Specs for Sinar Pan Tilt Head

[neil poulsen]

Does anyone have the specs for the Sinar Pan-Tilt head? I've checked all over the internet, including the Sinar website, and I can't find them. I'm interested in height when level, the weight, and the diameters of the upper and lower platforms. I just received a new tripod, and I'm considering alternatives for a different head. (Thanks.)

[Ari]

Neil, I sent you a PM, but the crux of it is that a Sinar PT head is best used with a Sinar; I'm not sure if that's the camera you plan on using.

[Alan Gales]

I own a Sinar P 4x5 and when I attach it to my Ries head I have to tighten it down pretty tight because the rail clamp wants to spin on my head. The Sinar heads have a pin that sticks up and prevents the Sinar rail clamps from spinning.

[Luis-F-S]

Neil, I'll measure mine when I get home. L

[Alan Gales]

No specs but an interesting read. http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?77658-Sinar-Pan-Tilt-Head-Advantages

If you buy one then get the matching tattoo. :cool:

[Drew Wiley]

Alan - that problem is super-easy to cure without resorting to a dedicated Sinar head. But my own head did spin quite a bit back when Sinar accessories still sold at full price.

[Alan Gales]

Alan - that problem is super-easy to cure without resorting to a dedicated Sinar head. But my own head did spin quite a bit back when Sinar accessories still sold at full price.

I could glue a piece of rubber down on my head. I just make sure it's cranked down really tight. The pin or screw that sticks up on the Sinar head is just another nicety of that head.

I didn't even look at Sinar back then. I just stayed with my Contax 35mm. :)

[Drew Wiley]

You could also just rough up the base a bit. Cork tends to be a little spongy unless its highly compressed, a characteristic which can be found. My Sinar rail clamp
locks down rock solid with just a slight twist of the turnbolt on either of my Ries Tripods.

[Alan Gales]

You could also just rough up the base a bit. Cork tends to be a little spongy unless its highly compressed, a characteristic which can be found. My Sinar rail clamp
locks down rock solid with just a slight twist of the turnbolt on either of my Ries Tripods.

No cork either, just a naked head. It works. I just haver to remember to crank it down tighter for my Sinar than I do my Wehman 8x10 I guess because of the smaller surface area of the Sinar rail clamp over the bottom of the Wehman.

I just think the Sinar heads are great for a Sinar. Ries is great for everything else including my Nikon DSLR's. The J100 is a bit overkill for the Fuji X100s but I also own a Tiltall that my daughter has been recently taking over for her Olympus OM-1.

I need to go out somewhere with my Fuji X100s mounted on my Ries A100. I wonder if I'd get some funny looks from the digital crowd? ;)

[Drew Wiley]

I've told this story before, but...Out on the coast when I have my larger Ries strapped behind my pack, lots of people assume I have a big spotting scope inside the pack and am therefore a bird expert. So they'll walk up with their little binoculars and field guides to birds, and ask me the name of some bird off in the distance.
It might just be a bluejay or turkey vulture, but I'll make up some ridiculous name for the thing and remark how lucky they are to participate in the first sighting of that species in California. That generally makes their day.

[Alan Gales]

See a lot of Dodo birds, the big ones that can't fly?

[Luis-F-S]

The top & bottom plates are roughtly just under 3" say 2 15/16" diameter. Height with the plates parallel, 2 7/8". Photos attached. The third one shows the two bolts that keep the Sinar base plate from rotating. If you're going to use the head on a Sinar, you can't beat this head. If not get a Ries! Do you need anything else? L

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[Drew Wiley]

Sorry, Alan, I don't think anyone would fall for the Dodo bird story. However, a couple of golden retrievers off in the distance have been pawned off as mountain
lions, and I once got quite a bit of mileage out of a carnivorous deer story. Got tired pointing to dots of black angus cattle off on the horizon as black bears. But
it does help to have those big spike feet on the Ries, which lends credibility to warnings how one must defend oneself from such critters in them thar woods. We
also have true boa constrictors - no joke - but Calif Rosy boas rarely get more than a couple feet long, lethal enough to a gopher.

[Alan Gales]

Sorry, Alan, I don't think anyone would fall for the Dodo bird story. However, a couple of golden retrievers off in the distance have been pawned off as mountain
lions, and I once got quite a bit of mileage out of a carnivorous deer story. Got tired pointing to dots of black angus cattle off on the horizon as black bears. But
it does help to have those big spike feet on the Ries, which lends credibility to warnings how one must defend oneself from such critters in them thar woods. We
also have true boa constrictors - no joke - but Calif Rosy boas rarely get more than a couple feet long, lethal enough to a gopher.

Actually, I was referring to the people who were asking you questions as Dodo's. ;)

[Luis-F-S]

Well at least one Dodo answered Neil's question

[Alan Gales]

Well at least one Dodo answered Neil's question

You're not a Dodo. You're more like a wise old owl. :)

[Drew Wiley]

Heck, I respect even Dodos if they're packing a Sinar. I was out two weeks ago along the Rift Zone Trail out on Pt Reyes. Spectacular day. But that trail shares the parking lot with the Bear Valley Trail. So there are about two hundred cars parked there, with nearly everyone and their cell phone cameras and DLSR's headed down the main trail. I went the opposite direction of course, and had almost complete solitude all day, despite the spectacular wildflowers everywhere. Didn't take any flower pictures, but did bag a couple other shots. When I got back to the truck and was offloading my pack, with the Ries strapped on back and the Norma rails projecting out the sides, a little Chinese man, probably an overseas tourist, sitting on the adjacent car bumper, asks, "Sinar?" He didn't speak a word of English, so I just smiled and nodded, and he gave me the thumbs up.

[neil poulsen]

Luis, Thank you so much. Exactly what I was looking for. Can you give me an approximate weight? Neil


The top & bottom plates are roughtly just under 3" say 2 15/16" diameter. Height with the plates parallel, 2 7/8". Photos attached. The third one shows the two bolts that keep the Sinar base plate from rotating. If you're going to use the head on a Sinar, you can't beat this head. If not get a Ries! Do you need anything else? L

135236135237135238135239

[Luis-F-S]

1 lb 13 oz for the Sinar as opposed to 2.0 lbs for the Ries J-250 head, both with 3/8" screws.

[erie patsellis]

Neil, a 4-40 Allen head screw is the right size for the slots on the Sinar clamp. I'd think a few brews for a local machinist would gain you two easily removed indexing pins in your Ries head. I did something similar on my Baco tilt head.

[neil poulsen]

Thanks for all the information.

In the meantime, I've been looking at additional possibilities. Desmond offers a couple at a reasonable price:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1132026-REG/desmond_dmh_01_tripod_tilt_head.html

This could be coupled with a panoramic base or a leveling base. One could put the Manfrotto hexagonal plate adapter on top. Both the weight and the capacity are pretty attractive.

Or, in the Arca configuration: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1153082-REG/desmond_dmh_dac_01_tilt_head.html

I didn't want to include links to EBay. But, there's one there with a panning arca base on top that could work quite well with a leveler.

[Peter De Smidt]

Please don't use a Sinar camera with a Manfrotto hex plate. The plates aren't quite big enough, and the camera will tend to spin. That's the combo I started with in LF 25 years ago.

[fishbulb]

Yeah, the hex plate is a little too small, I've tried that as well.

If you want to use the Manfrotto RC0 hex release system, they made a bigger 4x4" plate intended for large format work: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554277-REG/Manfrotto_030L_030L_Large_4x4_Square.html

It can be hard to find one though. The part number is 030L. One of these plates, plus a Manfrotto 3047 or 3057 3-way head is a great setup for a 4x5 or 8x10, respectively, especially if you have a field camera with a flat bottom.

[neil poulsen]

Yeah, the hex plate is a little too small, I've tried that as well.

If you want to use the Manfrotto RC0 hex release system, they made a bigger 4x4" plate intended for large format work: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554277-REG/Manfrotto_030L_030L_Large_4x4_Square.html

It can be hard to find one though. The part number is 030L. One of these plates, plus a Manfrotto 3047 or 3057 3-way head is a great setup for a 4x5 or 8x10, respectively, especially if you have a field camera with a flat bottom.

Yes indeed. I have one of these for a flat-bed camera. They're excellent.

[thomas_alemenia]

Hello together,

I would like to ask you some questions regarding use of this head as information is difficult to find. Is it possible to reactivate this thread? Is still someone here who has this Sinar?

[Leigh]

Hi Thomas, and welcome aboard.

I and several other members have the Sinar Pan/Tilt head.

What's your question?

- Leigh

[neil poulsen]

Please don't use a Sinar camera with a Manfrotto hex plate. The plates aren't quite big enough, and the camera will tend to spin. That's the combo I started with in LF 25 years ago.

I know this goes back a few months:

Peter,

I've been using a 3039 head with a modern hex plate mounted on a Sinar Norma clamp, and it works just fine, even for a Norma 8x10. (Quite sturdy.) I have friend who's an architectural photographer who uses the same head/plate on a Sinar F with the standard F clamp, and he has no problem.

HOWEVER!!! I have an older plate (silvery metal with cork) that I used with a (pre safety-lock) 3047 head, and it's too small to work with my 3039 head. I'm wondering if that might be the source of what you experienced; the older plates being too small?

[Peter De Smidt]

Hi Neil,

That could be. I last used that combination in about 1994.