I've been looking a long time after, for my purposes (landscaping, natural and Macro Photography), ideal medium and experimented with a variety of ball heads and 3-way pan head from different manufacturers on my Gitzo tripod. It is also clear that the value for money plays an important role. The sum of all considerations finally led me to the Manfrotto 498RC4 Midi Ball Head incl. 410PL quick release plate, I ordered at digital-versand.de through Amazon. The ball head was delivered quickly and well packed. According to my tests I can pass on the following experiences: Processing and haptics are good and appealing. The clamping elements are clearly arranged and can be operated for right and left handers. They do their job very well, the clamping action is excellent and they are presented with a grid by pulling axially, radially adjustable to personal needs. The size of Absackpunktes "depends on the weight of your lens from, is then constant and after the 2nd assumption has downed the value. The friction is sufficiently sensitive and can be adjusted very well to the respective equipment. The ball head is suitable for full-frame DSLR CANON 5D, 5D MK II and 6D with attached BG and EF 24-70 L, 70-210L, 100 Macro and Tamron Aspherical LD XR DI 28-300 and holds the combinations bombproof. The larger Schnellwechselplatte 410 PL is ideal for BG. She has 2 vials for landscape and portrait shots and the safety lever protects the cam from being accidentally loosen. (You can wear the combination "along fold away stand with an attached camera 'hesitation over the shoulder to the next location and is there quickly operational). The criticized by some Rezidenten fact that the vertical adjustment is all the way> 90 °, wanted and needed. If I want to take pictures in portrait rough terrain, sometimes I need just more than 90 ° adjustment, to achieve a rectangular cutout. The value for money is very good. From these points results in a clear buy recommendation.
