Overview

There are a handful of pistol grip heads on the market today but most of them are pretty low quality units without much in the way of features. The Vanguard GH-100 has a handful of advantages over these other units, and most other squeeze-type ball heads as well.

First off, the ball system itself is has to different slotted sections giving you a lot of front-to-back tilting ability as well as the ability to flip very quickly between portrait and landscape mode.

Secondly, the bracket connector can also rotate 360 degrees around a labeled head for accurate positioning. Tension for the head rotation and ball locking is handled by two different knobs that allow for very secure positioning that stays right were you put it without any release sagging.

What is very unique is that the silver collar in front of the pistol grip handle retracts and allows the pistol grip handle to rotate 360 degrees giving you a lot of flexibility in exactly how you want to use the handle.

Features

• Dual-locking quick shoe mechanism
• 72-click point panorama
• 360-degree horizontal movement and 90-angle tilt

Specs

Usage

My initial impression was quite with the only issue being that I needed to crank down mounting plate onto the camera pretty hard if I was using a heavy lens and the design of the mounting plate makes it a little difficult my my giant sausage fingers to get to the screw handle. Once its tightened down securely, there are no other issues with it.

I’m not sure how helpful the bubble level inside the mounting section really is but if you do need to make sure the entire platform is level at least it is there and you can get a good level, drop the camera on and you are ready to go.

The main tightening knob on the back rotates about 260 degrees to adjust the tension but you will rarely need more than the last 90 degrees to come from loose to locked down. The lever on the side for the rotating head has 90 degrees of travel but you will only use the last 5 degrees or so to lock it down or loosen it up. These aren’t problems by any means, its just an observation.

To rotate the handle I can reach forward with my top two fingers and grasp the lock ring from the top and bottom and pull it back, rotate the handle to the new position and release the lock ring. This takes a little practice, but once you get it down you can manipulate the handle pretty easily.

Results

As I said before, replacing something like your tripod head is not something you do on a whim. While I have replaced tripod legs three times, I have still been using the same ball head on each set of legs. It had it’s quirks, but I knew them inside and out. After getting the GH-100 from Vanguard I decided to really give it an honest trial and use it exclusively for a month or so and see if I could get as comfortable with it as my long time head from the past. To be honest, it felt pretty awkward at first. If I was to make any design change it would be for the front-back tilt slot to be on the opposite side from where it is but this is a trivial change. The GH-100 handle feels a little “plasticy” but very very solid at the same time. Had the entire handle been made from metal it would have added significantly to the weight.

Well, its been a couple months since I got it and the GH-100 is still sitting atop my tripod. I am under no obligation to use it nor would I do so simply because Vanguard is a sponsor of CameraDojo.com, I actually have come to really prefer it over my old head and if you see me at any shooting event with my tripod handy you will see the GH-100 mounted on top.

I feel I have more control with the GH-100, it flips nicely from landscape to portrait and you can even get some fairly fluid panning and tilting by adjusting the tension and a little practice. Sure, it wont ever be as smooth as a true fluid head but its better than any other traditional still head in a pinch.

Score Card

Website: Vanguardworld.com

Purchase now for $99.99 on Amazon.com

What’s a ball head?
A typical tripod head can be adjusted in three axis, think of these as left/right, tilt up/down, rotate left/right. To adjust your camera across these three axis you have to loosen and then tighten three separate controls. A ball head has a single friction control and then the entire head can be adjusted simultaneously across all three axis and then locked into place by tightening a single control. This can dramatically speed up the time it takes you to get your camera in the position you want. While some ball heads have a knob or dial to lock the head into position, the 322RC2 has large grip handle that you squeeze to release friction and then release to lock the head into position.

Features
The 322RC2 is made from magnesium in order to keep the weight on the unit as low as possible and is designed to keep the center of gravity over the center of the tripod for better stability. Built into the handle is a nice bubble level and a safety release pin to keep things from coming apart unexpectedly. A thumbwheel in the handle is used to adjust the friction and the unit can support camera systems weighing up to 11 pounds.

• 1/4” screw attachment type (camera)
• 3/8″ female thread attachment type (tripod)
• -90° / +3° tilt range front tilt
• -90° / +90° tilt range lateral tilt
• 11.02 lbs load capacity
• magnesium construction
• 360 ° panoramic rotation
• quick release system
• secondary safety system
• weight: 1.54 lbs

Setup
I had a nice set of Calumet legs handy so the 322RC2 was going to have a nice home on top. From the box to being secured on top of the tripod must have taken all of about 5 seconds since it just screws into place. The 322RC2 also has a movable top plate so you can position into one of three normal positions or even stand the handle upright and put the plate at the end of the handle (great for using on a monopod). Next I screwed the mount plate onto the bottom of my Canon 30D, snapped it into place, locked the handle down and I was ready to go. Total setup time was under one minute.

Usage
Squeeze, adjust, release. Yup, that’s it. Pretty simple huh? Ok, how about some more detail. Using the 322RC2 gives you one of the moments when you think to yourself that you couldn’t believe that something so simple as the tripod could be as good as it now is. Think about trying to shoot anything that is moving in two different planes (kids are a great example of this) and trying to use a three axis tripod to follow their chaotic action. With the 322RC2 you can easily follow the action through all three axis of control and lock your camera in place right where you want it.

Results
A ball head is a seriously cool accessory for a tripod and the 322RC2 may have a hard name to remember but once you use it, you will wonder how you got by without it. When you are ready for a top-notch tripod setup, find a set of legs that meet your requirements and you can’t go wrong sticking the 322RC2 ball head on top.

Author: Kerry Garrison