Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Picking up a Slik Professional 4 Carbon Fibre Giant Tripod. I need the ultra big tripod for architectural work and also most likely thinking of getting the BH-55 Ballhead with LR clamp

Right - the BH-55 is the BIG daddy - the Markins counterpart is the M-20.

I'm not sure where you are located but I could meet up with you on July 10th or 11th. I am near Fairview Mall.

Due to my list of non-RRS plates, I'm going to have to go for a screw clamp.

So it looks like the http://reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/Customk ... 55-Pro&eq=

That being said, I already have an Acratech Levelling Quick Release Clamp http://acratech.net/product.php?productid=55 but it looks like I cannot use the Acratech clamp in the RRS ballhead.

I have heard that it is not receommended to mix Kirk, Markins, RRS, Arca Swiss plates as they may not be compatible but I have no experience with this as my plates and clamp are both RRS.

Jamesy, the comment from RRS is not to mix Kirk, Markins, etc plates when using an RRS lever clamp. Screw clamps are fine.

My comment is more the fact that since the BH-55 does not appear to have a 3/8"-16 thread for mounting a non-RRS clamp, and you must use their clamp with the countersunk screw, or so it appears, unless someone can correct me.

I don't know about that - perhaps someone else has experience with it.

I did however have issues securing the RRS clamp to the Markins ballhead with the RRS stainless steel stud http://reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/Itemdes ... 2F4&eq=&Tp (which I paid extra for). I tried loctite, both colours and it would not adhere.

As soon as I switched to the Markins titanium stud the loctite started to bond almost immediately.

If you go the BH-55 route then I believe it comes with the clamp affixed to the ballhead.

This might be exactly what I'm looking for. The issue is that my existing clamp has female threading, and the BH-55 is female threading (I just need to confirm the thread size).

I have the RRS stud if you want it - it did not tighten up in my config so I used the Markins. Both the RRS clamp and the ballhead were female threads so a stud is required to afix them to one another.

I inquired on FM, and apparently there is some sort of indexing tab on the BH-55, and I'd have to muck around with the acratech head to make it work.

I guess BH-55 + B2 Pro II is the name of the plan.

Does the B2 Pro II attach to the BH-55 differently than my RRS clamp type?

If you look on the image of the ballhead alone, you'll see that there are two bits of metal that stick out of the top of the post.

Over the past day or so I was thinking about grit, and weight. Also, given the frustration of the existing exercise, I might go instead for the Acratech GV2, especially since I already have the clamp... also it's available locally.

Does anyone have an RRS BH-55 that I can see in the flesh?