FancierstudioTripod Monopod Metal BALL HEAD Quick Release Plate By Fancierstudio

I was looking for a metal ball head to mount to my DIY camera trolly, jib, slider etc. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money for one of the big brand name products. This really is an incredible value. The weight of the product is substantial...it feels well built. The fact that it also comes with a quick release plate makes it almost too good to be true. Obviously it does not have the silky smooth operation of some of the more expensive alternatives out there. I would not expect it to at 1/3 of the price.I was expecting to settle for something that felt "cheap". I was pleasantly surprised. I'll be buying more so that I can affix them to my various rigs and not have to switch them all the time.

The build on this head is great, very heavy dudy, but the quick plate system is useless. It doesnt stay tight and the plate unique. Skip this.*UPDATE*I've tried to replace the quick release plate with a Manfrotto clone, but the thread pattern on the mount is not a standard 1/4-20, not sure what it is...so you have to use the original bolt. It doesn't work well with the small clone, but does work with the larger giottos MH621. It's not great, but will work with lighter cameras...anything heavy will cause it to swivel loose. One solution would be to use a Dremel tool to rework the cut-out in the mount to match the bottom of the quick-plate(not a great solution). Again, skip this ball head...please.

I don't use a tripod or monopod that often and couldn't justify spending hundreds of bucks on a ball head. For the longest time I used a $20 Canon monopod with built-in ball head made by Canon. The head was way too small for my setup (5D Mark III and a 200mm f/1.8L - weighing around 10 pounds). I finally bought a heftier monopod (see my other review on the SIRUI P-306 6 Section Aluminum Monopod, 17 lb. Load Capacity) and this ball head that could take the weight.I can't see how they even make any money on this thing! It's solid and reasonably well made. Don't expect to get an ultra smooth ball movement as it's a little rough. The quick release feels solid (I'm counting on this thing not dropping my setup which is worth almost eight grand). Out of the box, you'll want to basically disassemble it and clean all the grease they put on the ball. What were they thinking? If you don't you'll end up at some point getting grease all over your fingers and smudging your lens and camera with it. Once I got all the grease off, the ball still moved with acceptable smoothness. Remember this is not a fluid head for panning video, so I don't see that spending hundreds of dollars on a ball head will help make your photo any better. Save your money for better lenses and get this thing.Pros: Solidly built. Can hold a lot of weight without creeping. One handed operation. Less than twenty bucks!Cons: Get the grease off the ball before you bring it anywhere near your camera!

I received this ball head for my tripod today and I have to admit I was a little skeptical about what I was actually getting for $19.00 but I figured why not, I was in a jam and needed one fast! I have to say that I am impressed, really impressed! The head moves very smoothly and locks down tight! really tight! the quick release plate is solid metal which I like since others I have had were plastic and have actually broken on me. One thing to note is that it does have a 3/8 - 16 thread mount so if your tripod does not have that thread screw than you will need a thread adapter, my tripod had the 3/8 thread mount screw (which I had made sure of before purchasing) so I knew it would work. I have used "Name Brand" ball heads before and I find nothing wrong with this product. It's super solid, and works great! Right now I have a Canon 7d w/battery grip and 28-135mm lens on it with no problems.

I bought this to use with a monopod. Even though several other reviews mentioned the weight, I thought they must be overly sensitive to that issue- but, yeah, its a pretty substantial pice of metal. I'm pretty sure that, if the need arose, I could now probably use the monopod as a makeshift club.That said, it works well, and the weight probably wouldn't be an issue on a tripod, if that's what you plan on using it with.

I ordered this ball head for a PLR 72" Photo / Video Pro Monopod, which I was ordering at the same time. The Ball Head was listed as an item that I might want to add to my order of the monopod. Unfortunately, when the two items arrived, I found that the ball head would not fit the screw head of the monopod. I returned the ball head. Since then, I believe I have seen an adapter that could be used to get the two pieces to conjoin. My rating of the ball head is not so much about the quality of the ball head but more that what was listed on Amazon as compatible pieces did not work. Actually, if I do find there is an adapter that will work, I may reorder the ball head.

The price is the main reason for my purchasing this Ball Head but I found the quality to be surprisingly good for an inexpensive product. It only has one drawback I can see which is that when it is released it is rough and sticks when you move it. That makes it hard to frame a telephoto shot and would make video pans impossible. But it is;Easy to lock and unlockRock solid when locked downVery strongCompact for the strength it has.Overall I am very happy with this purchase.

sturdy item, but totally useless, since the quick release plate has a really short, and probably badly fabricated, screw that does not attach it tight the the camera, that remains wobbly. defeats the purpose. Who designed this!? I wasted my money. I wish there were 0 stars here.