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The Bogen ball heads aren't the best around, but it's hard to beat them for
value. I've used all three of these heads and here is my evaluation:
Bogen 3038
This is Bogen's biggest ball head. It's massive, weighing in at around 4.5+lbs. I
found it to be very solidly built and very sturdy. It's big enough to hold just
about any camera or lens you can lift onto it. The locking levers for the ball
and the panoramic base are sturdy and efficient. It has adjustable ball tension,
so you can set it for the weight of the lens in use. The downsides of this head
are the weight and the smoothness of operation. If you have to carry it far in
the field, the weight is as issue. If you are working indoors, it's not a
problem, but if you compare it to an Arca Swiss B1 - which is just as stable -
you're carrying around an extra 3lbs. The ball action isn't particularly smooth.
It gets better when you heavily load it, say with a 13 lb lens like a 600/4. You
can live with it, it's not aweful, but it's not as smooth as other heads (most of
which cost 2x or 3x the price of the 3038). Another potential negative point is
that it uses the large Bogen hex QR plates. They work fine, but are significantly
larger than, say the Arca Swiss QR plates. Still, if you need a BIG, stable ball
head, you don't have much money and you can live with the hex QR plates and a
slightly sticky ball movement at times, the 3038 is a reasonable choice.
Bogen 3055
The 3055 is Bogen's original "medium" ball head. It has a panoramic base like the
3038, but it's not calibrated in degrees (the 3038 is). The ball and base actions
are slightly "sloppy". This isn't a super-precision made device, but for $40,
what do you expect! Though the ball tension might in theory be adjustable
(depending on how hard you lock the locking lever), in practice it's more or less
"locked" or "free". It takes the standard hex QR plates. Kirk can adapt it to
take Arca Swiss type plates (they can do this for the 3038 too), but I've no idea
why anyone would do this. The Arca Swiss QR plates are $40-$50 each. Why anyone
would want to use them on a $40 ball head I don't know. There's also a Bogen
version which takes thesmaller Bogen rectangular plates. I'd say the 3055 is
adequate if you have a limited budget. There's really nothing any better in
a QR ballhead for the price. It's OK with lenses up to a 300/4 or 400/5.6. I'll
admit to putting a 300/2.8 on one. It worked OK but it's not something I'd
recommend. BTW I never used the panoramic base on the 3055. I think there's a new
3055s (s for simple) version without the pan base. No big loss in my opinion and
it's a few $ cheaper.
Bogen 3262
The 3262 comes in two versions, QR and non QR. The QR version doesn't use the
standard Bogen hex plates. It uses a smaller rectangular plate, which makes more
sense on a medium-small ball head. I've used the non-QR version, so that's what
I'll talk about. The 3262 is a simple head. No panoramic base, a single ball
lock/unlock lever, no adjustable ball tension. Within these limits it works quite
well. I've used it with lenses up to a 300/4 (with TC), but that's the upper
limit. I wouldn't even think of putting a 300/2.8 on it. Problems? I used one
owned by a friend and found that in very cold (sub zero) weather it seemed to
lose "lock". I'd mount a lens, position it, lock the ball and it seemed to slowly
creep loose. I haven't noticed this with mine and it didn't happen to the other
one at normal temperatures. I don't know if it's a generic problem, or just the
one example. Overall, it's a decent, solid ball head for an SLR with small (maybe
medium)
lenses. At the price, again you can't really beat it.
Overall
I think the overall conclusion is that Bogen don't make the best ball heads. They
make the cheapest usable ballheads and maybe the best value ballheads. Most
serious photographers eventually end up with something better - and significantly
more expensive. The Bogens (especially the 3055/3262) are cheap enough that
there's no big loss when you upgrade. If you can afford it, go with something
better (like the Arca Swiss B1 at $360, plus $40+ per QR plate!). If you can't,
get a Bogen and don't lose any sleep over the decision.
