MPN: 322RC2
Strengths: Flexible, quick and accurate
Weakness: none
The 322RC2 is the most flexible grip ball head. It can be mounted in three positions: left handed, right handed or vertically. I'm using it vertically right now because it's more convenient and more accurate. It's rated to support 5 lbs when mounted vertically. It handles my digital rebel XT, Kenko 2x tele-converter, 28-135 IS lens with big zoom rubber hood, and 420ex flash without any problem. It stays wherever I point it to. When I upgrade to bigger tele lenses in the future, I can change it to horizontal mount. It's rated 11 lbs in horizontal positions.
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TopStrengths: Light weight, quick release, quick and easy positioning of the attached camera.
Weakness: difficult to do horizontal panning
Just got this ball head and have used it so far to do macro photography. Love the eazy positioning feature. Framing the obj. just right is a no brainer. Able to be switched from right to left hand grip will surely accomodate the "lefty" photog, but is not a big deal for me. It also allows conversion to vertical position with no fuss.
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TopStrengths: Light weight
Weakness: price
One of the best ball head I have ever used. I used a bogen 468rc4. It is as sturdy as a rock but it is too heavy for outdoors. 322rc2 is much lighter than it. It handles my canon 70-200mm with 1.4x well
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TopStrengths: Versatile, quick and easy to use. This new model can be used with the grip in vertical or horizontal position, adding to versatily.
Weakness: It uses Manfrotto type of quick release plates, not the trade standard Arca Swiss followed by pro ballhead manufacturers like Markins, Arca Swiss itself -of course- Linhof, Kirk, Foba.
Very light, made of cast aluminum, it does not add much to the weight of your monopod or tripod (0.78Kg, or 1.7 lbs), an important consideration in the field. I do not hesitate to recommend this nice gadget, so far proven to be ideal for 35mm cameras with short or medium focal length lenses. I used it first with the Nikon F4s + 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 AF Zoom Nikkor and it is was a real pleasure to work with. Today it sees action from a Nikon F6 + 80-400mm VR Nikkor lens with very good results, and at times with a teleconverter. Several Nikonians use it on their tripods and love it.
JRP
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TopStrengths: Fast positioning, sturdy, well made, converts from left to right hand grip. Primiarily horizontal but can do veritcal.
Since its a ball mount, not sutible for multiple exposure panorama's where you'd want a conventional head to pivot horizontally.
Sized well for 35, would not feel comfortable with larger med. format like Mamiya RZ67.
Like quick release shoe.
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TopStrengths: well made
Weakness: Hard to get camera level,harder to use than I thought. Hard to control when camera, flash, bracket are all on the tripod.
I am not as impressed with this as I thought I would be. I liked it ok when it was holding my camera and lens only, but add the weigh and height of the flash and bracket and it is very hard to use (my equipment totals 6 lbs this ballhead claims to support 13.2). I have a lot of trouble trying to get it level. It claims to be easy to use with one hand. Maybe for a strong man, but I do not have the forearm strength to control everything with one hand. I have to hold the lens with one hand and the grip with another and it is still hard to get level. If you were going to set it up and shoot in one spot it would work fine, but if you wanted to make changes quickly I would not recommend this one for you. It is also a little hard and awkward to get in the quick release slot. I am not sure in a dark room if I could do it with out trouble.
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TopStrengths: Built solid,fluid motion, tension knob comes in handy when usinf different weight lenses,
Weakness: Would like to see the palm plate rubberized, for cold weather use.
Found this acc. while looking for something to top my momopod, actually thinkning about buying one for my tripod. Work's real good with my 80-200 attached to my digital bodys.
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TopStrengths: Easy to use
Weakness: can't handle weight more than 12 lbs
This Bogen / manfrotto 322RC2 GRIP ACTION BALL HEAD is good for outdoor photography. With fast action grip, you can virtually go to any direction without worry to fasten the ballhead. The leveler help a lot. Can be set for left hand, right hand and vertigal grip.
The only weakness is can't handle weight more than 12 lbs
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TopStrengths: durable. great design.
Weakness: bubble level cannot be seen when using some very large telephoto lenses. A little heavy.
This is a great ball head. It does have a few minor quirks. For example when attaching large, heavy telephotos as instructed, the bubble level cannot be seen. And, this is certainly not one of the lightest ball heads around. Still, the item is very solid with great ergonomic design. Everything I’ve come to expect from Manfrotto—great quality at a fair price.
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Testseek.com has collected 6 expert reviews for Manfrotto 322RC2 Ball Head and the average expert rating is 85 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.
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Manfrotto Ball Head
Strengths: Extremely easy to adjust.
This is a great product. I was impressed with the quality. Besides that, the design makes it very easy to adjust to create perfect framing. I also ordered the electronic shutter release. I have yet to use that, but think it is a great concept and will prove to help me to shoot much more efficiently when using my tripod. I paired this head with the 3001bpro legs and think it will be a great combo.
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