One often over-looked piece of equipment is the tripod "head". This is the device that supports your camera on the tripod. The ideal tripod head would be lightweight, inexpensive, strong, quick and smooth to operate. Unfortunately no such head exists!

There are many types of heads available on the market today. The "traditional" head is the "pan/tilt" head. It has separate levers to control horizontal panning motion, Up/down, and to tip the camera into a vertical position. These types of heads are economical and strong, but are a little slow to operate when photographing birds. These types of heads are better suited for non-action type photography.

The type of head of particular interest to bird photographers is the "ball head". This style has a captive ball with a clamping mechanism. When loosened, you are free to move the camera in any plane. This allows unprecedented ease of following a rapidly moving target. Some manufacturers also have "tensioning" devices to control the ease with which the ball can be rotated. This is desirable as once the weight of your camera/lens combination increases it can be awkward if the ball is completely loose.

Here are some popular online sites that offer ballheads from different manufacturers. Kirk Enterprises, http://www.kirkphoto.com offers several types including Manfrotto (Bogen in the U.S.) which have been modified to use Arca Swiss style plates. (See photo Manfrotto1 below) L.L. Rue, http://www.rue.com is another excellent site offering a wide range of outdoor photography products. Manfrotto/Bogen, http://www.bogenphoto.com is a source of information on their product line.

There are many manufacturers to choose from, Manfrotto, Arca Swiss, Foba and Studioball to name a few. The latter three make high quality (a.k.a. expensive) heads designed to handle very heavy camera/lens combinations. Manfrotto makes ball heads that are much more reasonable in cost, but lack the precise action that the higher end heads have.

Manfrotto This Manfrotto ballhead model 168 has been modified to accept Arca Swiss style plates. This head is quite reasonable in cost and offers good value for the money. Kirk Enterprises(see link above) sell these heads modified as above. A desirable feature on any ballhead is the panning base, present on all heads shown here. (allows for horizontal panning)

Foba The Foba Superball is an excellent head with a high load capacity. The large release handle is very quick and secure to lock or loosen the ball. Foba also makes a smaller model which is suited for lighter combinations of lens and cameras.

Arca The B1 model shown above is a superb head and is perfectly suited for all but the very heaviest equipment. They also have other models available, but the B1 is a favourite among photographers due to its incredibly smooth action, compact size and high load capacity. It offers the same load capacity as the Foba , but in a much smaller package. (more expensive package!)

A "quick release" system is an important feature on a tripod head. It is a much faster way of putting your camera on to the tripod than having to screw it on each time. A quick release system basically consists of two components. The first involves a special mounting plate that is screwed on to your camera or lens, and the second is a special channel on the tripod head to which the former is mated. There are numerous styles available, but the Arca Swiss system is very popular and is preferred by professional photographers in general. Some systems such as Manfrotto have large bulky quick release plates that are not as secure as the Arca Swiss style.

Another advantage to the Arca Swiss style is that it allows you to slide the camera/lens combination front to back to get a better balance on the tripod head. This way there is fewer tendencies for the whole thing to fall in one direction. Another advantage to balancing the system is that it allows you to aim easier and reduce fatigue, as you are not constantly trying to hold the whole thing up.

In summary, ball heads are particularly well suited for bird photography as a simple twist of a knob or lever allows omni-directional movements. In addition a quick-release system such as the Arca Swiss system, will allow rapid setup of your equipment. Next month we will discuss flight photography techniques.

P.S. We will be doing a slide show at Point Pelee this year on Saturday, May 6. The show will be at the Interpretive center in the evening.