All I can say is Scott is a heck of a guy! I had a bolt on my ballhead that got bent, he replaced it for free and wouldn't even allow me to pay for shipping back to me!
I have a couple of these (one on the tripod I lug around and one I use in the
studio - mostly on a right angle arm for shooting down on things) and they
work fine. not quite as solid feeling as my Markins head, but they don't weigh
anywhere near as much and are MUCH less bulky.
The thing is that there are now a number of other arca heads out there these days
which I haven't tried (notably all the new RRS ball heads), so YMMV on this.
I use one as well, quite pleased with it. I personally love the light weight, recently put it on a 0 series gitzo tripod and the combo is stable and weighs next to nothing.
It's not as smooth or easy to adjust as a RRS BH-55, but it's a whole lot lighter and easier to keep clean. I have mine on a Feiso 3401 and love it for hiking.
I too use this head on a Feisol 3401 for travel and hiking. I am very satisfied with it and I recommend it to you. You should be aware though that some people find it awkward to use because some maneuvers require moving both the ball and a roation of the head. It took me a couple of hours to get used to this and I think this arrangement has some plusses that are not appreciated without experience.
If I could have lots of ballheads for different purposes, would def add the Ultimate to a collection for travel, would be hard to beat for strong, light, and well machined. Being so strong to boot, can see how many would consider it a best choice if you could only own one.
no i would not. they have a considerably better design out there from them. either the V2 or the GV2. they are both a more manuverable setup without the 45 deg angle built in to it. i had one and i sold it after about 2 months
I "thought" I wanted the Ultimate version initially, but when I played with both the Ultimate and the GV2 side-by-side, it was a quick hands-on decision for the GV2 instead.
I bought an "Ultimate" used here on FM a few years back, and like sjms, that 45-degree design quickly drove me nuts. I re-sold it, and went with the more traditional RRS BH-40.
