Really Right Stuff BH-40 Ball Head with Full-Size Lever-Release Clamp

Not in the Box

• Essential Quick Release Plates (Not Included)

Balhead for my Ascend-14

I purchased the Ascend-14 without the head and this fits perfectly! It's small, stable and secure! I am so happy!

3 1/2 years in...

...I'm still glad that I made the investment. I've been shooting for more than 45 years because I love to, not because I make a lot of money at it. So, I've always been very budget-conscious. However, having spent many hundreds (thousands?) of dollars on tripods and heads over the years (only to have them break outright or fail in other ways), I realized that I needed to get serious about my support system. Reading many of the previous reviews almost make me laugh out loud, and I'd really like to respond directly to several of them because I've made the same mistakes over time... but I did take the time to troubleshoot and identify the actual problem rather than blame the most recent purchase. But, I digress... My biggest gripe about all of the previous ballheads that I've owned has been that once the composition is properly framed, when I apply the lock to the ball, the ball tilts the camera... every single time. So, I had to play the chase the ball game to keep the scene exactly as I've intended it to be. Over the years, the amount of lost time and frustration adds up... probably several hours of adjusting that shouldn't have been needed. So, I bit the bullet and bought the BH-40. With the BH-40, you swing the lever once the shot is framed, and you're ready to shoot. Period. That alone has made it worth the purchase price, which is admittedly very steep. But, for that price, you get exceptional build quality, positive controls, and a tool that you can hand down to the next generation. Gripes about the locking lever are just ridiculous. User confusion or incompetence don't make the product bad. Every time that I've found myself fighting with the lever, it's been because I've made bad decisions or just forgot best practices. A solid, reliable camera support system can help a supposedly outdated camera create images that are indistinguishable from the most hot-off-the-line gear. It all depends on what you're shooting.

Solid

Well built ball head. Love the lever lick

Great Ball Head

Excellent Ball Head. Using with my 5D Mark IV, 100-400mm lens and Manfrotto 055XPRO4. Very pleased with the results.

My last ballhead!

I've been through a few ballheads but this by far is the best. I have a RRS L bracket on my Nikon Z7ii and it attaches very easily. I would suggest you research to see if your L bracket will fit this plate. I love the lever versus the knob. My hands are a bit arthritic and it's easier for me to use this vs a knob. The large knob adjusts out so it clears the plate. Ingenious! Don't waste your money buying ballheads that you will sell later. I should've gotten this one in the first place!

The best ballhead

A really big upgrade from the last ballhead.so easy to use and well designed.

Love This Ball head

I have been looking at this ball head for a number of months as I have transitioned from Nikon to the Fuji Mirrorless cameras. The build quality is exceptional and just what I need. I have been using Kirk L-brackets on the Nikon bodies and they seem to work with the BH-40 lever clamp. Once there are choices available for the Fuji XT-5 L-bracket wise I will need to explore this further.

Just okay

I was expecting to love this ball head, but unfortunately, I don't. The size and weight are great, and it holds firmly. However, I find the lever that tightens the head frequently clashes with the plate base. There's just not enough room to operate both if you have the camera tilted back / pointing up. I'm constantly fussing around with the direction everything is facing to line things up properly and have been unable to compose some shots in the exact way I wanted because the equipment simply wasn't capable. They just needed to make the neck on the ball a bit taller and it would be fine.