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Author Topic: Problem with RRS BH-40 ball head  (Read 5162 times)

BernardLanguillier

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Problem with RRS BH-40 ball head
« on: October 12, 2006, 02:15:30 am »

Dear all,

I have been using a BH-40 since it was released.

I have shot with it in various harsh environments but had had no problems until now.

I had the chance to shoot in moderately cold weather this past weekend in the Japanese Alps (I hadn't used the head for 2 weeks), and was surprised to see that it refused to tilt up/down more than 20 degrees from horizontal.

The  ball can rotate freely from left to right around a vertical axis, but it just blocks completely when I try to tilt it up/down more than 15-20 degrees.

Needless to say, this makes it nearly unusable for many compositions in which I try to aim the camera down or up even a little bit.

I could send it back to RRS, but being based in Japan this would take time and be a real pain.
 
I was wondering if any of you had experienced something similar, and whether or not there would be an easy solution to the issue...

Thank you in advance for your kind help.

Best regards,
Bernard

alainbriot

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Problem with RRS BH-40 ball head
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2006, 02:42:45 am »

Hi Bernard,

I have the RRS BH55 and never had a problem such as yours.  I assume the two ballheads operate similarly from a mechanical perspective.  My suggestion is to email RRS and describe your problem to them.  They may be able to offer a solution that you can implement on your own, without sending the ballhead back to them.  Maybe something is struck in there somewhere?

Alain
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Alain Briot
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BernardLanguillier

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Problem with RRS BH-40 ball head
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2006, 03:01:07 am »

Quote
Hi Bernard,

I have the RRS BH55 and never had a problem such as yours.  I assume the two ballheads operate similarly from a mechanical perspective.  My suggestion is to email RRS and describe your problem to them.  They may be able to offer a solution that you can implement on your own, without sending the ballhead back to them.  Maybe something is struck in there somewhere?

Alain
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=80064\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks for the feedback Alain.

I have a BH-55 also and never experienced something similar with it either... I have been using the BH-40 more recently in order to further reduce weight when I hike with both the Nikon and Ebony.

Something being stuck is also my guess and I will indeed contact the good folks of RRS to see what they can propose.

Thank you again for taking the time to reply.

Cheers,
Bernard

ddolde

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Problem with RRS BH-40 ball head
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2006, 04:19:57 pm »

I bought a BH-55 due to all the hyped reviews.  I didn't like it that much and have since sold it and gone back to my original Arca Swiss B-1 which I find to be a much better and simpler head.  

Arca Swiss has a new P-1 ball head which looks even better.   It has a twist collar instead of a knob to lock the ball.  Lookes like the ultimate in simplicity and usability.

http://www.schoditsch.com/arcaswiss2006/arcaswiss_page1.jpg
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AJSJones

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Problem with RRS BH-40 ball head
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2006, 05:18:31 pm »

Bernard,
This sounds familiar but I can't recall where I saw something similar - and there was a fix.  Try taking the head off the tripod and see if it tilts properly then.  IIRC (no guarantees!) it had to do, somehow, with the screw/bushing mount to the tripod head/plate....
« Last Edit: October 22, 2006, 05:19:04 pm by AJSJones »
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pixpop

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Problem with RRS BH-40 ball head
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2006, 06:20:40 pm »

Quote
I bought a BH-55 due to all the hyped reviews.  I didn't like it that much and have since sold it and gone back to my original Arca Swiss B-1 which I find to be a much better and simpler head. 

Arca Swiss has a new P-1 ball head which looks even better.   It has a twist collar instead of a knob to lock the ball.  Lookes like the ultimate in simplicity and usability.

http://www.schoditsch.com/arcaswiss2006/arcaswiss_page1.jpg
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=81642\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

thanks for the info doug. my b-1 has been an unbelievable workhorse for me of these many years and i'd be interested in purchasing this new arca swiss p1 or p1d. do you know when it will be available and where it could be purchased?

pp
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ddolde

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Problem with RRS BH-40 ball head
« Reply #6 on: October 22, 2006, 08:01:57 pm »

I don't know.  This was just announced at Photokina.

Just watch the B&H website to check on it.
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RedRebel

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Problem with RRS BH-40 ball head
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2006, 03:37:45 am »

I also have the BH40 but I don't use it that much. In the beginning i had some problems with the panning base, because it had to much play.

I dismounted the panningpase and cleaned it (there was some excessive loctite). Unfortunately there is no way you can remove the ball from the BH40. But the only way I can explain your problem is that there must be something at the bottom of your ballhead. The BH40 ball is hollow. If you remove the pannning base you can look into the ball (there is a hole) and maybe you can clean it a little from there, maybe there is some grit.
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