current large Linhof pan/tilt heads?

[Henry Carter]

There are two large current production Linhof pan/tilt heads that fit directly into the largest Linhof tripods.

The Linhof Profi 3 Universal Pan/Tilt head (3669) is a very heavy (3.5 kg), solid, traditional head with extruding handles. It provides 90 degrees of forward tilt, 30 degrees of backward tilt and 15 degrees of sideways tilt. It is probably more suited to studio use.

The Linhof Levelling Pan/Tilt Head 77/90 (3667, 3668) is 50% lighter, 50% the cost, more compact, more portable, but less versatile. It lacks backwards tilt, but you can get around this by remounting the camera after turning the head 180 degrees.

Is anyone familiar with these two heads and their relative merits?

Regards,
Henry

[Bob Salomon]

Yes what is your question? And Linhof has other leveling heads as well for monoral cameras.

[tor kviljo]

In Europe, where Linhof equipment is (were) widely used, their tripod's didn't have at least as big appeal as the cameras, as the Gitzo tripod & heads were just as well made, but generally lighter & more adaptable, espesially when they added the performance-feature to the legs. I have used a big linhof-pan tilt on a Linhof Heavy-duty pro twin-shank tripod for a short while (approx 20 ib of metal tripod & head..) and I found the Gitzo 1570 low-profile 3-way pan-tilt head better - locking rock steady + having both front & back tilt + sideways tilt for levelling. The 1570 is suitable for up to 8x10 at least. If You don't desperately need the Linhof logo, I would recommend You to have a look at that one before deciding on buying a new head.

[Henry Carter]

Thanks for the replies.

As Bob probably knows, these two heads are not stocked by many dealers. Most buyers have to rely on pictures in brochures or on the internet as well as information and advice from other users through forums such as this one.

I own a current production Linhof Profi 3 tripod, and the above two heads are made to fit directly into the top clamp of this large and solid tripod.

I use a Linhof 4X5 Technika with lenses from 75 mm to 300 mm.

Both heads have camera plates available for them. The second head described above, the Linhof Levelling Pan/Tilt Head 90 (3668), is in fact made for use with Linhof monorail cameras. There is however a camera plate made for it permitting use with other cameras.

Which of these two heads would you put on your largest tripod, the one that doesn't stray far from the car?