Quote Originally Posted by r.e. View Post
I appear to be in a minority on this, but I've never owned a tripod with a centre column and I figure that mounting a large format camera on a raised centre column is just asking for trouble
It depends on how high you raise the camera, 1,2,3 inches won't create much vibration but fully expending the post will act like a flag in the wind. To me, it is much better to have an oversized heavyish tripod that allows for the height needed without using the center column. Using a weight, e.i. bag-o-rocks, gear bag on the bottom of the column is great unless it starts swinging in the wind. Needless to say if the wind is strong enough to swing the weight it might be very difficult to get a sharp exposure.