Lon wrote: At a given price point, pan-tilt is usually a better value. More precise, locks down better, steadier. Unless you know you need a ballhead (which are easier to use when recomposition is frequent), stick with a pan-tilt. This amounts to conventional wisdom as I understand it, and my experience (3 pan-tilt and 3 ballheads) confirms it.
REPLY: True, in principle a pan/tilt head is sturdier than a ball head, all things equal (a shaky pan/tilt head is of course worse than a steady ball head). However, when weight enters the equation this doesn't hold up as real steady, lightweight pan/tilt heads doesn't exist to my knowledge whereas steady lightweight ball heads do. P�l
