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Archive 2018 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown

  
 
sjms
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


slightly different construction than pretty much all:
http://www.thomasjavery.com/blog/?p=608



Jan 16, 2018 at 07:22 PM
rw11
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


Thx - would love to see a BH30 vs. Markins Traveler teardown...

Edited on Jan 16, 2018 at 09:09 PM · View previous versions



Jan 16, 2018 at 07:58 PM
sjms
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


The BH30 is of a simpler build. but, methods/materials carry through with RRS.

Edited on Jan 17, 2018 at 11:18 AM · View previous versions



Jan 16, 2018 at 08:18 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


That is far too much work for me at this point.
What is the warranty period? It doesn't appear in the RRS site search.

EBH



Jan 16, 2018 at 08:30 PM
Andre Y
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


LR did a teardown of a ballhead. The LR teardown explains how the ballhead is actually held in place.

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/04/how-a-ballhead-works/



Jan 16, 2018 at 08:37 PM
sjms
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


EB-1 wrote:
That is far too much work for me at this point.
What is the warranty period? It doesn't appear in the RRS site search.

EBH


http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/orders-shipping

Product Guarantee
All Really Right Stuff brand products are guaranteed to the original purchaser to be free of defects in materials or workmanship for five (5) years from the date of purchase. Product will be repaired or replaced at our option.
Made in USA
All Really Right Stuff products* are designed, built, assembled, and shipped with care from San Luis Obispo, California USA. Even the hex keys that you receive with your products are sourced from the United States. We're very proud of our Made in USA tradition.

*We design Really Right Stuff soft goods ourselves, but we don't make them ourselves. Whenever possible, we source them from US companies making goods in the US (our Op/Tech® pouches are an example of this). But the reality is that textiles are difficult to source in the US, and when they are, they're prohibitively expensive. Our line of tripod bags and pouches are made by a US company that operates factories in Asia. We continue to seek US made soft goods to complement our US made products.



Jan 17, 2018 at 10:56 AM
sjms
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


Andre Y wrote:
LR did a teardown of a ballhead. The LR teardown explains how the ballhead is actually held in place.

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/04/how-a-ballhead-works/


it also shows the internal differences in construction. a bit more basic (and i'm being nice)



Jan 17, 2018 at 11:23 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


EB-1 wrote:
That is far too much work for me at this point.
What is the warranty period? It doesn't appear in the RRS site search.

EBH

sjms wrote:
http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/orders-shipping

Product Guarantee
All Really Right Stuff brand products are guaranteed to the original purchaser to be free of defects in materials or workmanship for five (5) years from the date of purchase. Product will be repaired or replaced at our option.
Made in USA
All Really Right Stuff products* are designed, built, assembled, and shipped with care from San Luis Obispo, California USA. Even the hex keys that you receive with your products are sourced from the United States. We're very proud of our Made in USA tradition.

*We design Really Right Stuff soft goods ourselves, but we don't make them ourselves.
...Show more

5 years is not unreasonable. If mine gets any worse I will throw it out.

EBH



Jan 17, 2018 at 07:46 PM
sjms
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


really, is that the wise option? if it gets worse send it to me instead. i'll either fix it myself or have them do it.. these are tools. if i see its worth my effort it will go back into useful service. its only time a bit of money. at this time it seems i do have some of both


Jan 17, 2018 at 08:03 PM
Lee Saxon
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


Nice simple method of making the panning friction adjustable by simply having a plate screw down onto it. But it's strange that they have a different number of slots on the plate and the main body so you have to move the pin around. they could've had just one slot on the main body and more frequent mating slots on the plate. I wonder what the reasoning on that was.


Jan 22, 2018 at 10:57 PM
sjms
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


finer adjustment maintains what they feel is a higher margin of physical reliability. this is used in other industries. aviation is one of them.


Jan 23, 2018 at 09:49 AM
rdcny
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


until one falls apart in your hands in the field...

and the support of the unequal rights for all in California.

No RRS for me again...your BH-55 broke in my hands in the field; your support of unequal rights in California was wrong (and still no apologies)

Other brands offer better quality / cost ratio



Jan 24, 2018 at 06:18 PM
sjms
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


yes, we know.


Jan 24, 2018 at 06:31 PM
Steezus
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


I'm surprised more manufacturers aren't going to a more simple, open design like Acratech has. Maybe patents prevent that? No need to worry about gunk, sand, water, or anything else with an open design. It all falls out on its own and the ball can be wiped clean without disassembly, plus you get a huge savings on weight.


Jan 31, 2018 at 01:49 PM
sjms
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


thats why you have a choice. the Acratech models have their limitations vs the more traditional design ballheads. in the 26 years of using excellent quality ballheads i have found no issues and have proven longevity. i had the original Acratech "ultimate" for a relatively short interval (a few months). not quite an accurately named product. their more recent models are more robust in usage. it is a good head for lighter weight equipment but i'm not finding any real reason to go that way with my already owned options. their "special" ability for cleaning has been a minor if not irrelevant capability from experience with what i'm using for so many years as it is.


Jan 31, 2018 at 02:35 PM
Steezus
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


I hope RRS pays you a lot of money.


Feb 01, 2018 at 03:50 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


Steezus wrote:
I'm surprised more manufacturers aren't going to a more simple, open design like Acratech has. Maybe patents prevent that? No need to worry about gunk, sand, water, or anything else with an open design. It all falls out on its own and the ball can be wiped clean without disassembly, plus you get a huge savings on weight.


That was not my experience. The Acratech collects more junk than a normal ball head and it doesn't come off without cleaning. Maybe the ball wipes off, but the other parts require more effort than I like. I don't doubt there are scenarios where a small head of open design is the best choice. In any event, the Acratech ball heads (38 mm) are comparable to the Kirk BH-3 or RRS BH-40 size, not a BH-55.

EBH



Feb 01, 2018 at 07:00 AM
sjms
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


Steezus wrote:
I hope RRS pays you a lot of money.


they don't have to. they just have to make it so it satisfies my needs. they have proven to be a good investment over the years unlike some others.






Feb 01, 2018 at 07:06 AM
sjms
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown


the higher failure rates tend toward the lesser costly ballheads. yes, there has been the occasional high end failure (see above: rdcny). most of the failures have been due to corrosion of the lesser quality spec'd materials/components/manufacturing used in manufacture of a price point product. longevity also depends equally on usage/treatment and care.

one can own a $30 ballhead that lasts a lifetime of relative light use or no use in a box. or one can, if determined, destroy a $500 ballhead in months, or less, of abuse that would have killed the price point one in days or weeks.



Feb 01, 2018 at 10:21 AM
Steezus
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · RRS BH-55 almost complete teardown




EB-1 wrote:
That was not my experience. The Acratech collects more junk than a normal ball head and it doesn't come off without cleaning. Maybe the ball wipes off, but the other parts require more effort than I like. I don't doubt there are scenarios where a small head of open design is the best choice. In any event, the Acratech ball heads (38 mm) are comparable to the Kirk BH-3 or RRS BH-40 size, not a BH-55.

EBH


I haven't had that problem. You can loosen the clamp and spray water in there. The only time I did that was after a trip to Thailand where I was primarily shooting on Sandy beaches, but even backpacking with my tripod hanging on the pack totally exposed, it never had problems. I mean it is basically impossible to foul the mechanism unless you are putting a sticky paste in there. It's just such a simple design.



Feb 01, 2018 at 03:48 PM
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