Just so you know what you're getting into if purchasing this… the ball moves when tightening the tension knob. I bought this head and a tripod at a local store in late 2010 at the same time I bought my Nikon D7000. It was my first ball head, and I had nothing else to compare it to. I am writing this review after having used it for five years to offer some perspective. Having no idea what else was out there at the time I bought it, I thought I was impressed with the construction, the solid materials, the apparent smoothness of its movement, etc. Naïvely, I thought it "great." Even as a novice, however, I noticed immediately that the ball moved when tightening the tension knob. Though I did not like this, being that it was my first ball head, I simply thought that this was the norm for all ball heads, that it went with the territory. I went about using it in my hobby of photography without giving it another thought. In time, with repetition, I learned to compensate for this movement and even got pretty good at it.
Just recently, however, I bought a monopod and purchased another ball head. For the ball head, I decided to go with whatever the best-selling model was here on B&H, which, when I looked (Nov 2015), was the Oben BE-117. From the very first time I used the Oben, I immediately noticed that it does NOT move when tightening the tension knob. My eyes were opened to a whole new experience with ball heads. Gone was my naïve belief that all ball heads move when tightening, and now I know I can never go back to this Vanguard head. I intend to replace this Vanguard head on my tripod.
So, I reiterate again to offer fair warning to all considering this ball head: the ball moves when tightening the tension knob. As stated above, this can be compensated for, but you should be aware of this ahead of time. It does make it difficult to maintain your framing and composition when tightening, and now, five years after the fact, this made me inclined to give it a 1/5 rating. This seemed harsh though, and I bumped it up to a 3/5 because once it is in place and tight, it is rock-solid. Once it is tightened, I could rely on it to stay in place and never noticed any slippage afterwards. Attached are a couple of fireworks pics that I took while using this ball head to hopefully show that, once in place, it can hold your camera steady.
Next, I intend to write a very positive review of the Oben ball head I bought here on B&H…