[mrredbeard]

i just got a heavy duty monopod, gitzo 1578l and i want to put a ball head on it. i can get a new cullmann high load magnesit 35 ball head for $152.00 new from amazon or i can buy a used kirk b-h-3 for $160.00 what do you guys think. they both will work but what would be the best one???? my body is a d300 with vert grip

[John Russell]

I don't think a ball head is a good solution on a monopod.
You certainly won't need a pan facility and the lateral tilt is going to be a much greater problem than on a tripod.
A simple (and cheap) solution is the Manfrotto 234 tilt head. It's only rated at about 2,5kg but if you exceed this, it's not going to fall apart.
Am I right in thinking that telephoto lenses can be rotated for vertical format?

John

PS: This head is even recommended by Really Right Stuff for use on a monopod, so it's got to be OK if it gets an endorsement from the competition.

[Kevin Conville]

I agree with John. That's I what put on my monopod, and I don't want for another axis. To be honest though, I almost never use the bleedin' thing. I'm just not a monopod guy.