My old camera mount gave out during a meteor shower shoot

Three years ago, I was trying to get a long exposure of the Perseids from my backyard. My cheap tripod head just couldn't hold my DSLR steady for the 30 second shots I needed. The whole setup would slowly droop over the course of an hour, ruining the frame. I ended up using a stack of books and a lot of duct tape as a quick fix. Has anyone found a solid, budget friendly ball head that actually stays put in the cold?

3 comments

3 Comments

vera_roberts2mo ago

I mean, the whole stack of books and duct tape thing is kind of wild to me. I just can't see trusting that for a long exposure, idk. Maybe it's just me but I feel like a cheap ball head that actually locks down is way better than a homemade fix that could still move. I had a similar one that would slip and I just saved up for a used manfrotto, it was a total game changer for night shots.

phoenixp302mo ago

Depends on the books, honestly. A solid stack of encyclopedias and good tape is surprisingly stable, @vera_roberts. My old setup held a 4 minute exposure once without a hint of drift.

ben_shah934d ago

Nah, books and tape are just asking for trouble... I had a cheap ballhead freeze up on me during a winter shoot and it started slipping after like ten minutes in the cold. Spent ages tweaking it and ruined a whole set of star trails. Better to just save up for a decent used one like the manfrotto your friend mentioned... even a mid-range Neewer has held my gear steady at 20 degrees. Cheap fixes just make you chase problems when you should be focused on the sky.