FlexShooter Pro (Original)

Very well built, and felt very secure with my lens and camera body attached. Easy to adjust and locks securely for steady shots. No comparison to the standard ball head that came with the tripod. Check online videos if you need more extreme tilt; this handled everything I needed it for. Wish I had purchased it sooner.

I was very excited to try out my new Flex Shooter ball head, but after I attached it to my tripod, I searched through the packaging to locate a plate to attach to my camera, but there was no plate to be found. For this amount of money, it seems outrageous that the tripod head does not come with a plate. That information should be in bold in the description along with information about what type of plate is needed. I eventually found a a line in the little user manual that says "The clamp can accommodate Arca style plates.” The description does say "Arca Swiss-style two-way clamp," but I had no idea this meant there was no plate. For those of us who are not familiar with Arca products, this information is meaningless. At the moment, this head is useless to me. Once I can get a plate, I'll hopefully enjoy the product.

light weight, spring to hold the position, small size, I like to use it

Excelente calidad de producto, funcional y muy portátil.....altamente recomendado.

good!

Just works...GREAT

This is a game changer. All of my previous gimbals worked well but they were bulky and when using them you had to carry a ballhead in addition to it.This gimbal stays put and makes birds in flight and procapture so much easier! Ballheads cannot handle birds in flight so a gimbal is a must. I have owned many gimbals in the past but this one is by far the best.Regarding the misinformed one star review left — no gimbal comes with a ballhead (Wimbery, joba, etc none do)

To begin, I posted a comment to Ms Mordecai's 1-star review (please read). I understand her frustration and I don't mean to belittle her disappointment; however, this ball head deserves being heard on its own merits.Background: I own the FlexShooter Pro ball head although I did not purchase it through Amazon. I also own many other tripod heads from various manufacturers, including Acratech, Arca-Swiss, Cullmann, Kirk, FLM, Gitzo, Leitz, Linhof, NPC Pro, Manfrotto, Markins, Miller, PMG, RRS, Sachtler, Tiltall, Uniq-Ball and Wimberley; so, over 50+ years, I've had some experience with tripod heads.Some history: Leveling a camera on a tripod is not an easy task. The old method was was adjusting the legs over and over again until you got fed up or close enough -- whichever came first. Then came leveling bases of various types, some replacing the tripod base plate or platform with a bowl and attaching the head to a half-ball which could be adjusted and locked within the bowl, and others replacing the fixed platform (or adding on top of it) with and adjustable platform that could be swiveled a few degrees in any direction. Both work. Neither is inexpensive. And, personally I prefer the bowl/half-ball approach to the add-on swiveling platform.Then came Uniq-Ball: a ball within a ball. You adjusted the outside ball to be level and then were free to adjust your camera using the inner ball. Easy-peasy. There are two models: call them medium and large. Both work quite well. And there are many well-known photographers using them. But there was trouble in paradise. I do not know the politics of the situation; however, the designer of the Uniq-Ball took his marbles and went home to start another company producing the -- you guessed it -- FlexShooter Pro -- a fresh take.There are three models: the Mini (essentially, minor competition for the Uniq-Ball medium), the Pro (similar to the Uniq-Ball large), and the Extreme (simply insanely enormous - or for two cameras with telephoto lenses attached at the same time). Right off the bat, the Mini works and works well, but I do not recommend it: it's just non-standard enough that its use requiring interaction with other equipment brands can be problematic. The Pro and the Extreme, on the other hand, are brilliant. Remember our disgruntled designer? Well, he improved on a great idea and made it significantly better. The Pro and Extreme not only solve the leveling problem just as elegantly as the Uniq-Ball, but they add a balance system vaguely reminiscent of video fluid heads (not at all the same, but, if you try it, you'll get the idea). You mount the camera, balance it on the head, and then, without having to play games with a tension knob, a spring mechanism within the ball head allows you to position the camera on the vertical plane however you want. And it just stays there. It really does. Brilliant.One more feature: its clamp. the one for which Ms Mordecai didn't have a plate. The clamp is a four-corner affair allowing an Arca-Swiss plate to be inserted side-to-side or front-to back. It has two controls at its rear corners: one for the clamp, itself, and the other for camera position. Having come from traditional ball heads, It took me a short while to get used to the FlexShooter method; however, having spent some time with it, it's now second nature. No complaints -- just different.I'm not saying that the FlexShooter Pro is the best ball had on the market; however, it's an unusual solution to an age-old problem and it holds its own with the very best tripod heads available from any manufacturer. And, IMHO, it easily deserves 5+ stars.Edited to add: Of all I've ever used, my three favorite traditional ball heads are the Arca Swiss Z1, the FLM CB-58 and the Markins Q20. My favorite unconventional ball heads are the Acratech Ultimate, the Burzynski and the FlexShooter Pro/Extreme. There are also three other categories of tripod heads which I have not covered: geared heads, gimbals and fluid heads. Maybe another time....