I use a ballhead for cameras up to 5x7, but I really hate it for LF. I bought one solely because it is less bulky, hence easier to pack, transport, and deal with when the camera is off. I should have bought the Bogen 410 geared head, maybe I will someday. I now feel stupid for having selected something for how well it works when NOT taking pictures...
I dunno, I do know the A-S B1 is too small for my Arca, at least with a longer Copal 3 sized lens and 16 inch rail pointing below the horizon, as it will and does creep. But I agree that either the B1 or the Acra would be fine for a fold up field camera like a Graphic, Ebony, Technika or a Arca F-line with moderate lenses. Very few of the AS heads "lock up" and most of that was from the lousy instructions that A-S bundled with the head - now fixed BTW.
The Manfretto 3047 isn't light but it sure will handle a big camera (4x5B&J view). It sure beats my Pro ball. Jim
i have the 410 geared head and it is great until you want to point the gamera up past say 15 degrees, then the knob knocks against the tripod and you have to turn the plate round and fit ithe camer on "backwards". i suppose in normal lf work people don't usually pan upwards, but bear it in mind.
I second the 410 for LF work. I use it with a Horseman 4x5 monorail and it works quite well if the standards are at least somewhat centered over the head. Being a little over 10lbs with a 90mm f/8 lens, it is still very useable even though bogen lists its max weight a bit lower... As for only having 15 degrees being able to tilt up, and a full 90 to tilt down, I usually reverese the plate as I usually point the camera up a very steep angle(looking up a tree and the like), or with the Horseman it's easy to just switch which end the lens is on... Overall it's a very sturdy platform and the ability to fine tune the composition with the gears, and yet still do a quick disengagement of the gears to quickly manuever the camera is a real plus for landscape work. If you do any sort of wildlife photography with 35mm where you need to be able to adjust very rapidly, then you might want to look at getting another tripod/head combination with a ball head... Currently I use a 10lbs setup that has Bogen 3035 legs and 410 geared head for medium and large format landscapes, and a lighter 4lbs setup with Bogen 3001 legs and a simple Bogen ballhead for 35mm "action" photography... Overall it works very well...
One more vote for the Bogen 410. I hope I never have to use another ball head.
Arca B1
used on nikons, blad, technika and kodak master (metal 8x10).
no problem holding the weight, pointed up, down etc. doesn't even test it.
small, light and strong.
if you set the thing up properly, the ability to make small, incremental adjustments is easy. no loose and floppy ballhead problem. no problem adjusting only one plane.
be aware that the longest lens i use on the 8x10 is a 450mm voightlander in a compound shutter. lens selection (weight and bellows extension) will have to be one of your considerations when selecting a head.
i use all RRS plates. VERY well made. great service (i'm on the other side of the world, no delays or dramas).
good luck,
D.
You all are the greatest! Thanks for the helpful replies. I will look at the details of the heads you all suggested and make a decision. I really wish that I could see them and try them in person. It would make the decision easier.
I'm in agreement with a couple of others. I like a ball head for 35mm or medium format, but not for a view camera. With a view camera, it's important to be able to get the camera leveled, both side to side and forward and backwards. With a three way pan tilt head, you can level each degree of freedom independently from the other. In attempting to level the one, you don't risk losing leveling in the other.
I purchased a Bogen 3039 Super Pro Head with Quick Release. It's an upgrade from the 3047. It's silky smooth and can support up to a 26 pound camera. It's the best, and most easily adjusted head that I've owned. It's higher priced, but considering how often one uses a tripod head, it's worth it.
The world seems to be split into those who love ball heads and those who hate them...
I use an Arca B1 for everything up to a Phillips 8x10 (including an Arca Swiss F camera and a Toyo 45A) and for field use much prefer it to a pan and tilt head (though I quite like a big old Gitzo low profile ratinalle head I got cheap off eaby - only for bigger cameras though).
I had an Acratech and really liked it - and the weigth and price were right too. Worked just fine up tot the Phillips - but my Father borrowed it last time he was over and it hasn't made it's way back yet....
But it comes down to if you can get on with a ballhead or not (and for 4x5 up you really need a good one) - out in the field I nearly always find a pan and tilt head too fiddly and slow. Others just don't like the "one knob fits all" way a ballhead works
You'd be amazed how small the demand is for pictures of trees... - Fred Astaire to Audrey Hepburn
www.photo-muse.blogspot.com blog
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