Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

Great deal at Adorama (bought it on sale)! [...]1st ballhead I've owned and I have to say I'm very pleased. Easy to use, well made, durable, and smooth operation.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

the head feels sturdy, seems to be all that is described, but right out of the box the Quick Release Plate screw swivel which attaches the camera to the plate broke clean off. I can still screw the bolt, with the aid of a hand tool. Otherwise the head holds my D 700 and portrait lenses just fine

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

For a BallHead, to be heavy is not exactly a "Con", but maybe it could be a bit lighter. If you want stability, it comes with weight. You want to use a camera with a telephoto in a vertical position, or a macro lens and ring flash also in vertical, you need muscle. It has a lot. Very well built. If you want, you can use it alone on a table, for example. It has a large base that gives it stability. Don't drop it on your foot, though. I highly recommend it. For the price, it is a bargain.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

So far this ballhead seems to work well. I have it sitting on a Manfrotto 055XPROB. It feels sturdy to me and I like the way it moves around. Not too gritty and not too loose. So far I've only tried it with my 7D and kit lens.

The instructions that came with it were lacking in detail. They don't explain things all that well, but it's not too hard to figure it out. The pouch it came in was kind of neat though.

I had to send my first one back since I could not get the friction control knob to turn at all. I know I've read of one other person having an issue like that too.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

I really didn't know what to expect with this ball head. Considering the price, I wasn't getting my hopes up as far as quality and stability go. To say that I am pleased with it is an understatement. I recently returned from a long weekend at a national wildlife refuge in Maryland, where this product served me exceptionally well. The only adjustment I had to make was to the position of the locking lever, which locks the quick-release plate in place. When in the locked position, it hit the bottom of my camera body, and was difficult to disengage. This was easily remedied, however, by simply removing the lever and repositioning it.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

I did not get to use this product yet. My wife saw it and decided it is going to be a Christmas gift. I did get to look it over before it was take from my hands. The product is well built and sturdy. The movements are snug and precise. [...] I am very happy with this product.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

I have had this ballhead for over a month now and have used quite a few times, whether shooting long exposures, looking-down micro, portrait-oriented macro and so on.

The thing that I had not checked when ordering was the weight. Since it is intended to carry heavy equipment, I should have thought about this. Since I don't go hiking with my tripod so often, it should not bother me too much, but be warned that it is pretty hefty.

The ballhead adjustments work really well, and although it is pretty new, I had no problems locking my D700 with a 24-70mm F2.8 whether in the landscape or looking down position.

However, the camera plate screw underneath is hard to lock down. I don't have the strongest fingers, and when I shot portrait-style macro shots with my 70-300 with extension tubes, the camera kept creeping down. At first I thought it was the ball, but in fact is was because the camera was not attached hard enough to the plate. I'll need to either work out my fingers or bring pliers with me in the future. But as mentioned, this only applies when shooting in portrait orientation, stronger people may not suffer from this.

So overall, great stability with the ballhead, but a little heavy and strength required for portrait-oriented shots with heavy lenses.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

Good stability in a small head

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

The standard sliding plate, which has approximately 1/2" adjustment forward and back, may be a bit difficult to slide. This is because the spring loaded locking and adjustment lever is overly tightened from the factory. I was able to use a 3/32 Allen wrench to loosen and adjust the screw in the lever. This allowed the plate to move freely back and forth. *Caution* be careful when loosening or tightening this screw, because it is so small the head can be easily damaged.

With a press of the red safety button on the opposite side the plate can be easily moved forward or back in two pre-determined positions. Now the locking adjustment lever can be used to firmly lock the plate in the selected position. The plate can travel as much as 1-1/4 inches in either direction. But be careful not to override the locking lever clamp by more than half way past the end of the plate, especially for large cameras and cameras with heavy telephoto lenses.

The large chrome flat head screw located in front of the red safety button, has a hidden flip up handle that allows you to unscrew it without having to use a screwdriver. The position that it is in is only a docking station for when it is not in use as an alternate for cameras that use the larger size tripod socket. The unit is shipped with the smaller tripod socket screw installed. The screws can easily be exchanged by pressing down on the larger black rubber plug towards the end of the sliding plate. The tripod socket screw can now slide out of the hole vacated by the rubber plug.

At the base of the unit are index marks from 0 to 90 degrees times four, allowing for a full 360-degree horizontal pan. This coupled with the bubble level near the sliding plate, allows the photographer to shoot precise and amazing panoramic stitchable pictures.

The unit can be attached to both photo and video cameras. I have used it for some amazing shots from a 40-pound video camera attached to a jib, a rig and a lowboy dolly. This Ball head has more adjustments than a Congressional Bill.

A smooth adjustable panning ball head, well-machined, heavy duty, fully adjustable and virtually indestructible at a bargain price.... it's one of those terrific buys.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

Great for nature photography. Just what is needed for sunrise ans sunset shots. Perfect for portraits. Masterful for micro/macro shots. Easy release plate from ball head. Recommend second mounting plate for the second camera.
Quality engineering and construction. Super value!!!

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

This is a rock solid ball head and is worth so much more than the price. It is extremely stable and has easy movement.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

Great ball for the money, I would actually call it a bargain at this price.In Europe we have to pay almost twice this price and I still consider it worth it!I wrote a review for my website a wile ago.and I found it to be an excellent choice even for pro level photographers.[...]

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

i use this head for photo and video it is exellent tool for that. thank you ronnie

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

A couple of features not shown are a plate side safety button to release the plate and camera unit from the ball head. This button is directly opposite the rotating locking lever. The standard plate allows aprox. 1/2 inch forward and 1/2 inch backward travel over the center of the ball head attachment by turning the locking lever under the sliding plate. There are stops each way released by the red button. The optional plate allows for additional lens ballance offering over 3 inches of total travel. Although I did purchase the longer plate,the standard plate is sufficient to ballance my Canon 30D and grip with a Canon 70-200 f4L. This site had 18 glowing reviews but were taken down when their stock was gone. Mmm
The sliding plate and bracket is a very hi tolerance assembly and was somewhat difficult to slide. A little bees wax did the trick. Be careful in adding any lube here as to not get anywhere near the ball. Removing the plate from the ball would be advised. It's held on by one large allen screw and is fairly snug.
The spirit levels are near useless as the fluid viscosity is very high creating a lot of hysteresis making a repeatable adjustment impossible.
Spirit levels asside, it appears to be a very well engineered piece of equipment and should last for years. The finish/color is darker than shown, nearly black. And note that it has German heritage and made in China.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

This is one of the best bargains to be had and
an "Excellent" product. I use it with my 190xPROB Manfrotto tripod and it replaces a Manfrotto/Bogen (488RC0) midi head. The knobs are easy to grip, comfortably sized and adjust very smoothly (although the friction knob was initially difficult to loosen). Once the friction knob is adjusted properly, the ball head did not exhibit the level of lense "droop/shift" of the Manfrotto head after the lock knob has been set. The ball action and pan action are both very smooth. Many have mentioned the size and weight, I did not find either distracting. It may not have the prestige factor of some of the more expense ball heads but a very practical choice for the majority of photography enthusiasts.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

nice and solid

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

I had to reposition the lever that locks the plate to the head because it interfered with the bottom of the camera. You can see in the product photo that the lever is positioned above the top of the plate. Repositioning the lever was easily accomplished by losining an allen screw and simply turning the lever and then locking it into a more suitable position. This is the only problem I had with this ball head.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

I've been looking for a ballhead for almost 3 months. I was considering the Arca Swiss Z1 and the Arcatech Ultimate but after reading the reviews (not too many reviews on the Cullmann yet), I decided to take a chance and buy it. I must say wow. The craftsmanship is very good and love the friction control. For under [$], you can't go wrong buying this. Even if the price is double, I would buy it. I would definitely recommend getting it especially at [$].I just noticed Adorama is already out of stock. Pick one of these up if you can get your hands on one.

Comments about Cullmann Cullmann High Load Magnesit Ball Head 35 with 40490 Deluxe Plate, Supports 66.0 lbs, 5" High:

[...].I do a lot of available light indoor portraiture and moved up to a D300. With my f2.8 telephoto I had to get serious about camera support and stabilization. I bought this ballhead along with a Slik Pro 700DX tripod after much web browsing. The combination of this tripod and head is rock solid and costs less than a ballhead alone from the prestige names (Arca Swiss, Atratech, Really Right Stuff).My initial nit-pick is that when the ballhead arrived the quick release plate was stuck shut and I had to force the tough plastic locking lever to a point where I was afraid it would break, to get the first release. Once it did, it now locks and unlocks perfectly. This initial forcing was unnecessary and due to impatience: the mechanism has an allen wrench socket which I could have used if I had had the patience to wait until I got home. The allen socket is there should I ever need it, but the release mechanism has been flawless after the initial unfreezing, and I don't think I ever will.Fit and finish are absolutely first rate - a beautiful piece of industrial machinery. The head is big and heavy, but I expected that with a 66 lb handling capacity (that's not a misprint, by the way). The friction control is smooth as silk and the lock-down in any position can only be described as vise-like. No fear of any kind of creep once set.The only downside to this ballhead is the flip side of its strength: size and weight. If you're going backpacking for a week, maybe you can justify paying double the price for a prestige brand ballhead at half the weight, but you will gain nothing in effectiveness or ease of use. Even though this is my first pro ballhead, I can't imagine a better functioning tool for quickly positioning a heavy camera and lens combination at any angle, and then holding it absolutely steady. The camera mounting mechanism's double release with safety pin adds to peace of mind that accidental drops should never happen if decent care is taken.Five stars for performance. I would give ten stars for value, if possible, as this ballhead has to be right up there with the prestige brands in materials, build, finish and effectiveness, at half the price. Most highly recommended.