I have two of the 3047's. They handle my B&J 8x10 no problem. I have found that if not super tight there is a tendency to rotate when inserting a holder. To solve that I tapped a existing indent in the QRplate for a 1/4-20 set screw which I set to project 1/4". I bored a 1/4" hole in the bottom of my 4x5 Wisner and fitted a brass sleeve into which goes the set screw. A simular hole I bored into the B&J steel rail head. Absolutely no wiggle.
Brian,
I am selling my Bogen 3047 for the your price. Shipping is included in the price. E-mail me if your interested.
Bob
Brian,
Are you sure that your problem is the head and not the tripod?
I ask because I had "wiggle" problems, as in "touch the camera or pan handle and shift the point of aim visibly" and also less sharpness than seemed right with long lenses, e.g., 700/8 Questar. After a lot of fiddling I tracked the problem to a lack of torsional stiffness in my tripod when the legs were extended. The locks between the leg sections allowed the leg sections to move a tiny bit relative to each other and this let the platform rotate a little around its vertical axis. Not a lot of play and not a lot of rotation, so all was good enough with lenses no longer than 200 mm.
I went to B&H in search of a better tripod. Short version, all but one of the new tripods they had on display had the same problem. The exception was a $860 Gitzo CF leg set. At the time I was there, there was a small Zone VI tripod in the used section that also had good torsional stiffness. I've since seen a large Zone VI and it too was very stiff, also very heavy.
Not relevant to your question, I ended up with a Berlebach that's stiff enough when I make sure to tighten the leg locks. The significant difference between it and most of the others is longer contact area between leg sections.
Also not relevant to your question, but I can't imagine using a ball head. I like to adjust the way the camera points one axis at a time. Some people who use cameras much larger than mine are happy with ball heads, so clearly there's no solid reason not to use one. But I don't find 'em congenial. I second the suggestion that you get a 3047.
Good luck, make sure you're solving the right problem,
I had a similar problem when starting with 5x4, and came across the Manfrotto (Bogen ?) #115 head. It has 3 separate axes, and the two main ones are clamped by the use of tapered cone clamps. So it's possible to get high clamp forces with no risk of putting high spots into the mechanism. Before finding the #115, I'd tried and rejected a number of well known s/h heads which were clearly knackered from heavy(?) use. (Can be quite instructional to test out used equipment...)
I use a Benbo Mk 1 tripod which is firm enough for stability. (But, it's a heavy outfit and I'm well away from that flush of youth. I use a "granny" shopping trolley to get it around.)
you could forego a head for the lightest, most stable system...
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