Light weight ease of use. What an incredible piece of gear!! Incredibly lightweight yet holds a high-end digital camera with a long telephoto with ZERO drift. You lock it - it stays! We are using it alot for our bois de chauffage Magog pictures. The controls are smooth, the function is simple - I liked the first one so much I bought a second one!

I tried to find something but I just can't!

I have used Acratech Ultimate Ball heads for macro work and 600mm f4 lenses with full size Nikon bodies for wildlife shots. They never disappoint, never fail. They are so light, so strong and so durable even after many years. Easy to work with, superbly strong. I have and will continue to recommend these heads to anyone looking for a great ball head.

None

After spending what must be at least 15 years with a couple of Ultimate Ball Heads and loving them, I have just purchased the comparable Acratech Video Head. WOW! I had super high expectations for this product and it has exceeded them by a margin. Thank You Acratech!

Customer Service

Awesome, though with the quality of these products, rarely used.

Campact, light weight, and sturdy.

The quick release plates are too expensive.

The best ball head I have ever used. Compact, light weight, and sturdy. I put my Canon EOS 20D + 100-400/4-4.6 L on it, slightly tight up the knob, and it it firm like a rock.

Similar Products Used:

Bogen

Build quality
Exposed design
Light weight
Terrific load capacity

Almost none -- shooting in portrait orientation a bit tricky and may involve releasing the panning base, but you get used to it.

Superb piece of innovative engineering. Very well made, I love the exposed design impervious to dust/dirt/rain etc.

Locks down securely, I used FM3A and the 1.2 kg monster -- Nikon 200mm/f4 AFD ED IF Micro - alongwith a SB800+Wimberley F2 macro bracket on this and works like a charm. No slippage.

Customer Service

Never needed, probably never will.

Similar Products Used:

Another Acratech :) .. I bought two
Arca Swss B1
Kaiser Pro

Size, weight, strength, design.

None

I read many reviews first on this ballhead and that is what made me decide to give it a try. Well I have to say I'm glad I did, this is one great ballhead for it's size and weight. When you lock it down, it is there to stay, period! I do have to say that after testing it out it doesn't perform to same standard as the Arca Swiss B1, but it also 30% cheaper in price and weight. When I use it with longer lenses like a 70-200 f/4L the lens will dip just a hair after you tighten it. That doesn't really bother me because every other ballhead I have ever used does same thing, except the Arca Swiss B1. I owned a Kirk BH-3 and the Acratech performs better than it did. When I purchased this it replaced my Kirk BH-3.I thought that the design was little strange and was afraid I might not like it, but that was all forgotten after using it for couple hours on shoot I did in sand dunes. There is another awesome feature this ballhead has over any of the others and that is by the simple design you don't have to worry about sand, dirt, water, etc, getting into ballhead. After using it just wipe everything off, that is it. Overall if your looking for a very strong light weight ballhead, then don't look any further. Also if you decide to purchase one, get the model with all rubber knobs. Mine did't have all rubber knobs and I ended up sending it in and had them change out the old metal ones.

Customer Service

AWESOME, I had one small concern with the performance of the head (it pulled hair to the left when tightened). They ended up replaceing the inside clamp, with no questions asked. This wasn't purchased new under warranty, I bought it on EBay used. That is one great company that stands behind their product.

Similar Products Used:

Kirk BH-3

Light weight, incredible grip.

The design requires you to pan some it acheive some positions. I find this difficult when tracking birds.

Lightweight, iron grip, unique design, no flop. This head will hold anything I have without flinching. I tighten it and it stays there. I throw my tripod over my shoulder with my 300mm f/4 attached to my EOS 3 without worry, no flop. It doesn't have a tension knob, so it's all or nothing tight or loose, but this works fine for me. I have never used some of the high priced heads out there, so I can't compare. The Acratech for me is the Ultimate Ballhead.

Customer Service

Haven't needed. Acratech is a pleasure to do business with though.

Similar Products Used:

Giottos, Bogen.

The highest ratio of weight to load capability I know of in a ball head. Extraordinarly light, yet extremely solid. It wouldn't flinch in a hurricane. No motion after tightening, or during tightening if proper technique is used.

This product has no weaknesses, it trully is the "ultimate".

I had the Gitzo 1276M MK2 before this, and thought that ball head was great. The Acratech ultimate is even better. In fact, the ultimate ball head may be the best ball head I have ever used. Another reviewer mentioned that the ball moved a tiny amount when tightening, this can be avoided very simply... Instead of loosening the tension lock completely to move the camera, leave some tension on it, which is better for heavy loads anyways. By leaving some tension on the ball it is not allowed to "settle" which is essentially what happens when it is loosened completely. Thus when you tighten it from a semi tight, but still easily moveable position, there is no movement when tightening. I figured this out in the first five minutes of possessing the unit. Other than that ONE tiny tiny "flaw" this thing is perfect. I mean perfect. This unit weighs less than a pound and holds 25 EASILY. I mean, you put a ten pound load on this thing, and it won't even notice the weight. You put 20 on it, and it'll be you that has problems with the weight, not the ball head. Solid at every angle, vibrations very well controlled, much less vibration than the Gitzo 1276M. This is a 5 star product. No doubt in my mind, one of the best photographic investments you can make after the camera and lenses. You might think 269 is a lot for a ball head when there are many others that do the job for less. Well, there is more to this ball head than its extraordinary performance, it exudes quality. You look at it and you know you spent your money wisely...

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

Gitzo ball head, 1276M MK2

Light weight and strong

Have to sometimes rotate the head to shoot verticals or straight up or down.

Excellent product, lightweight and very strong. Holds my large Nikon DSLR with 400mm easily. You sometimes need to rotate the plate if shooting straight up or straight down but this is not a big problem. I have used the Bogen system, Arca system and this is the best I have used for my shooting style. jhawk1000

Customer Service

Never had to use. I did buy some plates from Acratech and it was easy as 1-2-3 to order and shipping was fast.

Similar Products Used:

Bogen and Arca

Light weight, well built, steady when locked down.

None experienced (at least not yet)

A very well designed, high quality, manufactured ball head. I had tried a large Bogen head and it was just way too large and heavy and cumbersome. I switched to a smaller Bogen ballhead and my F100 and 100-300 f4 Sigma shifted like crazy when I was trying to shoot at 300mm (420mm with converter), not so with the Acratech...lock it down and you're ready to shoot, no creep!! If I needed to I would buy another!

Customer Service

Not yet needed.

Similar Products Used:

Bogen ballheads large and compact

- Very lightweight!!!!! - Once locked, it won't slip (certainly within their claimed load capacity). - AS mount

- still metal knob for pan (very minor complaint)

Simply speaking, it works. It doesn't look like a normal ballhead, but it works exactly at the manufacturer claims. It's really well crafted and well designed. AS mount is the ultimate standard of QR mounts. It's not a substitute of AS monoball B1 or Kirk BH-1, but it's a good companion of them if you need two tripods (one big and one lightweight). I mount it on a Bogen 3001 and it's much lighter than my Bogen 3021 + Kirk BH-1 combo. For hiking, it's a breeze. My main gears are EOS3 + 200mm f2.8L and Pentax 645 + 200mm f4 and the 3001+AcraTech combo provides rock solid support. It does take some force to lock the ball. Make sure you get the rubber knob version. I believe they should also make a rubber knob for the pan as the metal knob is quite rough to my finger tips...

Customer Service

haven't used yet, but replied my e-mail on product inquiry very promptly.

Similar Products Used:

Kirk BH-1