Photobox.ie, ball head? (Two unrelated questions)

floydmoon1

Hey all,


Bought a DSLR a few weeks ago, have been leeching off the information posted here for a little while and now have a few questions I'd like to ask, so thought I'd make a thread and mooch some more


I was wondering about two different things.


Firstly is a website called photobox. In another thread i read this post:

floydmoon1 wrote: »

All the Best with the new hobbie.
It can get addictive.
If once you have a good few photographs taken you want to get them printed you should create a photobook.
I got one printed of a freinds children and turned out great.
It is printed straight to the paper.
Checke out the below Irish website that does it.
http://photobox.ie/

And i followed the link. The website's pricing seems a little too good. 100 Photos printed and posted for €15? Just wondering if anyone else here has used this site and can tell me any good or bad things about them. Floyd wrote "It is printed straight to the paper", which makes me thing that the photos are printed on regular paper, which would put me off ordering from them altogether, but I'm hoping I read it wrong.




Also, I bought the SLR Zoom version of the Joby Gorillapod on ebay the other day. I've yet to receive it, but after reading a lot of the comments/reviews on Amazon, it seems everyone is recommending to buy a "ball head" for it. In case you've no idea what I mean, here's a few copy/pastes:

Amazon Reviews wrote:

- I would recommend some sort of adjustable ball mount.

- ... there is no "quick release" included with this tripod. You either have to screw the 'pod directly to the camera or buy a "ball head", which I did.


- ... the unit really needs a tripod head. I have a small Manfrotto ball head that works very well.


- Hard to adjust without a ball head.

- Minor adjustments to the camera position,angle etc. are absolutely impossible without a ball head.

Now, I've no idea what a 'ball head' is, but I do know I'm going to end up getting one sooner or later if the comments on Amazon are anything to go by, so I decided to try and get one sooner rather than later, so I don't get too frustrated witth e Gorillapod. My question is, is Ball head the actual name of a product, and can it be bought alone?


I did an eBay search and, amongst all the gimp masks and fetish stuff, found this:


http://cgi.ebay.ie/Hama-mini-ball-head-mount-1-4-thread_W0QQitemZ260438394307QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_TripodsSupports?hash=item3ca35685c3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1301|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50



But i don't really know if that's what I need or not, and I'm not entirely sure if it's gonna be compatible with my camera (Olympus E420). Just looking for some advice. I've seen some ball heads that are about €50+ and I don't fancy spending that much on it at all, if I'm being honest.




Sorry for the very long, drawn out post. Just looking for a little help relating to the above.


Thanks to anyone and everyone able to offer some help here.

majiktripp

Firstly the ball head.

It is an adapter of sorts for mounting on top of a tripod or monopod to allow fast and easy re-allignment of a shot without twidling too many knobs etc.
It works in conjuntion with a tripod or monopod and is not meant to be used on its own.
Example:
I bought a monopod and ballhead for my hefty camera and it cost the handsome sum of €100 for both inc. delivery from amazon so not overly expensive.
Good ballhead guide with a video to show benefits etc:
Here

Secondly Photobox...
Brilliant service, I have had no issues with them at all, fast postage and good prints. Have had kitsch mugs done up with holiday photos and they were brilliant, and also printed poster size collages which also turned out very well.
I think their pricing is very good value for money and overall they have never let me down but that is just my opinion, others may have had bad dealsing with them I dont know.
Hope that helps!

Sherifu

On the photobox question, as above never had a problem. Good quality prints, good value.

I did start ordering bigger numbers of prints from them when they raised the postage charge a bit to offset that but that's a small issue.

Hey all,

Thanks for the above posts. I'm going to try out photobox some time, see what I think of them. They seem pretty good.



Can I ask, how can I find out what size fitting-thing (unsure of the actual name) my camera has? The part where the tripod/ball head/etc. screws into.


I've noticed theres a few different ones (1/4", 1/8", etc.) and I checked the specs of my camera (Olympus E420) on Olympus' website, but they don't seem to acknowledge that part of the camera at all.


also, does anyone know of any decent websites where you can get some info on ball heads? I'm mooching through Amazon at the moment, but none seem to have customer reviews, and very vague product descriptions (at least the ones i've looked at so far, anyway). I don't want to spend a fortune on a ball head.

majiktripp

I believe the E-420 has the standard 1/4" thread on the bottom as it takes my tripod/quick release plate / monopod thread fine and they're all 1/4".
Did you visit This site for ball head guide ? Doesn't have direct comparissons but a rough over view. I bought an Manfrotto 486RC2 ball head for my monopod and it can hold my D3 comfortably (which I couldnt believe) so it will manage your E-420 no bother.
Another forum I highly recommend (beyond the exalted knowledge of Boards Photog's :P) is the Olympus Forum on DPReview .
Any SLR owner should visit that site at least once!
Here is B&H's listing of Ballheads : will take a while to read through!

Thanks a lot majiktripp.


Yeah, I did take a look through the 'ultimate ball head guide' and it was pretty interesting (and it's what actually made me wonder about what size fitting my camera has).


The other link you provided me with (all the ball heads, B&H listing) showed a Joby ball head that had was made for the SLR Zoom Gorillapod (the one I purchased) so I will probably end up getting that, as it seems to be compatible with my camera (and will obviously be compatible with the Gorilapod).


http://joby.com/products/gorillapod/ballhead



I'm going to take another look through the specs of my camera (weight, etc.) and the ball head guide you provided again, to make sure that one would be OK for me (I'm very new to the whole photography thing, so don't need anything too hardcore) and I'll hopefully have placed an order with Joby by the end of the day



Thanks a lot man. Your help (as with everyone else's) has been great!

Got my Gorillapod this morning. Seems pretty cool, but it's pretty obvious that a ball head is an absolutely essential extra for it, so I just bought one from Joby.com (I hope I don't get nailed by customs).



Can I ask guys, are there any other camera essentials you'd recommend? Is there anything I can buy to protect the lens or anything if its raining out or anything like that?

majiktripp

UV filter for the lens, I think the 14-42 lens has a 52mm thread but not 100% sure. The idea of this , for me anyways is to stop the lens getting scratched first and foremost, blocking UV rays secondly.You could pick these up cheaply enough on eBay or 7dayshop.com as theiur pretty common now.
I would also recommend a decent carry bag, anything from the Lowe Pro range I think is good quality, and lastly a good read is "Understanding Exposure" which helps explain the nature of the camera and how to use it all the better.

-Chris-

Deleted User wrote: »

Firstly is a website called photobox. In another thread i read this post:...

Another good review for photobox.ie

We've had loads of prints from them and have been very happy - to the extent that we had them do our wedding album!!!

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

Is a UV filter just like a cap that sits over the lens? If so, is it plastic, glass or some other material?


Can anyone recommend any good camera cleaning kits for the LCD screen and lens?

majiktripp

It's basically a screw in piece of glass that mounts via a thread system to the top of the lens itself.
There's a few varying types but generally your pretty safe with the following :
Ebay link to CPL+UV Filters 58mm Thread for E-420

Something along those lines would do you fine.
For the lens and LCD I always use...drum roll...my breath and a glasses cleaning cloth. Find it works just fine!

Cheers for all the help Majiktripp.


I'm shocked at how fast I got my Joby ball head :eek: I ordered it on monday evening and got it this morning in the post. No doubt FedEx will be on to me with customs charges in a few weeks.


Must say though, the difference in the Gorillapod is massive when using a ball head. No gorillapod should be sold without a ball head, a it isn't as much use at all. Excellent stuff. I'm really thoroughly happy with that from them. Great work by them.



I seen Harvey Norman are offering 100 6"x4" prints for €11. Not too shabby.