Sunway DYH-120TRO leveling head

[wiggywag]

Sunway is saying this levelling platform also work well as a large format head...anybody have any experience? Looks quite interesting :-)

DYH-120TRO
http://www.sunwayfoto.com/e_goodsDetail.aspx?gId=1191

[Sevo]

Don't know about that one or its quality. Given that it costs a small fortune and its weight is a kilo, where the Manfrotto 438, at 600g and a third of the price, will already hold more than most tripods can, it ought to be far more than just good enough. If you ask me, overkill unless you are into ULF or very long lenses.

As far as use as a tripod head goes, I have often used Manfrotto levelers by themselves - in LF it is quite common to keep the camera base level and do beyond that with movements. A leveler will do as good as or even better than a ball head for that.

[Ken Lee]

Another vote for the Manfrotto 438.

[wiggywag]

Is it possible to use the 438 as a head alone? Will the movements be smooth enough for fine adjustments when a heavy camera is on top of it?

[Ken Lee]

There are no movements: you loosen the lever, move the head, and then close the lever to lock it.

Here is a video which shows it: http://oliviatech.com/manfrotto-438-...-leveling-head

[JeRuFo]

I use a Really Right Stuff panning clamp as a levelling platform, because I already had a ballhead and the clamp was part of my digital pano kit (but is also sold separate). Only difference is that you use it on top of your ballhead, but it's light, quick to use and easy.

[Sevo]

I use a Really Right Stuff panning clamp as a levelling platform, because I already had a ballhead and the clamp was part of my digital pano kit (but is also sold separate). Only difference is that you use it on top of your ballhead, but it's light, quick to use and easy.

No, that would be panning, not levelling - a very different thing. If you put the pan head on top of the ball head, you would be levelling with the ball head.

[Ken Lee]

As the name suggests, a leveling platform is not used alone, but rather in addition to and beneath a tripod head. It is not a head or a replacement for a head: it is a platform below the head.

With a leveling platform we can level the tripod quickly without using the legs (often a slow iterative procedure). Once the platform beneath the head is level, we can adjust the head along the any one of the 3 axes and the camera will remain level in the other 2.

[Otto Seaman]

If your camera has a rotating back (or an "L" plate in smaller format) would be really nice with single or two-axis Ries, Sinar, or Linhof type heads. The simpler head designs are lighter and stronger than comparable three-way heads.

[Jim Andrada]

This is exactly the same idea as the leveling ball/cup arrangement used on video tripods, although the clamping mechanism is different - the video tripods have a socket built in and you drop in a (possibly) third party ball and clamp which clamps from the bottom. I often use my video tripod with leveling ball for my 8 x 10 Linhof.