As a professional landscape photographer, it’s about time I started adding a few gear reviews for others to read. Using these reviews, you can make a decision about whether or not a particular piece of photography gear is for you or not. I’ll start things off with the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead.
The Background
I first started looking for a tripod head when I realized that my then current tripod head (Vanguard Espod Plus 233 AP) was worn out and beyond repair. One knob could no longer tighten down enough. The plastic part inside was stripped and broken. Thus my camera could droop down with gravity. This is especially problematic for the long exposures I like doing. It was a sad day to retire it, but doing so opened the door to new possibilities.
I went about searching for a suitable replacement and found myself a bit overwhelmed. There are a lot of options out there on the market. However, I decided to narrow things down to brands I knew had a long-standing good reputation in the photography community. Eventually, I came across the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead.
Initially, I didn’t want to look at a ballhead. I liked my independent controls of each axis which a 3-way or a pan-tilt head offers. However, I quickly learned that the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead provided independent pan controls. This is, perhaps, the most crucial independent control I wanted as I regularly attempt panoramas.
I looked deeper into this ballhead option and eventually purchased my own. As such, you may rest assured that I am in no way, shape, or form being compensated for my opinions. They are entirely my own from my experience with the ballhead.
Judgement Criteria
I will judge the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead using the following criteria.
- Build Quality
- Quick Release Plate and Mechanism
- Compatibility with Tripod Bases
- Ballhead Function (Controls, Locks, etc.)
- Weight and Load Capacity
From these points, we will determine how the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead does.
1. Build Quality
The Manfrotto website says they built the XPRO ballhead out of aluminum and magnesium. These are light but sturdy metals in most cases. There are also a few plastic parts which make up parts such as the quick release mechanism.
This tripod head feels well-built in my hand. I don’t feel I need to worry about a plastic piece just breaking off and rendering the head unusable if the wrong thing happens. It feels like it will stand up to quite a bit. Manfrotto has an overall reputation in the photography community of good quality products. This particular ballhead seemingly living up to that reputation is good.
2. Quick Release Plate and Mechanism
When making my decision on what ballhead to buy, I learned that the Arca Swiss (or Arca) standard is quickly taking over the market. The idea behind the Arca standard is intercompatibility between equipment including L-brackets, tripod heads, binoculars, and more. If there’s an industry using tripods and monopods, this standard is taking over. This seemed like a perfect time to jump on board with a newer wave of intercompatibility between brands. So, I chose the version with the Arca compatible quick release plate. If only I’d fully researched it out.
The Test
When I acquired both my Manfrotto XPRO ballhead and my new L-bracket, I started testing to make sure things were indeed compatible. That’s where I found a BIG problem. The Arca quick release mechanism is seemingly only compatible with the provided plate. The mechanism doesn’t fully grasp onto my L-bracket. As a result, during my mechanism grip stability testing, I was horrified when my camera suddenly detached from the tripod head and started falling to the floor. With some quick reflexes and gymnastics, I managed to divert its fall onto my bed, thus saving my camera from certain destruction on a wooden floor.
What Happened
As it turns out, the part of the mechanism meant to grip the release plate or L-bracket works perfectly for the included plate. However, it doesn’t reach high enough or grip well enough to hold onto anything not perfectly designed for that mechanism. My new L-bracket, though designed to work with Arca, is not a perfect fit for that mechanism. The spring-loaded button for releasing the plate doesn’t help matters either. It’s imprecise and you can’t tell for sure if the mechanism is holding properly or not. I decided I couldn’t risk my camera with this Arca quick release mechanism.
After researching it fully, I did learn that this is a known issue. Other photographers have dropped cameras in water or destroyed lenses thanks to it not gripping properly. Thankfully, I didn’t suffer that fate. However, I almost returned the head because of this problem.
How I Fixed the Problem
To salvage this situation, I did learn that I could replace the mechanism with a much better one. I soon ordered a replacement quick release mechanism which is compatible with the rest of the head.
The replacement uses a screw to tighten on the L-bracket or Arca compatible plate. This replacement mechanism held up to my grip stability testing. However, just to be sure, I made sure that the camera was entirely over my bed before initiating the second test. Here’s a link to the replacement mechanism which I ordered.
Other Critiques
The included plate meant to attach to your camera also has a problem. It doesn’t have any rubber to cushion things or grip the camera body. This means that your camera isn’t so secure on the included plate. It could spin unless you over-tighten the screw. If you over-tighten it, however, you run the risk of the screw breaking into the camera body and messing up the delicate electronics inside. You certainly will have trouble if you ever need to remove the screw for any reason. We added the rubber you see depicted above. It’s a solution, but not the most elegant solution out there.
3. Compatibility with Tripod Bases
Most tripods and monopods attach to their heads with either a 1/4″-20 or a 3/8″-20 screw. The tripod legs offer the male end, and the head offers the female end. For those tripods which offer matching male and female ends, the compatibility here is instant.
This particular head offers the 3/8″-20 female end. My current tripod legs offer 1/4″-20 male end. Because of this incompatibility in size, I needed to order a bushing so that the male end on the tripod legs would fit into the female end on the ballhead. With a cheap bushing, I could easily make both my current tripod legs and my new ballhead compatible with each other.
I don’t find this particular incompatibility to be a problem, unlike the Arca compatible mechanism we already discussed. Here’s a link to the bushings I ordered to make my tripod legs compatible with the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead.
4. Ballhead Function
One of the most crucial points of a tripod head is function. If the head doesn’t function properly, then I don’t want it. So, how does the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead work?
The Ball Itself
The Manfrotto XPRO ballhead is made out of magnesium and features a triple lock mechanism to keep that ball in place as you balance your camera on top to shoot. This means you don’t need to worry about plastic and friction problems. Manfrotto also lined the ball joint with polymer rings to lubricate motion. With this, you don’t need to worry about leaking oil or grease. I love this feature. It’s one of 2 reasons why I started looking hard at the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead to begin with.
The Knobs
This ballhead comes with 3 different knobs to operate the controls. One knob controls the ballhead rotation. Another controls the ballhead tension. The final knob controls the independent panning function. As a small female, I can tighten all the knobs down and break them back open again with ease. This is a great feature in my opinion.
The bigger 2 of these knobs offer the option to pull up (or away from the ballhead) and adjust the position of your leverage. This is super handy as sometimes these knobs can end up in interesting positions as you loosen or tighten them. The ability to adjust the knob’s leverage position without loosening the screw is another great feature in my opinion.
You control the ball movement lock with the biggest knob. The triple lock mechanism holds the ball in place well. In fact, since moving to this ballhead full-time, I haven’t needed to worry about camera droop when using my tripod. This fact makes me happy.
I find that the tension knob, the smallest knob, gives me a great degree of control over the friction applied to the ball. If I want it to swing easier, then I can loosen the knob some and the ball swings easier. If I want that fine control for small movements, I can tighten the knob and gain that control. I don’t worry about the tension knob making things too tight or too loose. It works perfectly for me.
When it comes to the medium-sized knob of panning control, it works very well indeed. It allows for or inhibits the rotation of the ballhead as desired. I’m satisfied with it as well.
Other Features
The ballhead also offers a slot for you to tilt your camera 90 degrees for those portrait-orientated photos. I’ve used that slot and it works well. Just don’t rely upon it for panoramas. As you camera sticks out from the side and rotates around a central point (rather than being that central point of rotation), this slot will amplify parallax and other warping in your stitched panoramas. Your better option is to use an L-bracket and turn camera into portrait orientation that way. I speak from experience.
The independent panning feature is great. I love shooting the occasional panorama. I can’t imagine the precision of tightening and loosening the ballhead itself and trying to line it up correctly each time I want another panorama segment. That’s just too much fiddling. Something’s bound to go wrong. The independent pan control lets me leave the ballhead locked in place while still spinning the camera for a panorama. The pan control even includes a red ring with degree markers which you can use to line things up perfectly. I love this feature. It’s the other reason I started looking at the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead to begin with.
5. Weight and Load Capacity
A final point of consideration is that of weight and load capacity. After all, it doesn’t matter what replacement tripod head I buy if I end up in the exact same place as where I started. I wanted to avoid that problem again.
The Manfrotto XPRO ballhead comes in at 1.1 Lbs or .5 kg. It is 4.5 in or 11.5 cm tall. It will bear a load capacity of 33 Lbs or 15 kg. Given some of my tripod shopping, I found that these stats were on the upper end for tripod heads. There are lighter versions and shorter versions. Also, there are versions which will bear a much smaller load. This ballhead suits my current and future load capacity needs very well.
My 1 consideration here is using this head with a travel tripod. Travel tripods need to be light and compact because height and weight matter in these circumstances. This tripod head offers neither. It adds an entire pound and almost 5 inches to a tripod. This is neither light nor compact. If you want a new head for a travel tripod, this is not the tripod head for you. Use this tripod head on a beefier set of legs which you don’t intend to carry in a hiking backpack for hours or in a suitcase on a plane.
Final Thoughts on the Manfrotto XPRO Ballhead
Due to the problem with the quick release plate and mechanism failure, I cannot recommend the Arca compatible version of this ballhead in good conscience. With the replacement mechanism, I change my opinion. I highly recommend the Manfrotto XPRO ballhead WITH the replacement mechanism. With this alteration, it meets my needs very well indeed. It should meet your needs exceedingly well too.
As part of making the necessary alteration to the Arca mechanism, I added another $30 to the overall total of this ballhead. As the Arca compatible version cost $20 more that the Manfrotto 200PL version (not compatible with anything outside of Manfrotto products), this extra expense still irritates me. I could have saved $20 off the total price when buying the ballhead and still upgraded to Arca compatiblility.
In light of this, I recommend that you buy the cheaper 200PL version and then replace the mechanism with the Arca compatible plate linked above. You may also take advantage of the 6 month warranty which Manfrotto offers if you encounter a problem. My modified head has been working out exceedingly well for me. I hope that it will work just as well for you too.
