Name: Giottos MH1004 Mini Ball Head with Single Knob for Ball and Pan
Brand: Giottos
SKU: GTBHMI
Price: 12.95 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4.6 (34 reviews)

Giottos MH1004 Mini Ball Head with Single Knob for Ball and Pan

Giottos MH1004

Giottos

Giotto's MH-1004 Mini Ball Head with Single Knob

Adorama

Photography

Tripods & Supports

Tripod Heads

Ball Heads

Giottos Ball Heads

Giottos MH1004 

32% Off: Giottos MH1004 Mini Ball Head with Single Knob for Ball and Pan Buy now & save $6. Maximum Load Capacity: 5 lb, Quick Release: Without Quick Release

Works fine.

Works fine & locks tight easily.
The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is the ball to socket fit isnt smooth, but a bit rough when adjusting.

Nice, but not perfect.

I only use it for GoPro cameras but I've got quite a few of them because they are a great little ball head.

AWESOME for it's size.

Compact Necessity

I wouldn't trust this with anything larger than a point and shoot. I have a few of these that I use for GoPros, Mics, and other things that use the tripod threading.

I bought this to use instead of the expensive DJI Osmo connector.

Perfect for Small cameras, microphones, or even the HTV Vive sensors

Good value

It's a great deal!!!

This was the first ball head I purchased.  It did the job but was lacking in ease of use.  Best if you are going to leave your camera connected, but you may not want to have to connect and disconnect frequently.

Sincerely,
Steph

Functional

LOVE IT!
This thing is perfect for a mini tripod. I have this on a little Giottos tripod and I  just toss it in my bag for when I need and extra tripod!

LOVE IT! 

I use it for a classical guitar support, instead of a footstool.  Works great!

use with classical guitar support

good product

This is a great little ball head. It won't hold a full frame DSLR but it's perfect for holding and positioning speeddlights. I use them to hold 6 speedlights in position on a simple wooden frame to  photograph hummingbirds. The mini ball head holds my speedlights very securely and I've never had one slip.

Perfect for speedlights

The pivot ball is metal not plastic very solid. I would highly recommend it.

Very good quality and solid construction

The mini ball head is just the right size for mounting speedlights to light stands with either 1/4-20 or 3/8 threads, with or without wireless triggers.

Great for speedlights

This isn't strong enough for an SLR.  Started to slip after a day of use.  Probably just fine for a point-and-shoot.

worked great, for a while

I got this for use on a monopod with Olympus PEN cameras. For most uses, I think that it will be quite good enough. Only real annoyance, as has been mentioned, is that loosening the ball allows the entire assemblage to rotate on the monopod. I disassembled it to see why. See photos. Also the ball is not perfectly spherical, so that rotation into the 90 degree slot needs slightly looser clamp, but this does not bother me.

Good, simple tool

Will support absurdly heavy loads. Attaching is a bit awkward because when loosened, both ball  (top) and socket (bottom) rotate independently, so you can't screw it onto a tripod, then loosen the ball and then  easily screw that into camera base. But this is a minor complaint. Is very strong, and very small. I use it on a Kirk arm to give better aim to the flash, and plan to incorporate a second one into a small tripod.

Strong and cheap

This Giottos mini ball head is very good to use on a monopod to hold a compact ILC camera or a good point & shoot. Is light and easy to set.

Very good product

Just perfect for my monopod!

I attached this nice little unit to my Sherlock hiking staff and put the knob back on top.  I can remove the wooden knob and attach my camera in seconds and then use the 30x zoom with some assurance of a steady hold.  Good price, good product.

Useful!

I bought one, then ordered a second. One I use on Adorama's monopod; the second on a light stand. For light weight functions, I find it quite suitable.  By light weight, I mean small point-and-shoot cameras or small binoculars. For the light stand, I use it with single bulb fixtures. I don't find it suitable for a DSLR, especially with a heavy lens.

Functional, good value for light use

I use this product to mount my flash on the umbrella stand and point the flash head towards the center of the umbrella. Works perfectly and no light spill.

Used for umbrella stand

I use these on 18" Smith Victor compact light stands to hold my Nikon strobes for use with a light tent for product photography. These are inexpensive and yet work perfectly to support the Adorama cold shoes for the strobes. Total cost is [$] per light stand including the stand, cold shoe, and the Giotto ball head. Terrific setup at a dirt cheap price.

perfect for product or macro photography

I have a 26' long aluminum mast, formerly a CB base antenna (with an extension). I inserted a 2 1/2" 3/8-15 concrete anchor into the top end of the pole to acept the MH1004 Mini Ball Head.  I then attached my Nikon CoolPix S3000 camera to the swivel.

Anchor base of mast so it does not slide when being raised.  Standing at the top end, tilt and lock camera to approximate angle to capture desired scene, set the camera's shutter delay to 10 seconds, press shutter release, swiftly raise the mast and hold on.  Try to stabilze the pole - (believe it or not, 10 seconds is plenty of time!).

Bring down camera, check shot in viewing screen, make necessary adjustments, reset timer, and do it all over again.

The MH1004 was the only ball mount I could find that was available at, first of all, a great price, and it was small enough for my application.  The pictures have turned out awesome!  The fun part is they're happenstance.  I never know what the resulting shot will be.

I'll be buying another Mini Ball Head to install on another shorter pole.

By the way, as a kite/mast photographer, I believe I've discovered a fun new hobby.  No big equipment needed!

I believe I've discovered a fun new hobby.

Great little ball head.  Perfect for flashes along with a cold shoe or for a p&s camera.

Great little ball head

Bought this to compliment my Giotto Monopod not realizing it was so tiny compared to the base plate on the monopod, an oversight on my part.  I may be able to find a longer thumb turn to improve convenience.

A little too small

I picked this ball head up to go with the Flashpoint handlebar mount, thinking that it was required.  Turns out it wasn't necessary, but I'm still happier with this ball head than with the handlebar mount, and will probably get more use from it.  It's quite small, and fits nicely on top of my compact gorillapod, but even when mounted on top of my tripod, it can handle my Nikon D80 SLR with a fairly heavy 18-200mm VR lens with no problem.  The knob quicky and easily unlocks it, allowing you to reposition any which way you want, and then lock it down again quickly.  This ball head is an absolute must-have for use with a Gorillapod, as it gives you flexibility on the final aiming that can be quite difficult with the Gorillapod alone.

Excellent little ball head

I purchased this to complete an astronomy barn door mount, and it works wonders.  I'm using it with a Pentax K20D and an old super-takumar f4 150mm lens with a 2x adaptor attached.  This ball head has had no problems holding the hole setup steady for shots as long as five minutes.  I only gave it a four because I don't have experience with more ball head mounts, but for the price this is an excellent piece of equipment.

Great little piece of equipment

This is a great little ballhead. Very strong, has multiple mounting threads. Rated at 5 lbs. but I only use it for mounting a strobe to a Bogen monopod, in a homemade clamp for strobes, and mounting a Canon G9 to a monopod.

Fantastic little ballhead

Stabilizes my Olympus E-510 and short telephoto lens for 1/10 second exposures.