I have the much smaller J250, which is about 2 lbs. The new ones are listed at 2.5 lbs, but I'm pretty sure mine is lighter than that. The platform on mine is a different casting.
http://www.riestripod.com/?product=the-j250-head
I do agree with this, very much so. Thanks again for the suggestions- much to consider!Originally Posted by Sal Santamaura
At the time I had those made, pre-retirement, my colleagues included mechanical designers with access to CAD equipement and the skills to use it. One of them worked with me to create a 3-d model of the plates, which required precise measurement of the camera bases' hole locations. Apparently, Ebony's titanium part supplier drills the countersunk holes manually, so they are not uniformly located. Not wanting to have wood problems with screws ending up close to but not exactly where the original ones were, we measured everything to within 0.1mm. Adam took the CNC file and machined aluminum from it. I specified hard anodizing, which Adam doesn't do and had to subcontract. Given all that background, and remembering this was almost six years ago, total to Grimes for both replacement plates (SV-57 and SV- Wholeplate) was around $500.
OK, then, so much for my search skills!
In that case, if you're interested in a ball head, the weight analysis I went through, even just using the Kirk plate with an FLM 48, shows a probable slight reduction or at worst a wash. Personal working preference would drive your decision.
Thanks for the link.
Btw., it's not that hard to machine aluminum to fit in an Arca quick release clamp. A carbide table saw blade works fine, especially with something like Fortal.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
How's about an Acratech? I heard good things about it. I'm wondering choosing it or the RRS BH 40, for 4x5.
Life = Love + Passion + Responsibility
I own several Acratech products and love them. For my Sinar F I use the Acratech Large Leveling Base. It has a broad platform that is the same diameter as the bottom of the Sinar's monorail clamp (2.9" / 75mm). While it doesn't have the range of motion of a true ballhead, it is effectively a small ballhead in nature. It has a large adjustment knob that is easy to tighten and loosen, and allows you to rotate the ball within the socket to point the camera the right direction, and then about 10 degrees of tilt. It's very lightweight at about half a pound.
In general I like Acratech because they products are incredibly well built and well designed. For lighter cameras I use the Acratech GP ballhead, which I've had for five years and could not see myself parting with. I don't think the GP would be a good choice for my hefty Sinar, but it's fine for my lightweight Nagaoka 4x5. I have a half dozen of their quick release plates as well.
Hey Greg -
I recently bought the BH-55 and have yet to use it. But I keep reading about these geared heads that I wonder if I should switch to one of those.
Have you used many geared heads over the years? What are you shooting with the BH-55? I would imagine geared heads and ball heads are a bit like apples and oranges due to what they do but I'm wondering if I should start out with a geared head or ballhead (I'm shooting with the Chamonix 4x5).
All the best
J
Since you already have a BH-55, a first rate ball head, why not give it a try?
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Geared heads are too slow and tedious for me. But these things always come down to personal taste and subject matter. I use a ball head for everything. With LF my process is to level the tripod and then level the ball head (which is easy to do with a BH-55 because the quick-release has a bubble level in it. I do not point the camera up or down. I use rise and fall instead which keeps the film and lens planes parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. At least until there is a reason to changes the planes. With the tripod level and the ball-head level, I am free to pan the head without losing level with the camera. None of the planes changes unless there is a reason to. If you point the camera up or down, now it is necessary to make at least one plane change just to get back to square. So a Ball head works perfectly well for me and avoid all the tedium that comes with a geared head or pan/tilt head.
If I shot architecture a lot I might change my mind, but this works very well for me.
If I were in your shoes, I would borrow a bunch of heads and try them out to see what you like.
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