Not really. I have that Arca-Swiss and have been using it for a few years. My PlatyBall arrived today and the reliable steadiness of the camera staying where I place it is much easier to accomplish with the PlatyBall. The ability to pan accurately with it is a real bonus. I have yet to find a downside to the PlatyBall. Which, after waiting more than two years for it, I am grateful for.
Hey JP (and Larry), part of what makes the Platypods so useful to me is that they are a very well thought out, very well manufactured piece of machined metal. The only moving parts I can think of are the feet (and holder), and I truly appreciate that it takes a lot more effort to design something that seems simple than a big complex mess. I am however someone who doesn't baby my gear, so I am interested in your overall feeling of the durability of this kit? There is cleanly a huge leap from the wonderful platypods to a platyball elite, so am trying to wrap my head around what this will look like after 4 years of hard use. I also have been toying with getting out of the 200PL land for a while, so maybe this is a good excuse to jump (but the thought of replacing all my ball-heads and plate is not pretty).
Hi TSL fam! Would love to hear your thoughts on this upside down ball head - the PLATYBALL by Platypod! Will you be getting one? How could this help you with your photography?
Got mine today. Immediately put my heaviest lens on it, set the camera up, focused on a target, let go, and the dot in the middle stayed put. Then I panned across the horizontal line of my ceiling and it stayed perfect. So it will not get me better photos, because no ballhead does that. Not really. But I expect to miss fewer shots because the camera will stay where I put it. Only using one hand. And having an electronic level means I can level faster. So, once again. Less missed shots.
Nice to see an updated competitor to the Manfrotto one-handed ballheads. The pan head on the top is a nice touch, albeit not new. 3 Legged Thing include that as standard and RRS have it as an option. I've used this setup (3LT and then later a separate pan head on top of a Desmond head) for years and absolutely love it. The alternative is a levelling bowl on your tripod if available. Good luck with the Kick Start - prices look very reasonable for pro-level gear.
Thanks so much for your thoughts Nick! Yes, it definitely looks promising and will be interesting to see how it makes an impact on the photography community and on a photoshoot process itself.
Sounds great for still photography. Not video, though. When I am panning musicians on stage, I don't want a level pan, because people are different heights. I need to have instant and constant control. But sounds great otherwise!
We has this from Manfrotto years ago. Their current model is the 322rc2. It was interesting but not strong enough with the level for releasing. Admittedly this look more intricate, but it will likely suffer from the same problem. Platypod is a cool company. We'll see if they can get it right.
I’m guessing the level pan benefit doesn’t apply for portrait orientation. Also, Arca-Swiss camera plates do not have an exact reference dimension; they vary from brand to brand. Will this head hold the common range of arcaswiss sizes?
ottawamountainman Correct, it won’t pan in portrait orientation but it will tilt if you want to do a sweep of the building or a vertirama. So far, we have tested many Arca type plates and I have not seen one that didn’t fit. The jaws on this clamp run very deep so it will accommodate all of them. Excellent and constructive comment by the way. Not like the trolls.
Alexander Hetzel Yes. That is correct. In fact we tried several L brackets and they all work just fine. Once you go into portrait orientation on the L bracket, pan all you like and beautifully.
We concede that this might be an issue if you are going to do a lot of multi level panning. But then you should probably be using a true noodle head. It’s the right tool for the right job. Nice comment.
It looks HUGE! Why such a long lower neck? I travel with small tripods that fit in my backpack. I suspect it would no longer fit with this on. In fact, in the video on the KS site show the photog hiking and the PlatyBall hanging from a carabiner off the backpack. If this were more compact, I would be interested. As is, I will probably pass...
The size is actually something that didn't concern us too much, as the benefits of using it outweighed the additional gear/space taken up. But it's totally a personal choice!
We absolutely agree with Jay P. here. We just came back from Imaging USA and showed it to hundreds and hundreds of people and not one complained about the size. However, if you truly need a very lightweight, compact head there are several of those available and we sell one on our website as well made by Benro. Totally different function set however.
way too expensive, the peak design tripod, with a small pano arca swiss low profile attachment is the same price and it comes with a tripod... and lighter weight...
They are putting a lot of care into the design / development of the product. Their aim is to be super user friendly. And when you think of which ball head you want to use, Platyball is the first name that comes to mind. That's their goal with their product launch. Hope this is helpful and thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Amiss? Only that it took two years to get mine. They went through quite a few iterations to get it the way they wanted it. So, happily, what I finally have in my hands is really quite remarkable. Sturdy as can be.
Arca-Swiss has this in it's lineup for years with the Arca-Swiss Monoball P0
Beat me to it. I reviewed it here: mercury.photo/hands-on-with-the-arca-swiss-p0-tripod-head-panning-system-slidefix-qs-quick-release/
Not really. I have that Arca-Swiss and have been using it for a few years. My PlatyBall arrived today and the reliable steadiness of the camera staying where I place it is much easier to accomplish with the PlatyBall.
The ability to pan accurately with it is a real bonus.
I have yet to find a downside to the PlatyBall. Which, after waiting more than two years for it, I am grateful for.
@@stevengotz WOW two years. You are a patient man Steve. Good to read from you btw!
Hahahaha dude you’re hilarious!!! Best intro yet.
Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for watching!
I"m late to the ball game...but thank you for the video. Well done, fun and informative
Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching.
Hey JP (and Larry), part of what makes the Platypods so useful to me is that they are a very well thought out, very well manufactured piece of machined metal. The only moving parts I can think of are the feet (and holder), and I truly appreciate that it takes a lot more effort to design something that seems simple than a big complex mess. I am however someone who doesn't baby my gear, so I am interested in your overall feeling of the durability of this kit? There is cleanly a huge leap from the wonderful platypods to a platyball elite, so am trying to wrap my head around what this will look like after 4 years of hard use.
I also have been toying with getting out of the 200PL land for a while, so maybe this is a good excuse to jump (but the thought of replacing all my ball-heads and plate is not pretty).
Hi TSL fam! Would love to hear your thoughts on this upside down ball head - the PLATYBALL by Platypod!
Will you be getting one? How could this help you with your photography?
I ordered one
Got mine today. Immediately put my heaviest lens on it, set the camera up, focused on a target, let go, and the dot in the middle stayed put. Then I panned across the horizontal line of my ceiling and it stayed perfect.
So it will not get me better photos, because no ballhead does that. Not really. But I expect to miss fewer shots because the camera will stay where I put it. Only using one hand. And having an electronic level means I can level faster. So, once again. Less missed shots.
Nice to see an updated competitor to the Manfrotto one-handed ballheads. The pan head on the top is a nice touch, albeit not new. 3 Legged Thing include that as standard and RRS have it as an option. I've used this setup (3LT and then later a separate pan head on top of a Desmond head) for years and absolutely love it. The alternative is a levelling bowl on your tripod if available. Good luck with the Kick Start - prices look very reasonable for pro-level gear.
Thanks so much for your thoughts Nick! Yes, it definitely looks promising and will be interesting to see how it makes an impact on the photography community and on a photoshoot process itself.
The future for tripods heads for sure!
Sounds great for still photography. Not video, though. When I am panning musicians on stage, I don't want a level pan, because people are different heights. I need to have instant and constant control. But sounds great otherwise!
We has this from Manfrotto years ago. Their current model is the 322rc2. It was interesting but not strong enough with the level for releasing. Admittedly this look more intricate, but it will likely suffer from the same problem. Platypod is a cool company. We'll see if they can get it right.
We stake our reputation on it. As a mom-and-pop company we can’t afford to get it wrong.
I’m guessing the level pan benefit doesn’t apply for portrait orientation. Also, Arca-Swiss camera plates do not have an exact reference dimension; they vary from brand to brand. Will this head hold the common range of arcaswiss sizes?
ottawamountainman Correct, it won’t pan in portrait orientation but it will tilt if you want to do a sweep of the building or a vertirama. So far, we have tested many Arca type plates and I have not seen one that didn’t fit. The jaws on this clamp run very deep so it will accommodate all of them. Excellent and constructive comment by the way. Not like the trolls.
@@larryt2705 I assume you also tried some l-brackets? Those would make the portrait pano easy.
Alexander Hetzel Yes. That is correct. In fact we tried several L brackets and they all work just fine. Once you go into portrait orientation on the L bracket, pan all you like and beautifully.
There must be a small downside.. The rotation has been moved further down, away from the cameras censorplane..
Hmmm, good observation René!
We concede that this might be an issue if you are going to do a lot of multi level panning. But then you should probably be using a true noodle head. It’s the right tool for the right job. Nice comment.
What about the 90 degree flip shot?
It looks HUGE! Why such a long lower neck? I travel with small tripods that fit in my backpack. I suspect it would no longer fit with this on. In fact, in the video on the KS site show the photog hiking and the PlatyBall hanging from a carabiner off the backpack.
If this were more compact, I would be interested. As is, I will probably pass...
The size is actually something that didn't concern us too much, as the benefits of using it outweighed the additional gear/space taken up. But it's totally a personal choice!
We absolutely agree with Jay P. here. We just came back from Imaging USA and showed it to hundreds and hundreds of people and not one complained about the size. However, if you truly need a very lightweight, compact head there are several of those available and we sell one on our website as well made by Benro. Totally different function set however.
1:39 - I wish you had show the accuracy through a long lens.....
Thanks for the note, Martin!
way too expensive, the peak design tripod, with a small pano arca swiss low profile attachment is the same price and it comes with a tripod... and lighter weight...
Fair enough! You would have to test it out to see how it works.
My goodness....a kickstarter product that looks plausible, truly beneficial, and a fair price? Something must be amiss.
Haha! Well, we've truly been impressed by it and are excited to see how it will change up shoots in the future!
They are putting a lot of care into the design / development of the product. Their aim is to be super user friendly. And when you think of which ball head you want to use, Platyball is the first name that comes to mind. That's their goal with their product launch. Hope this is helpful and thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Amiss? Only that it took two years to get mine. They went through quite a few iterations to get it the way they wanted it. So, happily, what I finally have in my hands is really quite remarkable. Sturdy as can be.