Bogen 3047 on the Berlebach ball head:Bad or OK?

[Steve Williams_812]

I have a ZoneVI lightweight tripod and I love it EXCEPT when I need to shoot indoors on my hardwood floor. Those sharp mountain climbing legs I adore so much outside create a real problem. I could not find or come up with any solution that was satisfactory so I ordered a Berlebach 4032 and another Bogen 3047 pan tilt head. Afterwards I come to realize that I will have to mount the head on the ball head. My concern is that I walk around a lot with camera and tripod on my shoulder. The Zone VI is rock solid and I don't worry about a thing. Is the Berlebach going to do OK like this with the camera and Bogen head bouncing around at the end of that ball head? Any enlightenment would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Sean Billy Bob Boy yates]

Well it's too late now, but I thought Zone VI made a spreader for their legs to solve the indoor problem. Have they stopped making it or have things gotten goofy with the Calumet take-over? Bogen, et al. makes/made spreaders and auto-dollies and spiders, etc for tripods, I imagine one could be adapted or used if you could find one in a camera store to try before you buy. I use an old Husky model on my Bogen 3046. You could also try to make one yourself or contrive rubber tips by adapting, say crutch feet or floor guards for furniture.

But, if you want to keep the Berlbach and continue to carry the camera on your shoulder - I'd suggest you always make sure the ball is clamped down tight and affix a lanyard of some kind so that if the camera does come loose, it won't fall very far. I lost a Wisner 5 X 7 Technical to a Bogen 3047 in a similar manner. Do they have a safety lock on the newer incarnations of that head to prevent the Q.R. plate from being released accdentally? I know they aren't cheap but how about switching your head to a Ries J-200? Those screw directly into the camera and there's no possibility of 'em coming loose if you do your job.

In any event, bear in mind that hi-grade video and film gear weigh as much as an 8 X 10 and more and those shooters use ball and socket tripods all the time. They usually dismount the camera when they move it a great distance, but I have seen them carry them over the shoulder for short distances.

[Tony Brent]

My Berlebach ball head will carry the 8x10 Deardorff, but I don't trust it slung over my shoulder. I have no fears about a 4x5 camera. One thing I do with a mounted camera is to carry the tripod as vertical as I can, with the camera bed resting on my shoulder rather than hanging out behind my shoulder. I can get the rig back on the ground in a hurry that way if I have to.

[Steve Williams_812]

Well, the Berlebach arrived today and I must admit I am impressed by the quality of the 4032 tripod. The built in ball head is much lower in profile than I imagined and with the Bogen 3047 head attached to it it makes a real pretty combination. It seems solid and I foresee no problems with it when I put the Zone VI 4x5 field camera on it.

Now I have to see if I can part with the Zone VI tripod.... Again thanks for the input and advice.