Hope everyone is having a happy and safe holiday season.

Am considering a couple of new accessories as belated Christmas gifts to be used with my R8 and 280/f4 lens, sometimes with 1.4X or 2X extender. Would like your comment if you have personal experience with either of the following Kirk products:

1) Kirk BH-1 ball head, to be used on Bogen carbon fiber or 3011 tripod. Am leery of the ArcaSwiss problems despite assurances that the "lock-up" can be easily corrected. Not willing to tolerate such problems in a ball head costing that much.

2) Kirk Window mount, to be used with a ball head to be chosen later. My car windows slant/curve downward to the front. Does this cause fit or use problems with the window mount? Is it difficult to align the camera on subject using window mount or is a bean bag easier and quicker?

As always, thanks for your comments.

-- Luther Berry (lberrytx@aol.com), December 26, 2001

Answers

The Kirk ballhead uses a knob to set the drag/tension which is similar to the Graf Studioball. When the main knob is tightened the tension is taken off the drag knob and it can rotate out of position. Not so the captive thumbscrew inset into the main locking knob on the Arca B1. If you store the B1 un-locked it will not seize. I've got 2 of them and have never had one seize up. If they do, loosening them is a simple matter: just *tighten* it further, then loosen it.

My Kirk window mount has never found a really secure position in any car I've owned. Either the windows were too steeply curved in on one plane or another, or the door trim panels were too "artistically sculptured" for the rubber feet to find solid ground, no matter now much I fiddled with it.

With the 280/4 and extenders I've often used just a rolled-up jacket, and if you can shoot through the sunroof that's better. Keeping the left hand pressed down on top of the lens is a big help.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), December 26, 2001.

Luther:

One thing to keep in mind about window mounts [if you are talking about what I think you are talking about ;o))]. To save weight, the automakers have been using thinner glass. It is easy to break with a long lens, a heavy camera and some wind. I wouldn't try what I used to do on my 66 Volvo. The curves and slants are a problem, but some of them are like fine, hand blown, wine glasses. That's why you see so many cracked windshields nowdays.

Art

-- Art (AKarr90975@aol.com), December 26, 2001.

Thanks for the input, guys.

Jay, your comments re the window mount confirm my expectations. Guess I will go with bean bag or shooting bag draped over the car door. Wish the decision on ball heads were as simple. I don't doubt your experiences with AS heads. But for every person who reports no problems there is another person who reports serious problems, especially with AS heads purchased during the last year. It is difficult to make a decision sight unseen and I don't know anyone locally who owns either the Kirk or AS head. Will have to think about this one further. I really hate to make mistakes by buying the wrong thing! It is one of my obsessions.

Art, you have a good point. I really would not want to take a chance on breaking the window glass. Repairs to this car are extremely expensive. With the bean/shooting bag approach, I also avoid this problem.

Happy holidays to you and your families. LB

-- Luther Berry (lberrytx@aol.com), December 26, 2001.

For what its worth, I've purchased an Arca-Swiss B1 within the past year, have used it extensively, and have never had it lock up. As a previous responder noted, if it does, it is simple to unlock it -- just tighten further. If you ship it untightened, this should never happen.

AFAIK, the Kirk head is a knockoff of the Arca-Swiss. Likewise, their plates are knockoffs of the Really Right Stuff plates.

Unless someone can prove to me that their knockoff is an "improved" version in some way, I'd rather go with the original.

-- Rolfe Tessem (rolfe@ldp.com), December 27, 2001.

I have had the Kirk BH-1 ball head for 2 years and it is a beautiful piece of equipment. It is very well made, rugged and works like a charm to get in the position I select. I've never had the head lock up. The folks at Kirk are a pleasure to do business with. Although I haven't needed a repair I expect Kirk would take care of the problem quickly. I also use Kirk mounting plates and they are exceptionally well made.

I haven't tried other brands so can't compare. I hope this helps and good shooting in the New Year!

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@vei.net), December 27, 2001.

I have played with both the Kirk and the Arca. I think the Arca has a finer control over the tension on the ball, but the one I bought came out of the box with the thumbscrew that controls the minimum tension lock stuck. Nothing I did could make it turn.

So I bought a Kirk. It's bigger and heavier, and the tension control isn't quite as good. But otherwise it works well.

I find that I don't really need such a large head most of the time. I'm thinking of finding a smaller one for travelling with.

-- Pete Su (psu_13@yahoo.com), December 27, 2001.

John Shaw has the review of the Kirk ball head on his web site:

PRODUCT REVIEWS Tripod heads

Kirk BH-1 ball head: A good ball head is essential for the outdoor photographer, and I think the Kirk Enterprises BH-1 is the best buy on the market today for the money. Plain and simple, it works. The head is about the same size and weight as the Arca-Swiss B1, but without the annoying "seize-up" of that head. I conduct photo tours for Joseph Van Os and there's never a trip where I don't have to fix someone's B1. No thanks. I've carried the Kirk head from Antarctica to Alaska and it has worked flawlessly.

The head comes with an Arca-style quick-release clamp which takes all the custom plates from either Kirk or Really Right Stuff. It's make of black anodized aircraft aluminum, while the internal parts are stainless steel and brass to resist corrosion. The ball itself rides in a self-lubricating socket made of a Delrin composite material. The head offers 90 degrees tilt plus 360 degrees rotation of the pan base, pretty standard for good ball heads.

There's a variable tension knob to adjust the drag on the ball if so desired. To set it, mount a lens in the clamp and totally loosen the main locking knob and the tension control. At this point the ball should be as loose as possible, able to flop easily in any direction. Now ever so slowly start tightening the locking knob while you move the lens around. You'll reach a point where you like the amount of drag on the ball. Stop tightening the locking knob and run the tension control in until it stops. Don't force it, don't try to screw it in all the way...just turn it until it hits bottom and then stop. You should not have to touch this again unless you want to reset the tension. FYI, this is the standard procedure for setting the tension on the Arca B1.

After years of using other heads, the Kirk BH-1 has become my standard for my normal nature photography.

The web site is: http://www.johnshawphoto.com/frame_page.htm

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@vei.net), December 28, 2001.

I have the Kirk ballhead and it is magnificent. I bought it instead of an Arca-Swiss because of the jamming issue and because the Arca is often so difficult to get hold of. I don't care who originally designed something as long as the thing works well. The jamming issue seems to be such a big deal with Arca-Swiss that clearly it is not such a great design that it cannot be improved. So far no complaints with my Kirk.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), December 28, 2001.

Update! After prolonged agony of indecision and endless gnashing of teeth, I finally chose the Kirk BH-3 ball head. This head is the little brother to the BH-1. I received the BH-3 yesterday. It is well made and the finish is immaculate.

My initial tests with R8 and 280/f4 APO have been very successful. Tried tilting the camera/lens combo at extreme angles and also tilting the body sideways by partially flopping the ball over into the vertical slot. No problems! In all cases, the head locked easily and solidly with no creeping or sagging. Would normally use rotating lens mount for vertical shot but tilting the camera tests ability of ball head to hold the camera and lens against full leverage of weight. Have not yet tried the 1.4X or 2X extenders but do not forsee any problems with their addition to the setup.

Summary: I am extremely well pleased with the product at this point. The apparent quality of construction and finish would lead me to expect a long and useful service life. LB

-- Luther Berry (lberrytx@aol.com), January 22, 2002.