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#1
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
Hi,
I've settled on a digital SLR and Fuji MF rangefinder as my holiday travel kit. In the past I have taken a fairly heavy Gitzo tripod, but decided to cut the weight by switching to a carbon fibre type. I bought the Manfrotto 440, which is very nice, but now I find need a lighter head - I put my large 168 QR ball head on it but this is so heavy that it negates the advantage of the lightweight carbon. The only other head I have is a small Gitzo 1175 ball head, but this is probably too flimsy for the MF - and doesn't do portrait shots on the Manfrotto. Can anyone recommend a compromise head for the Manofrotto? I think the recommended head is a magnesium 3D head, but I prefer balls heads. I also would like a quick-release type. Thanks Andy |
#2
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
Andy Phillips wrote: Hi, I've settled on a digital SLR and Fuji MF rangefinder as my holiday travel kit. In the past I have taken a fairly heavy Gitzo tripod, but decided to cut the weight by switching to a carbon fibre type. I bought the Manfrotto 440, which is very nice, but now I find need a lighter head - I put my large 168 QR ball head on it but this is so heavy that it negates the advantage of the lightweight carbon. The only other head I have is a small Gitzo 1175 ball head, but this is probably too flimsy for the MF - and doesn't do portrait shots on the Manfrotto. Can anyone recommend a compromise head for the Manofrotto? I think the recommended head is a magnesium 3D head, but I prefer balls heads. I also would like a quick-release type. The Acratech Ball Head is very light and will support 25lbs very securely. It can be had with an Arca/Swiss style QR clamp. http://www.acratech.net Lisa |
#3
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
"Andy Phillips" wrote in message
... Hi, I've settled on a digital SLR and Fuji MF rangefinder as my holiday travel kit. In the past I have taken a fairly heavy Gitzo tripod, but decided to cut the weight by switching to a carbon fibre type. I bought the Manfrotto 440, which is very nice, but now I find need a lighter head - I put my large 168 QR ball head on it but this is so heavy that it negates the advantage of the lightweight carbon. The only other head I have is a small Gitzo 1175 ball head, but this is probably too flimsy for the MF - and doesn't do portrait shots on the Manfrotto. Can anyone recommend a compromise head for the Manofrotto? I think the recommended head is a magnesium 3D head, but I prefer balls heads. I also would like a quick-release type. The Kirk BH-3 is like a scaled down Arca monoball (more or less: it doesn't have the progressive damping) and is what I use on a Manfrotto 444. I know Lisa uses an Acratech on hers and I think with this tripod these are the two leading choices. Either is more rigid than the tripod itself, and as light as you are likely to get for the support you need. Peter |
#4
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
"Bandicoot" wrote: The Kirk BH-3 is like a scaled down Arca monoball (more or less: it doesn't have the progressive damping) and is what I use on a Manfrotto 444. I know Lisa uses an Acratech on hers and I think with this tripod these are the two leading choices. Do you use your BH-3 to hold your camera flopped over on the side for vertical shots? If so, what camera/lens and how well does it work? (I've been thinking about the BH-3. I'm currently using a Foba Superball M-1, and I'm not happy with it for flopping my Mamiya 645 over on it's side for vertical shots. (The camera moves as I tighten down on the knob, very irritating.)) David J. Littleboy Tokyo, Japan |
#5
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
"David J. Littleboy" wrote in message
... "Bandicoot" wrote: The Kirk BH-3 is like a scaled down Arca monoball (more or less: it doesn't have the progressive damping) and is what I use on a Manfrotto 444. I know Lisa uses an Acratech on hers and I think with this tripod these are the two leading choices. Do you use your BH-3 to hold your camera flopped over on the side for vertical shots? If so, what camera/lens and how well does it work? (I've been thinking about the BH-3. I'm currently using a Foba Superball M-1, and I'm not happy with it for flopping my Mamiya 645 over on it's side for vertical shots. (The camera moves as I tighten down on the knob, very irritating.)) Yes, but not often. I much prefer to use an 'L'-bracket for portrait oriented shots, so only 'flop the ball' when I'm travelling light. I use this head mostly with 35mm gear, usually putting my MF cameras on an Arca B1 on a big Gitzo. Having said that, the BH-3 really doesn't seem to move when I tighten the knob. It'll hold a Pentax LX and 300mm F4 A*, for example, like this. I like it, and it seems exactly the right size to match up to the 444. I have used the 444/BH-3 combination with my 6x6 gear when travelling and it has worked pretty well, certainly fine with a 180mm f2.8 (though probably not if it was very windy.) Of course, with 6x6 I don't need to flop the ball. My 35mm stuff is probably similar in weight to your 645 though, so I'd expect it to be fine. In fact, my preference for using an 'L'-bracket rather than flopping the ball isn't really to do with the head: it has more to do with the tripod and keeping the mass above the apex. It also just seems easier to use that way rather than work with the ball flopped and then need to use the panning base to adjust side-to-side, etc. Peter |
#6
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
"Bandicoot" wrote: "David J. Littleboy" wrote: "Bandicoot" wrote: (I've been thinking about the BH-3. I'm currently using a Foba Superball M-1, and I'm not happy with it for flopping my Mamiya 645 over on it's side for vertical shots. (The camera moves as I tighten down on the knob, very irritating.)) Yes, but not often. I much prefer to use an 'L'-bracket for portrait oriented shots, so only 'flop the ball' when I'm travelling light. I use this head mostly with 35mm gear, usually putting my MF cameras on an Arca B1 on a big Gitzo. Having said that, the BH-3 really doesn't seem to move when I tighten the knob. It'll hold a Pentax LX and 300mm F4 A*, for example, like this. I like it, and it seems exactly the right size to match up to the 444. I have used the 444/BH-3 combination with my 6x6 gear when travelling and it has worked pretty well, certainly fine with a 180mm f2.8 (though probably not if it was very windy.) Of course, with 6x6 I don't need to flop the ball. My 35mm stuff is probably similar in weight to your 645 though, so I'd expect it to be fine. In fact, my preference for using an 'L'-bracket rather than flopping the ball isn't really to do with the head: it has more to do with the tripod and keeping the mass above the apex. It also just seems easier to use that way rather than work with the ball flopped and then need to use the panning base to adjust side-to-side, etc. Hmm. Thanks for the comments. Sounds as though I should probably get at least the BH-1. (One of those buying the right tool first saves money in the long run sorts of things.) I have an L-bracket for my Mamiya but it gets in the way of hand-held operation, and getting it on and off the camera is awkward enough that I'd not want to futz with it in the field. David J. Littleboy Tokyo, Japan |
#7
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
"David J. Littleboy" wrote in message
... [SNIP] Hmm. Thanks for the comments. Sounds as though I should probably get at least the BH-1. (One of those buying the right tool first saves money in the long run sorts of things.) I have an L-bracket for my Mamiya but it gets in the way of hand-held operation, and getting it on and off the camera is awkward enough that I'd not want to futz with it in the field. My 'L'-bracket is the RRS one - very nice. But not knowing the control layout on the Mamiya well I don't know if it would get in the way. A custom one probably exists from either Kirk or RRS which would be designed not to, of course. As well as my Kirk BH-3 on a lightweight tripod I also have an Arca B1 on a bigger 'pod. The Arca is so nice that if I was going to get a ball-head that size anyway, I'd go for that rather than anything else. The progressive damping on the Arca certainly improves matters when flopping the ball. There was a thread on the BH-1 to Arca comparison in rpe35 recently that you might want to Google for. Peter |
#8
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 23:50:54 +0900, "David J. Littleboy"
wrote: Hmm. Thanks for the comments. Sounds as though I should probably get at least the BH-1. (One of those buying the right tool first saves money in the long run sorts of things.) For once I learned from other folks' experience on this and other groups, rather than going ahead and making their mistakes all over again - I bought an Arca B1 for my MF (RB & C330F) and 35mm kit with RRS plates for each body. Definitely not lightweight and not cheap but it stays where I put it and I'll never need to buy another head. Rod Weed my email address to reply http://website.lineone.net/~rodcraddock/index.html |
#9
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
Good morning,
I have a similar problem. My Manfrotto 055CB is too heavy with the standard head, so I'm not carrying it in the field often (especially when walking). I'm thinking about a lightweight ballhead to reduce the total weight drastically, and I think about using a basic Manfrotto 486 without release plates. That Acratech head looks impressive on specification, but too costly for my tastes. I have two 35mm SLR bodies (without boosters), a 70-200/2.8, a 28-70/2.8, a 50mm/1.4 lenses and sometimes an external flash, plus a Fuji MF rangefinder. All this equipment barely can fit inside a backpack with a bottle of water and something to eat - and it's rather heavy... The Fuji is so light you shouldn't have a problem even with a very light tripod (they don't have mirror slapping), except in very windy conditions. .. In fact, I think the 35mm gear with telephotos etc. places bigger demands on tripods compared to the Fuji RF. Any opinions on this? Still thinking about it, N.F |
#10
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Lightweight tripod head for MF
Dear all,
Thanks for your input. I was hoping for a slightly cheaper head than the BH-3, but maybe I could monitor Ebay for a while. I too have the Pentax A* 300/4 so a sturdy ball is important. Also, I guess I could use this with my Bronica ETRSi and Wista 5x4 field camera? Any idea of the maximum weight for the BH-3? (although I guess it depends on how that weight is balanced - the ETRSi with 150/4 and 2x converter is pretty front-heavy. "Rod" wrote in message ... On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 23:50:54 +0900, "David J. Littleboy" wrote: Hmm. Thanks for the comments. Sounds as though I should probably get at least the BH-1. (One of those buying the right tool first saves money in the long run sorts of things.) For once I learned from other folks' experience on this and other groups, rather than going ahead and making their mistakes all over again - I bought an Arca B1 for my MF (RB & C330F) and 35mm kit with RRS plates for each body. Definitely not lightweight and not cheap but it stays where I put it and I'll never need to buy another head. Rod Weed my email address to reply http://website.lineone.net/~rodcraddock/index.html |
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