Tripod recommendation for Sinar F 4x5

[kevs-2323668]

Here is another, says near mint.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gitzo-Classi...item43ad039770

I may be splitting hairs, but curious it near mint is worth the $75 or so more than bargain on KEH
http://www.keh.com/camera/Tripods-Tr...990904660?r=FE

[Frank Petronio]

Those are good models but I wouldn't pay over $200 for a used metal Gitzo 3-series, a little patience will pay off.

The Sinar head comes up occasionally for $200 and up. Save up and be patient.

KEH Bargain grade stuff can be quite good, sometimes they are just being lazy on their grading and don't want hassles over a cosmetic defect I guess. They have a generous return policy and it is nice to buy from them, pay a little more but have it be hassle-free.

As you can tell from the active buy and sell here, people usually flip stuff on their way to perfection ;-p

Ask Rick, he writes more than me lol.

[tgtaylor]

Here's another tripod & head alternative: Manfratto 475B w/ 329RC4 low-profile pan/tilt.

I purchased the above new from B&H several years ago to use with a Toyo Robos (12lbs) which is handles easily and have also used it with a Toyo 810G (18lbs) with a 3 lb lens attached which it also handles easily. The 475B is still available new at a good price: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ipod_Legs.html

Thomas

[Dave Jeffery]

"Dave, that looks sweet is that available somewhere at good price now?"

$395 in the For Sale section on this site. http://bigwavedave.tv/Gitzo.html

[John Koehrer]

The one you linked to at KEH for $179. is a 60" max ht.
I'd think it has a flat plate, no column.

[Ari]

Here's another tripod/head suggestion:
Induro AT413 and Bogen/Manfrotto 229.

The Induro is a very well-made Gitzo clone, and the 229 is as tough as they come.

Of course, if you can, get the Sinar Pan/Tilt head; it's a marvel if you own a Sinar.

[Ken Lee]

I have used this Manfrotto tripod/head combination with my Sinar for years: They didn't break the bank, but are fully functional with geared adjustments etc. The official ratings for weight support are conservative.

Whatever you get, if you're shooting outdoors, consider getting a leveling head. I could kick myself for not having gotten one earlier, but I didn't even know they existed until I saw a surveyor and got a close look at his (Leica) surveying equipment. Most surveyors levels have a leveling head already built-in to the bottom of the level itself.

It's important that the head is level before you try to pan or tilt: Surveyors figured this out a long time ago. If the head isn't level, you pan and tilt at an oblique angle and have to adjust the camera over and over again. You don't want to be trying to level the head with the legs: it takes forever and is a losing battle. A leveling head makes it trivial and instantaneous.

Other manufacturers provide leveling heads too. See Nodal Ninja for example. They know there's no point making a panorama if the pano head is skewed.

[Peter De Smidt]

I'm glad that Ken likes his 3021, but I don't like them. I bought one, my first tripod purchase, back in about 1990. It was awful. Nothing locked down properly. I had to epoxy the two piece column so it wouldn't spin. The leg locks flexed, and the legs and locks regularly needed to be cleaned or they got very gritty in operation.

One of the photographers I assist for uses 3021s, and he recently got a new one. It's much better than mine is. (I still have it, as my conscience wouldn't let me inflict in on someone else.) In particular, the leg locks have been improved, but it is still loosey goosey compared to a Gitzo. (Yes, I know they're the same company nowadays.)

[kevs-2323668]

thanks guys, I did get a Gitzo a few days ago. I may not even need a head, but if I do, what would be a good one for it? and leveling head too...

Ken thanks for the nice links! I tried to print out your web page, but it did work in firefox, it made one long thin line of text 200 pages.

I Like the leveling head tip,-- thats just a plate or --or don't some heads have it built with them now?

You could put a cheap level onto the camera as well no?

but the level head obviates one from having to worry about the three legs being uneven? that's the real purpose?

On my older Bogen fiber I actually put white markers with white grease pencil to mark points on all the legs.

[rdenney]

thanks guys, I did get a Gitzo a few days ago. I may not even need a head, but if I do, what would be a good one for it? and leveling head too...

If you need a head, get a Sinar tilt head. You'll end up with one anyway, and whatever you buy along the way will be wasted. Ask me how I know--I've used everything on my Sinar from an Arca-Swiss Monoball to a Bogen 3047 to a Manfrotto 229 to a Manfrotto 410. They are all good, but all of them except the 3047 are pushing the price of a Sinar tilt head and for a Sinar camera, that's what works best, hands down.

You will be working in interiors for your project, so you should be able to level up using the legs extended to a set position.

You'll want the torpedo level for side-to-side leveling, which requires rotating the round monorail in the tripod clamp. There should be a small bubble level on the camera, but a torpedo level across the top of the rear standard works if that level is dry or inaccurate (those levels can be adjusted, of course). If you mount the tripod clamp to the legs directly and extend legs to the same length on a flat floor, you should not need to level fore and aft. If you need to turn the camera, just pick it up and turn it.

My advice is use what you have and stop spending money until you've had a chance to play with it a bit. Further needs will emerge, but at this point they should emerge from your experiences, not from everyone else's. What is needed by a landscape photographer on rocky ground is not the same as a guy photographing models in a studio set.

Rick "who learned this the hard way, several times" Denney