Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Jose Morrison photo
United Kingdom, Belfast
1 Level
724 Review
63 Karma

Review on πŸ”’ Enhance Stability and Control: The Vanguard Alta BH-250 Ball Head by Jose Morrison

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Best value for money I could find for the lever control head

Due to its size and weight I wanted a ball head to replace my trigger ball head. I did not take this purchase lightly as it took a lot of research and a prior purchase/refund to get to this ball head. I didn't need a knob but a locking lever to control the bullet adjustment. The travel of the lever and the ability to adjust its starting point are important to ensure there are no problems with quick adjustments. Build quality is also very important to me, but I didn't want to buy a $500 head as I figured there should be a better price. Before this ball head I bought a Really Right Stuff BH-25, but it was too small and in some positions the lever rested on the platen adjustment screw. The next step up in the RRS heads range was another $100-$150 on top of what I had already spent. I have a Vanguard AT263 tripod so I decided to look into their listings and found this head. Probably, I just didn't see it before and was pleasantly surprised by the build quality, ease of adjustment, fairly short lever travel, the ability to change the initial position of the lever, the ability to control panning separately, and the fine adjustment provides control of ball tension. It weighs about a pound but can hold up to 27 pounds or so! When I pull the lever, about 90 degrees, the ball is VERY secure, I couldn't move it. The clamp is ARCA Swiss and works with my existing platter, but the head comes with a nice flip adjustment platter. Pull tab for easy dressing. Time will tell but this head is as good quality and good value as my tripod so I don't expect any problems.

Pros
  • Easy to read control panel
Cons
  • There are imperfections