Manfrotto XPRO Magnesium Ball Head with Top Lock plate

Deciding to update my long-time ball-head, I looked at various alternatives. However, I kept coming back to Manfrotto. I wanted to switch up my system with an L-bracket for my camera, and needed an Arca-Swiss style head to be able to accommodate this change. This new Manfrotto head is lovely.. Lighter than my previous one, and very secure when tightened, it feels great to use when I'm out landscaping. The adjustment now possible for the friction on the head while it is unlocked is very useful, meaning you can set the friction level to suit your hands and movements then easily tighten everything back up with one twist of the main lever. I'm delighted with it - it's another quality head from Manfrotto, and at a very competitive price point for an Arca Swiss compatible clamp.

I had considered a ball head for some time, my previous three-way head a little awkward. Impressed by the stability of the head and its ease of adjustment, the release plate is a little awkward and gives the impression of being a little flimsy. I would have preferred that the adjustment knobs had been a bit more robust as well. All in all a decent piece of kit which is more to my needs.

I had such high hopes for this ball head, but it fails so miserably when it comes to it's unique selling point: being an Arca-Swiss compatible Manfrotto head. I think you already know this, but Manfrotto manufacture two versions of this ball head; one version with Manfrotto's 200PL quick release plate and one with 'Top Lock,' which looks a lot like an Arca-Swiss plate. Don't be deceived, it's not. Despite its claims, this head is very far from Arca-Swiss compatible. The release mechanism is an over contrived reinterpretation of what is otherwise a fantastically simple concept. This reinvention requires that you release the screw clamp, as you would expect, and then wrestle with a needlessly uncomfortable button before you're allowed to have your camera back. Most of the time this button will give you the loathsome Top Lock plate, but woe betide you if you expect it to return any other Arca-Swiss compatible accessory. I made the mistake of fitting a Three Legged Thing l-bracket, and coaxing this feral monstrosity to release my sweet darling took nearly twenty minutes. A return label was quickly printed and this sorry little mistake was deposited in an Amazon locker within an hour of opening the package. Consider yourself warned.

This is the best ball head I have ever used. It's rock solid when locked down. You can slacken off the friction separately from the locks so you can position your camera easily & when you let go it won't flop over. It also has a locking rotatable base with degrees marks, which is very handy for taking panoramas with a consistent overlap. At the time of purchase, this ball head was only £105. Keep an eye on the price, it seems to vary a lot for some unknown reason and grab a bargain when it's cheaper.

This is my second x-pro head and its not because I wanted two. So it's not a great ball head; my first copy had issues in its built and design. I still bought a replacement as it is also reasonably priced - stick with me. It also has a benefit that I am very familiar with using it so I didn't need a learning curve. First the connection system for arca-swiss rusted up / seized up/ became difficult after the first year of using it. Manfrotto could have made this better; but when using their large plates on my long lenses I did appreciate the locking pin. On my cameras I used the peak design plates which work with smaller lenses. First time I realised the mechanism was dodgy was when I caught my camera floating towards the ground. When I looked at it the clip was held open. Some time lubricating the mechanism and forcing it to move in with a screwdriver and out and it was serviceable for another 6 months. I was diligent after that first scare; checking the connection was secure - which isn't a bad habit to get into. The death though came when the position retraining twist screws on the side fell off after using it for 18 months. Its still somewhere out there in the dessert as it dropped off whilst I was carrying the tripod on my backpack. Until that moment it had been a good head for photos - and a disaster of being in the dessert for night photos was partly averted by the friction knob getting things tight enough to take photos if I was careful. So why did I buy a second one; price and familiarity of use. For its weight carrying ability its slightly light - especially compared to the super ridgid pneumatic heads Its also half their price; and despite its simple friction system it held my cameras and motion heads with heavy L and Zeiss lenses rigid in all kinds of places - even on a horizontal arm The xPro matches perfectly with the weight and design of my 055 travel tripod; and I likely will use it a lot less now as I added a smaller travel tripod to my collection so It should spend less time in the cargo hold and be used closer to home. Lockdown has stopped me using it for the last month; but it worked tonight when I went out to find some asteroids. Time will tell if my first head was a lemon...

Awesome ball head. Only thing holding it back from 5 stars is the camera plate it comes with. If you have a DSLR you'll find it a nightmare to secure. There's a hollow wide groove down the middle giving no traction against the base of your camera, in addition to having no rubber plates, your camera will slip all over the place, especially with a heavy lens. I replaced the plate with something else.

Manfrotto has gained an excellent reputation for manufacturing quality camera supports and I would say that this XPRO Ball Head with its MSQ6PL ‘Arca Swiss' compatible Quick Release (QR) Plate is a good example of the quality of their designs and of their high build-quality. Importantly for me, this Manfrotto XPRO Head with MSQ6PL Plate enables the use of more universal ‘Arca fit’ attachments such as an L-Bracket for example. Worth noting about the Manfrotto XPRO Ball Head is that it's available in two versions - the 'PL200' version features Manfrotto's own designed Q/R Plate and it's NOT cross compatible with Arca Swiss Q/R Plates; and the ‘MSQ6PL’ version which comes with an 'Arca Swiss compatible' Plate. While looking into buying this new Tripod Head, I couldn't help notice that there seems to be a lot of 'misleading marketing info’ surrounding Arca Swiss Plates etc., with descriptions such as "Arca Swiss Type or Style" suggesting compatibility, but beware as a lot of them actually are NOT ! However, in my opinion at least, if you don't specifically have a need for using any Arca Swiss Plates etc, Manfrotto's own PL200 Q/R Plate System is extremely good; certainly as secure as the Arca Swiss System, and arguably slightly easier to use. This product is nicely made and finished, feels solid and is moderately lightweight weighing in at about 1/2 Kg (500g), and I would recommend it to anyone.

Solid as a rock! Some reviews mentioned issues with compatibility of Arca Swiss plates. I’ve tried this with a 3 Legged Thing L bracket and other arca Swiss plates and it works perfectly. It doesn’t work with the cheap L brackets listed from Neewer etc as these are a fraction wider than all my others. Highly recommend.

Robusto, movimiento suave y buen bloqueo, rotula muy recomendable

Ich habe den Kopf zu einem MT055CXPRO4 Stativ dazu gekauft da ich einen leichten aber stabilen Kugelkopf gesucht habe der in der Lage ist auch meine Mamiya RZ67 zu tragen ohne so schwer zu werden dass man das Stativ nicht mehr im Alltrag mit sich herumtragen möchte. Der Kopf hält was er verspricht, die Kamera wiegt über 3kg, selbst wenn die Kugel lose geschraubt ist und nur die Vorspannung über das einstellrädchen etwas erhöht wurde kann man die Kamera gut bewegen aber sie bewegt sich nicht wirklich von alleine weiter wenn man sie los lässt, zieht man die Kugel dann fest hält die Kamera auch wirklich bombenfest selbst wenn man mal das Stativ über die Schulter legt und ein paar schritte mit montierter Kamera rennt. Was soll ich sagen für einen Kugelkopf der gerade mal 500g leicht ist wirklich der Wahnsinn. Die von anderen angesprochene Kompatibilität zu Arca Swiss Platten konnte ich nur mit einer Platte nachvollziehen diese hat aber heraus stehende schrauben auf der Unterseite die sie in ihrer Schnellwechselplatte vor dem Herausrutschen sichern würden, somit hat man mit dieser platte bei allen etwas größeren Aufnahmen ein Problem . Schnellwechselplatten von PeakDesign machten absolut gar keine Probleme, ließen sich einrasten und profitieren sogar von dem Metall Pin in der Mitte, können somit nicht heraus rutschen auch wenn sie noch nicht fest geschraubt sind.

Très bonne rotule, la qualité des produits Manfrotto n'est plus à démontrer. Je précise que la rotule s'adapte très bien sur la plupart des plateaux Arca-Swiss sauf certains qui ont deux butés en dessous.

Arrivata ieri e messa subito in opera, la testa è davvero ben realizzata, d'aspetto solidissimo e con leveraggio comodo ed efficente. Il movimento della sfera è molto fluido e la frizione permette una regolazione ottimale secondo il peso dell'attrezzatura, dando modo a chi fa le riprese di correggere l'inquadradura senza dover mollare del tutto il freno della sfera. Il movimento panoramico è un pò duro ma regolare e la testa si ferma in tutte le posizioni senza il minimo cedimento. Anche con la barra centrale del treppiede ribaltata. La piastrina arca swiss onestamente la credevo un pò migliore ma vabè. Ottime le livelle sulla piattaforma. Curioso il sistema di sgancio a bottone.

Excellent Ball head, Can use my arca swiss plates and L brackets with no problems.