Photography by Tom Zeman - REVIEW: Really Right Stuff BH-55 PCL Ballhead

For years, I happily used an Arca-Swiss B1 Ballhead on my tripods. It shows the scars of its considerable use and many thousands of miles of travel. Inevitably, the hard use, often in very difficult conditions, took its toll, and I started to have problems with the ballhead locking up. This was not the standard B1 glitch, I never had that happen, but something different. If I tightened the tension knob past a certain point, it would lock solid and absolutely refuse to budge. I had to take a large pair of pliers to it to get it to loosen. Since I couldn’t afford to have this happen on the road, I took the hint and started shopping for another ballhead.

I looked at quite a few designs, many that come highly touted, but for me there was only one choice. The Really Right Stuff BH-55. Since I’ve used and highly recommended RRS’s Arca-Swiss style quick release plates for years, checking out their ballhead was a natural.

I settled on the BH-55 PCL model, which incorporates a panning clamp into the top of the ballhead. This would allow me to set up easier and more quickly for panoramas, and not have to attach a separate leveling device to my tripod., thus saving weight. But the first challenge was getting one. The BH-55 PCL is $575, plus shipping, making it one of the most expensive, if not THE most expensive ballhead on the planet. Additionally, RRS literally sells every ballhead they produce. They go out the door as fast as the parts come in and they can be assembled. So it took a few weeks before they had one in stock and I was able to claim it for my own. It shipped quickly after that, and took about a week to make it across the country to my location.

The BH-55 is shipped in its own neoprene drawstring protective pouch, manufactured by OP/TECH. The first impression one gets from the BH-55 is one of immense quality and workmanship. It feels like a massive chunk of precision machined metal. Any doubts I had about its high price fell away as I noted the superb craftsmanship and the silky smooth operation of the controls. You simply cannot buy a better produced piece of equipment, and it made the B1 look dowdy by comparison. One gets the feeling that RRS took the concept of the B1, but completely modernized and improved every aspect of the design, until arriving at the BH-55.

The BH-55 is shorter, 3.65 inches (92.7 mm) vs. 4.5 inches (114.3 mm) than the B1, and wider, 2.86 inches (72.6 mm) vs. 2.65 (67.3 mm). It is also somewhat heavier, 2.0 lbs. (955 g) vs. 1.7 lbs. (770 g). According to the manufacturers, the BH-55 is rated for a maximum load of 50 lbs. (23 kg), while the B1 is rated for 90 lbs. (40.91 kg). The lower, wider design helps contribute to a lower center of gravity, and the higher weight is offset by being able to omit a panning clamp from the tripod.

After using the B1 for so long, the different arrangement of the knobs takes some getting used to. According to RRS,

“Rotate the body of the BH-55 ballhead so that the drop notch closest to the Main Locking Knob is on the left side (at 9:00 o’clock if you are looking top-down) and the other drop notch is at the front away from you (at 12:00 o’clock). This places the Main Locking Knob conveniently for you to operate with your left hand (at about 7:00 o’clock) while your right hand is free to operate the camera controls. With this orientation, you can readily tilt the camera body over from horizontal to vertical using the drop notch.”

I used to place the main locking knob of the B1 at 12:00, I still find myself occasionally reaching toward the wrong spot, but the location of the knobs is logical when you orientate the BH-55 correctly. This places one drop notch to the side, and one straight ahead. Having two drop notches is a nice touch. The B1 only had one, which occasionally required rotating the base.

In use the BH-55 is rock solid. Even when loaded with a heavy camera body and lens, there is no creep, no flop, nothing. The clamp locks securely onto the camera/lens plate, the knobs rotate precisely and lock smoothly. The unit’s fit and finish are superb, and so far, durable.

I am very, very impressed by the BH-55. It is, without doubt, the finest full size ballhead available anywhere. Whether or not you need this much ballhead though, is a question best left to you. RRS also makes two smaller models, the BH-40, and the BH-25. (The number on each model corresponds to the diameter of the ball.) All three models are available in different configurations, so see the RRS website for details on what will best suit your needs.