What's A Platyball & How Does It Work?
Words by Scott Bourne
Edited by Eryka Bagwell
If you're a serious photographer, you probably own at least one ball head. These heads mount to a tripod and hold a camera, or lens, or light or even microphone.
But not all ball heads are alike and the Platyball is unlike any ball head you've ever seen. This is a new, revolutionary, ball head that actually takes the conventional thinking about ball heads and turns it upside down. Literally.
The Platyball (https://www.platypod.com/pages/platyball) is available in two versions — the Ergo and Elite. The difference? The Elite comes with an electronic leveling indicator — the first of its kind. Both models support up to 22 pounds, meaning it’ll work with most interchangeable lens cameras on the market.
There are many things that make the Platyball unique. First off, there is the upside down nature of the thing. Look at the pictures and videos (linked in this post) and you’ll start to get what that is all about.
Next there is the unique way in which you lock the head in position. Instead of fiddling with some knobs after you have your head pointed where you want it, the Platyball uses a pumping action. You just pump a trigger on the front of the head. You do this to lock or unlock the head for repositioning.
If you go for the Platyball Elite, you’ll also see yet another unique feature of this ball head. According to Platypod founder, Larry J . Tiefenbrunn, when you’ve got a camera on a ball head with a bubble level, you can’t see it. The Platyball Elite fixes that, and instead offers the world’s first electronic level. The level has three brightness levels. There are four lights on the Platyball, and it’s easy to make it perfectly level. The level is also able to be calibrated so you can easily match a predetermined angle.
Both versions also come with a carabiner hole — perfect for climbers and hikers — as well as a neoprene jacket. The Elite ships with an extra A23 battery. The head is Arca-Swiss compatible.
The Platyball was launched on Kickstarter and was immediately funded. It's now shipping at retail.
For more information go to www.platyball.com and watch the video features at that page.
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