Registered: Oct 09, 2005
Total Posts: 6936
Country: United States
The proprietor or www.reallybigcameras.com, Kerry Thalmann, recently asked me to review one of the Photo Clam ballheads for members of this site. I’ll guess Kerry asked me because I have been a somewhat frequent poster here (much less lately, though), and Kerry made it clear in his email communications that he wanted my objective opinions about the product. I received a Photo Clam PC-44NS on loan, and have had several chances to use it in the field before I wrote my review. For reference, I currently own and frequently use a Markins Q3 and an RRS BH-40, both on Gitzo tripods. In the past I’ve also owned ballheads from Bogen/Manfrotto, Kirk, Gitzo, Acratech, and Arca-Swiss. Now, on to the review, and here’s a link to the spec sheet for the PC-44NS:
http://reallybigcameras.com/PhotoClam/PC-44NS.htm
Might as well begin with the finish and build-quality, and I’ll say right away the Photo Clam looks and feels like a high-end product. Had I been sent a PC-44NS and a Markins M10, each unbranded, I’d have quite honestly been hard-pressed to tell which was which. The ball diameter is the same 44 mm, and there is only a 2 gram weight difference (according to each maker’s spec sheet). Not to say that the Photo Clam is a clone, but the quality of each seems at the same high level. All the finished surfaces of the Photo Clam are beautifully anodized, and have that same matte, smooth finish of the Markins, or an Arca-Swiss, for example.
The large friction control knob operates smoothly, and has its smaller minimum friction stop control wheel built-in. The rubber grip is firm and doesn’t slip on the knob, and there’s also a numbered scale ring between the knob and ballhead body. The scale can be rotated so you can set the zero point to match the minimum friction you’ve set, and the scale doesn’t easily move on its own once set. Oddly enough, even after using my Markins Q3 for a few years I never learned to use that minimum friction stop, but felt the need since I promised a fair and thorough review. In short, it works perfectly on both the Photo Clam and the Markins, and it’s really a useful feature. It prevents loosening the main friction knob enough to let the ball flop over accidentally, and it’s easily adjustable for various camera/lens combinations.
The panning base also operates smoothly and is locked by a fairly small knurled metal knob, which is very similar to the Markins’ feature. Thankfully, unlike the Markins’ panning base, the Photo Clam’s locks much more firmly, and the knurled ridges on the knob have their sharp peaks knocked off, so the skin stays on your fingertips. A rubber grip would have been nice, or maybe even a four-pointed knob, such as on the RRS BH-40. There is a silk-screened degree-scale on the panning base, calibrated in 5-degree increments, with a 30-degree notch cut into the base to expose the numbers. One tiny detail flaw is that the pointer on the ballhead’s base is just a small radial groove, uncolored, and it’s a bit hard to see. If I owned this ballhead, I’d use a toothpick and some thinned white enamel to fill in the groove and make it more visible.
That leaves just the ball itself, and the supplied clamp. The ball and its stem are machined from a single piece, and the ball is at least to some extent hollow. I removed the clamp easily, as there was no Loctite used on the screw, and found the top of the stem to have a raised tongue, much like on the RRS ballheads. The tongue fits into a groove on the underside of the clamp, and of course, it prevents the clamp from twisting. I was pleased to find the tongue, and also the screw, to be the same size as their RRS counterparts, which means swapping the original clamp for an RRS lever-clamp is quick and painless. That’s not to say you’ll necessarily want to swap the original clamp, but the RRS lever-clamp is a very popular upgrade applied to many brands of ballhead. The original clamp is as good as any other screw-clamp you’ll see, and better than some. The knob has a firm rubber grip, as on the ballhead’s main friction control knob. The clamp has a built-in safety stop, which works fine with all of my RRS and Kirk body and lens plates. There are two small, linear levels (at right angles to each other) built-in to one edge of the clamp. So, they’re visible with a camera mounted, but because they’re each very small, and the fluid is nearly clear (rather than that typical bright fluorescent green-yellow), I didn’t find them to be very useful. A two-axis hotshoe-mounted bubble level has always worked best for me.
Nice build-quality is one thing, but if it doesn’t translate into good performance in the field, what’s the point? The sum of the parts in this ballhead, fortunately, does result in very good performance. As already described, all the controls operate smoothly, which translates into a great feel when using the ballhead. One thing I like about a quality ballhead is the ability to adjust the ball friction to a very specific level, which of course has to vary with the equipment supported. My preference is to set the friction to a high enough level to hold the camera/lens steady if I’m not applying any force. At the same time, the friction has to be set low enough to allow movement of the camera/lens if a small amount of force is applied. That equilibrium relies on a physical principle which tells us that the coefficient of static friction is higher than the coefficient of dynamic friction. In example, when you’re trying to push that heavy anvil across your workshop floor, you’ve got to apply a higher force to get it moving than is needed to keep it moving. Many ballheads I’ve tried, even costly ones, fail to function in this manner, for whatever reasons, and in my opinion, that becomes their failing point. This Photo Clam head is as good as any I’ve ever used, though, including the silky smooth Markins heads, and one of my all-time favorite ballheads, the Gitzo G1278M (Teflon-coated ball and friction blocks). It’s simple to feel when the friction is set “just right”, and to get it set with precision.
Another failing point of many ballheads is slippage of the camera/lens position when locking the ball. With a long lens, even a tiny amount of movement translates into a large variance when multiplied by the distance to your target. I didn’t experience any movement when locking down the ball on this Photo Clam. I still prefer the separate friction and locking knobs, as you’ll find on the two larger RRS ballheads, but a single knob for both functions does seem to work just as well, in this case, just as it does on the Markins, Arca-Swiss, and others. Personal preference, or habit may prevail for some users, but I’m happy with either setup in the end.
Considering all the above, and the Photo Clam’s price of $269, I’d be very comfortable recommending this ballhead to a fellow photographer looking for a great buy on a higher-end ballhead. By comparison, the Markins M10 is $340 (+ $71), and the RRS BH-40, another ballhead in the same class, costs a little more still, at $356 (+ $87), all exclusive of shipping costs. Cost of a ballhead in this upper class, may not be the deciding factor for all users, though. Personal preferences for appearance and feel, and even brand loyalty all come into play at this level, but it’s always good to see a new competitor offering a quality product at a lower price. I would have actually been more interested to test the Photo Clam PC-36NS ($209), as it seems to be the closest competitor to Markins’ Q3 ($269). That class of ballhead may be the biggest market segment, if one can make that assumption based on the questions posted here on FM by those looking to purchase their first “good” ballhead.
There are a few remaining questions, none of which I have an answer to. First, the longevity of this ballhead is certainly untested, and I was not about to tear apart the one Kerry loaned to me. Nor did I do any other sort of destructive testing, such as hanging 100 pounds off the clamp to see if it would snap. I used the ballhead in the same manner that I use any other piece of gear I own. Second, what about warranty service? The warranty is mentioned in the included User’s Manual, but the period isn’t stated, nor instructions provide on how to file a clam. The Really Big Cameras site doesn’t seem to mention the warranty at all, so perhaps Kerry will respond with a post to this thread, or add that info to the site?
Finally, Kerry also sent along a Photo Clam camera plate (part # PC-76-up2) for my Canon 5D. It’s a nicely-machined piece, specifically contoured to the 5D body, rather than being a “universal” plate. It has cutouts on both ends for use with a handstrap (such as my favorite - from Camdapter), the screw fastens with a flat-bladed driver, and the dovetail is square, which allows the plate to be mounted either parallel or perpendicular to the long dimension of your clamp. A big plus is that this plate fits my RRS lever clamp properly, unlike the Markins plates (which are slightly too narrow to clamp tightly). The only thing I’d change about this plate would be to improve the included screw. The screw doesn’t appear to be made of a very durable alloy (might even be aluminum, rather than stainless steel), and it’s tough to apply enough torque with a flat-bladed driver (as opposed to a hex wrench) to get the screw really tight. I’ve got no idea what this plate sells for, as I couldn’t find it listed in the Really Big Cameras site. I’m also a little unclear about how this plate is labeled on its packaging, which calls it a “universal” plate, although it clearly isn’t. (That language barrier issue also comes to the fore in the User’s Manual, but it’s not such a big deal with a product as simple as a ballhead.) Kerry mentioned to me, in an email, that Photo Clam makes camera-specific plates for “many Canon and Nikon cameras”, so perhaps they’ll be added to his site soon.
So, that’s about it. I’m sending the ballhead back to Kerry in the next few days, and I hope this review is useful to anyone looking for a new ballhead. Here are some quick pics I just took (I’m not a product shooter by any means):
