Sorry, can't explain that all to well but i try: Pan/Tilt head gives you perfect control in all 3 dimensions individually. Changing one doesn't hurt the other two so this is what you want if you're shooting non-moving objects. Poor if your objects are moving. The ball head allows you to change all three dimensions at once. Perfect if action is what you want to get. But if your object isn't moving, it's a lot less comfortable for you will constantly change dimension that should not be changed. Hope you can understand what i try to tell Michelle :) Btw.: Manfrotto is an excellent choice. Heard only praise about them!! Still working with plastic-crap too, dreaming of a carbon-gizzo .. sigh