How about going headless for landscape?

[jantman]

I have a Cullmann Titan 200 legset which I use with a Cambo 810N without head. I just level using varying leg extension. The tripod is great, will support 154 pounds (it can hold me), and will also extend to about 7 feet with center column. I don't use that very often, but the column is solid enough to hold the 810N (19 pounds) without much vibration.

If I had the money laying around, I'd buy a Majestic head, or maybe one of the view camera heads from Fine Art Photo Supply. But I don't have the money to spend on a tripod head, and I'm not that crazy about adding pounds to my already too heavy rig.

[chris jordan]

i have found over the years that it is possible to get away with a much smaller and lighter tripod and head than the photo catalogs suggest. for my field 4x5 i have a lightweight bogen tripod and head that's supposed to be for 35mm only, and it works just fine for 4x5. for my 8x10 i have a setup for medium format that is not recommended even for 4x5. in strong wind it moves around too much, but otherwise i just set it up, count about thirty seconds for everything to stop jiggling, and make my exposure.

[Andreas Schmidt]

I also thought about using a tripod without head for my 4x5" camera, but found that you cannot always level the tripod in the way you need. Therefore I use a wooden tripod from Berlebach with built-in leveling ball. The actual model is Report 9043, which has a center column (which I cut off some part and use as a handle only), but they are also available without the center column if you want to save more weight. This seems to be a similar construction to the one Tuan mentioned for the new Gitzos.

The weight of the wooden tripods is a bit more than the carbon fiber ones, but much less than an equivalent aluminium tripod. On the other hand, vibration damping and ruggedness are excellent.

It seems that you can also order from abroad (www.berlebach.de also has English information) and the people at Berlebach are very friendly and professional to deal with. I was not happy with the ball fixing knob on my tripod (too small) and they sent me a nice handle as replacement.

[Arne Croell]

The leveling ball has been used by Berlebach since a long time, even before the Berlin wall came down, when they were part of "VEB Foto-Kino" in the GDR. I have used several of their tripods and they are quite good, although as Andreas said, a little on the heavy side compared to the Gitzo Mountaineer series. In addition to Berlebach there is a very similar line (also with leveling ball) by the company Wolf . (I am not associated in any way with either of those).

[Dan Fromm]

For those of us who already have tripods, there's the Bogen 3502 (sorry, don't know the Manfrotto number). I've had an earlier version for ~ 15 years, wouldn't be without it.

The question of the day is, since real cinematographers all use claw balls, why don't tripods made for amateur videographers have them?

Cheers,

Dan

[David A. Goldfarb]

This photo reminded me of this old thread--

http://shorpy.com/comment/reply/5699#comment-form

"Tripod head? We don't need no stinkin' tripod head!"

[Archphoto]

Those were the days..... syh.....

[Jim Galli]

This photo reminded me of this old thread--

http://shorpy.com/comment/reply/5699#comment-form

"Tripod head? We don't need no stinkin' tripod head!"

Hey! That's me 4rth from the left with the 5X7 Top Handle Speedy

[John Kasaian]

I do it quite often when schlepping the 8x10 around while on skis.

[Doremus Scudder]

Seems I'm always finding something in the field that requires the camera be radically pointed up or down, or even tilted off level. Photographing recently in slot canyons in the SW I had the camera pointed almost straight up; had to reverse it on the tripod head to get enough of an angle.

For me, a head of some kind is indispensable. However, for my 4x5 wooden folders, I've been using the Manfrotto/Bogen 3D 3025 head (I think its called "Junior" now...). Lightweight, no handles to get in the way and, when you loosen all the controls, it works like a ball head. I had a fancy Gitzo ball head for a while and I like this better, since the controls can be operated singly as well. Plus, I find it easier to set up the tripod quickly and do the leveling with the head instead of fiddling with the tripod legs.

I've even used this head with bigger monorail cameras. I need to make sure the knobs are really cranked tight, but it works just fine. There must be a big brother to this head that would work for larger cameras as well.

My 2 cents...

Best,

Doremus Scudder