Old Ries or new Berlebach tripod?

[Bruce Schultz]

I bought a Berlebach, and it does fine for what I shoot. I didn't buy a head, just use the tripod's integral ball. Admittedly, there are times when a head of some sort would be more convenient, especially when I'm in a hurry. but what I have works OK for basic 'scapes most of the time.

[andrew vincent]

For a light, inexpensive solution with very fast set-up times, I think it's difficult to beat the Berlebach 3032, as others have mentioned. You could buy several of them for the prices of a new Ries leg/head combination, or the price of a new gitzo/arca combination, and doubt either would offer any additional stability for a 4x5 camera. ULF is obviously a whole different story...

[John Kasaian]

When wieght is an issue, like when I'm sking, I use a Ries J-100 sans the head with my 8x10 dorff. Its probably not a single digit but I'd bet it comes close (or closer?)

[Scott Davis]

I've got a Gitzo 1420 (??) legset - the aluminum legset, not carbon-fiber. It is very light for its size at 9.8 lbs (the legs will extend to over 6' in height). You can put ANYTHING you want on top of it and it will hold it (Heck, I could probably sit on it myself, and I weigh 240 lbs). As has been previously mentioned, if you want to prioritize stability, get something without a center column. If speed of operation is the priority, get the Gitzo geared center column to go with it. Put whatever head on top you want - I also have the 1570 pan-tilt head, which at the time I put the kit together, was the largest platform at the lightest weight I could get, since I was still shooting with a Calumet C-1 Green Monster. The C-1 had a serious rigidity issue because of the baseplate design, and I needed the larger platform to try and stabilize it. Now that I have a 9 lb Zone VI Ultralight, I don't NEED the big platform of the 1570, but it is still nice to have since I know it will fully support what I put on top of it.