Benro ballheads???

Did a quick search and didn't see much so I thought I should ask...

Are the Benro ballheads worth having? I have a cheapo piece of junk Amvona ball head that is just frustrating me to no end. I'm thinking of the KB-1 or KB-2 Benro head for the weight handling. I'll probably never have that much weight on the thing, but over built will probably last me a very long time. Heaviest will probably be my Mamiya 645 with prism, motordrive (6AA cells) and 500 f5.6 lens.

IMHO, the old adage you get what you pay for is not true with many China imports, you get far less. Better to buy a quality used ball head than new cheap. I found this review that may be of interest.

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The crickets chirping seem to reflect your suggestion. I'll keep looking for something decent.

fotch said:

IMHO, the old adage you get what you pay for is not true with many China imports, you get far less.

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In some cases you get far more. I'm very satisfied with my Giottos ballhead.

That was "another" brand I was thinking about. Probably all comes out of the same factory as it all looks the same.

Wish I could afford something new, took a look at the Cambo website the other day, they have some nice looking stuff.

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but didn't have sufficient evidence from my own experience. I bought the Benro KS-2 several months ago kind of by mistake. I had forgotten the name "Induro" which got good reviews on another site, and went with "Benro" because of the final "o" I guess. I could blame a misguided impulsive certainty, or I may possibly be stupid, or because it was being offered by KEH for $94 which I thought was too tempting to resist. Well... a couple of days later I got the thing, and checked it out online only to discover the scathing review that's linked to above.

DO NOT HEED ALL THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS YOU READ!! This head may be made of petrified chewing gum for all I really know, but it's been a joy to use. From the negative review, I learned what not to do with it, and so I've had no problems with moderate weight MF and LF cameras and lenses that don't approximate the weight and stress of a medium caliber howitzer. I am not trying to challenge the very certainly overstated claims of the maker that it will support a ballistic missile, but with loads not in excess of a dozen pounds or so, the thing has done beautifully. For the price I paid, I'm about over the top happy with this ball head, and for that price plus shipping (all told, the cost of two and a half dinners out with my wife and son) I have absolutely no regrets, and would buy another if it were offered in the same condition (indistinguishable from new), and for a similar price. So there!

Greg_E said:

That was "another" brand I was thinking about. Probably all comes out of the same factory as it all looks the same.

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Well, in chinese factories they copy everything...

If you want another ball head that is just frustrating you to no end Benro is for you. I saw photos in a german forum, someone who wondered why his camera juddered when using the ballhead he disassembled a Benro and showed how poorly they are made. They look good but the quality is really terrible. If you want real quality that lasts forever you might consider a used Linhof, Arca, RRS or Kirk ballhead. If you can live without a ballhead, good 3D heads are often much cheaper.

BTW, it seems that the reported problems with the Benros are always discovered only after a while, in the beginning they work fine.