Uniqball, the unique ballhead

Are you trying to call our attention to this and have something to say about it? If so please share your views. Otherwise we will have to remove this as advertising.

It is not advertising, I thought I show you this new device.
I have no business interest with this product, just more than two months of use with satisfaction.
I wonder what's your opinion about this solution?
There is a review from Andy Rouse http://www.andyrouse.co.uk/index.php?page_id=189

Thanks, since you only provided a link without any commentary originally it looked like advertising

visually it looks very cool to my tastes

looks like a very nice tool.

my gitzo tripod already has a gitzo leveling base so the only real advantage would be if the ball head controls were much better then the ones i have.

i wonder how much better the ball head controls could be better then a rrs or markins ballhead though....

Very interesting bullhead.  I wonder how long it will hold the tension before it needs a cleaning service, similar to Arca Swiss.

fredcor wrote:Very interesting bullhead.  I wonder how long it will hold the tension before it needs a cleaning service, similar to Arca Swiss.

You can take it apart and do the maintenance yourself and it has a neoprene cover against dirt!

andre paul wrote:visually it looks very cool to my tastes

looks like a very nice tool.

my gitzo tripod already has a gitzo leveling base so the only real advantage would be if the ball head controls were much better then the ones i have.

i wonder how much better the ball head controls could be better then a rrs or markins ballhead though....

But you won't need the leveling base with it!

Seems to me Andy Rouse is selling this thing a bit too hard, perhaps he has shares? I would have to play with one myself to be sure about placing my 13k of equipment on it and letting go! Andy certainly did not seem quite sure about the "Let go and the head stays where it is" comment, his hand was right there helping out when it looked like the lens was going to flop.

One to keep an eye on but if you already have a leveling base, Wimberly, a side kick and ball head then another 500€ on top is not about to happen.

Great invention having three in one; leveling base, ball head and pan and tilt head.
Even the weight at 1.55 pounds is attractive.

I'm sure I've seen something similar before, with a double ball head arrangement, from Arca-Swiss I think ?

http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http ... EK0DMFY4ZA

Like that?

Yes, Arca-Swiss made a double ball head - maybe still does. Not sure it functioned as a leveling base, though.

This is very intriguing and also very expensive.

Like Neilyb, I too wonder if it really works as well a gimballed head in terms of letting go and still having your long lens stay in place. Andy does seem to stress that getting it to do that takes practice. I never had to practice with my Sidekick. Still, a light package that replaces my levelling base, Arca-Swiss B1 and Sidekick has some appeal.

Has anyone here actually tried this ballhead? If so, what is your experience of it with big glass as a gimbal?

Thanks,
Roberta Olenick
www.neverspook.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To7iTmCR_so
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saAWj3qMQfg

neverspook wrote:Has anyone here actually tried this ballhead? If so, what is your experience of it with big glass as a gimbal?

Thanks,
Roberta Olenick
www.neverspook.com

I have no experience with so big lenses, I am using the smaller UBH35 with Sigma 50-500+50D and a 20-60x80 telescope for birding.
It works fine with those.

Neilyb wrote:http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http ... EK0DMFY4ZA

Like that?

But UBH is not like that! UBH become a pan-tilt head after fastening the outer leveling ball.
This ARCA-SWISS Monoball Z2 become only a limited ballhead.
intriguing
intriguing

Neilyb wrote:http://goo.gl/aMybSb

Like that?

But UBH is not like that! UBH become a pan-tilt head after fastening the outer leveling ball.
This ARCA-SWISS Monoball Z2 become only a limited ballhead.

[Please remove my failed previous post, because I can not reach the edit button! ]

Guys, good morning (well it is where I am) Whats with the negativity-
Firstly let me say the gimbal has its place, its been around for a long time and does a great job - one job, supports the medium to large glass we deploy as wildlife 'togs.- it's a bit like a heavy machine gun, set it in place, get it levelled and work your arcs and don't move too much -.
Now take ourselves out of the, possibly hide based, static, position and consider having to stalk your prey and work at low level AND have the flexibility to work with a wide angle lens for environment portraiture for example.  The luxury of a porter eludes most of us and the weight and bulk of a second head is just not practical.  The Uniqball provides flexibility, yes it will have some easily controllable balance issues at extreme angles (clearly stated) the key point is , flexibility of deployment in the field.
As for Andy Rouse overselling it, errrr ever heard of passion?  He has found and extensively tested a piece of kit so that I had a high degree of confidence when I ordered mine (yes, I have actually met the guy and get where he is coming from, so can form an opinion of his actions) Its all in the balance, yes a gimbal head has its place and does that job well , some of us need additional flexibility and this piece of kit will provide that - there are some manageable operating constraints , but in my mind they are far outweighed by the flexibility I gain.
If I am going to sit in a hide all day or take shots of the moon the gimbal will still come out to play  but in the mobile field environment flexibility and adaptability is the name of the game.

I'm having trouble understanding how this device works, even though I've watched the Andy Rouse videos twice. The way I understand it, there is a ballhead within a ballhead and the outer one is used as a leveling device.  That part I get. But is the ballhead that the camera is actually mounted to a "real" ballhead or is it limited to only forward and backward movements? If it goes in all directions like a true ballhead then the leveling feature is lost. What am I missing here?

Thanks.