Ball, or pan and tilt.

Just had to replace my trusted old tripod. Black diamond Slik. It was a pan and tilt head and if it was still available I would have bought another one. I ended up with a small ball headed tripod. I just cant get used to it. It never seams to stay locked where I wanted it.
Anyone prefer one over the other.

I've just gone back to Ball, after trying a pan and tilt that came with my Velbon. I bought a Manfrotto Pro head, it's so much easier than pan and tilt. P and T are fine for video I think, but I really can't get on with them for normal photography. Sounds like you need a better ball head.

Yes, a larger ball and decent locking system are needed. I use a Vanguard model on my Manfrotto tripid and it is very secure, and for photography a good ball head provides the needed stability mixed with ultimate flexibility in camera positioning.

Never had a ball type head.
At the minute I have a slick pro dx pan and tilt.
Would like to try a ball type.
No help to you I'm afraid

I use a manfrotto joystick type head very useful but use a ball head for my astro work but need a better one

Depends what you use it for, pan and tilt is limited in that the tripod must be dead level as there is no lateral adjustment. A 3-way head might be worth considering as you can move in one plane at a time, better for panoramas for instance.

I bought the Manfrotto 498RC2 Pan ballhead years ago. Still use it today. easily copes with large weighty lenses.

I use a Red Snapper RSH-12 Ball Head and never had a problem with it creeping even with my heaviest lens on it, although admittedly my largest lens is only the Tamron 70-200 f2.8, so not a 'monster' telephoto.

Phil

A tripod is a lot more than just three legs

The general rule of thumb about heads is the more expensive the camera the less you spend on a ball head Think about the future and buy a £10 one now that should be future-proof for any camera up to £2,000

My camera didn't cost much (K5) so I tend to go for something that comes out well in tests...... I like the look of the Tiltall BH-07

http://www.traumflieger.de/desktop/ballhead/ballheads2.php#tiltall_bh-07

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Ah, so I'm not the only one with this quandary. The replies here are helpful and informative.

Certainly if shooting video, it's best to have a fluid damped pan and tilt. For a couple of years I have been using a ball head but find the same problems that you are having although I am willing to admit that this might be because it's not an expensive model. I do prefer the pan and tilt, but with my setup it's so much heavier than my ball head that I often use the latter if I am out hiking. Perhaps the bulk and weight are just down to the respective versions that I have but I suspect that a decent pan and tilt is more to carry than an equally decent ballhead.

There are some interesting attempts to address the pros and cons of these systems on youtube.

Hope you find what you're looking for.

To me ball heads have always been useless, no fine adjustments at all.

So for me it's a Manfrotto 405 for landscapes and a Wimberley for wildlife.

Have you ever tried the geared x-pro heads? I nearly bought one specifically for Macro, as they are minutely adjustable.

I have an FLM Centerball which has the neat form of a ballhead but an extra knob to permit movement in one plane only. Avoids the stress of seeing heavy kit fall over when the friction was not re-tightened before letting go

No, never tried one, had the 405 years before they came out!

Pan tilt heads have always seemed very clumsy to me. I use a fluid head for long lenses/telescopes, and a pistol grip for lighter work (Like a ball head but locks in place as soon as you release the grip). Both allow reasonably fast subject acquisition, with good control.