available today - even for cell phone cameras!) than using Camera Raw. Therefore, I’d like to walk through how Camera Raw saved what would have been an otherwise unusable shot in hopes that it helps convert a few more into taking advantage of this format.

Trying to Lighten Up

I take most of my photos while hiking. My most common subjects are either close-ups of rocks and plants, which requires razor-sharp focus, or long and wide shots of landscapes with a preference for a very deep focal plane. Both of these benefit from being as stable as possible while shooting - and unfortunately, I’m not a very good statue.

Although virtually all of my lenses have image stabilization built in, I’ve been looking for a lightweight, highly functional monopod/tripod and head combination that’s easier to take with me than our studio sticks (Manfrotto 3221WN tripod with 490RC4 ball head, weighing in at 8.5 pounds). This article is a loose wrap-up of my first halting steps in that direction, in hopes that my missteps may help you avoid similar pitfalls.

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Timelapse Motion Control

Having made the move recently from California to New Mexico, loving to shoot both states (and points in between), and having recently bought a Canon 5D Mark II, I was happy to have recently encountered Timescapes.org, who is currently working on a film about the area - Southwest Light - which is being shot timelapse with DSLRs such as the 5D. What makes some of these scenes particularly interesting is the motion control dolly they are using: A stepper motor is incrementing the camera’s position between shots along a slide rail, combining the sensation of panning (a “dolly shot”) with timelapse - nice work.

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