Tripod Head Needed for 8X10

[mossbloom]

I'm building a flatbed 8X10, mostly wood, all possible movements, primarily for landscape work. It will weigh in excess of 10 pounds: with lens and filmholder, possibly closer to 15. I am primarily an out-of-truck shooter: this isn't exactly a luggable camera. I have a good Manifrotto tripod that will handle the weight, but the head's rated 8 pounds. I'm looking for recommendations for a heavier-duty head, pan-tilt, swivel would be nice. Quick plate fairly important. Nothing over $150. Suggestions?

[Two23]

Reis J-250? That's the one I'm thinking of.


Kent in SD

[Peter De Smidt]

Used Gitzo rational series 5. Cut out the back of the slot. No quick release plate needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-jXeJtw_24

[Chuck Pere]

Since you have a Manfrotto tripod how about a Manfrotto/Bogen 3047 head. Supports 16.5 lbs. Lots of them out in the used market. Their 3057 head is larger and supports 22 lbs but might be harder to find used.

[neil poulsen]

Either the 3057 or a 3039, which is the upgrade from a 3047. I like the 3039 because it's balanced front to back and left to right. The 3039 is also rated at 22 lbs.

If any of these hexagonal mount heads, so if you can find the 4"x4", quick release plate that fits on these heads. Great for 8x10.

[Drew Wiley]

Undeniably the best tripod head : NONE. No need for one. I haven't used a tripod head for 8x10 in the last 30 yrs, and it's never lost me a shot. Early surveyors either learned how to quickly and precisely adjust the legs or not have a job. Easy with a bit of experience. But you need a good flat top to the tripod. The idea is to have a PLATFORM TOP to the tripod you can DIRECTLY bolt the camera too. But if one just finds its absolutely necessary to buy something redundant in terms of weight and expense, I suppose the Ries platform head would be the most logical match. Alleged weight rating are largely nonsense. It's far more important to think about torque vectors and resistance to vibration, wobbling, etc.

[Peter De Smidt]

Except of course if one has to quickly frame an image at an unusual angle. Or when when needs to fine-tune camera position very carefully and quickly. This never happens to Drew, but it can be a problem. I forgot to pack the right tripod head once. I had to photograph from the side of a steep hill. Not having a head was a huge pain, and it limited how high I could get the camera and still use the tripod for careful composition. That was with a Sinar P2, which as some adjustment capabilities with the rail holder.

[John Kasaian]

I'll echo what Drew says---I never use a head with my 8x10 if hiking is involved. I do find one convenient for architectural shots though. I have a Ries (actually two---an old Photoplane and a J-250.

[Drew Wiley]

For the relatively rare straight-down shot, or nearly so, a simple heavy L-bracket with tapped holes does the job with the fraction of the weight of a head, and at about 1% of the price. This is for flatbed cameras. Sinar was super-easy because their own rail clamp allows for a degree of extra adjustment. I do use a Gitzo pan-tilt head for 35mm and MF, except for long backpacks where space and wt capacity are at a premium, or when using long telephotos, where again go headless. I'm so used to doing it that way that I don't even need to think about, even on steep rocky terrain. My father had been a surveyor for some or the big Fed dam projects in the 30's, and kept his old brass transit and weathered maple tripod. These had almost no provision for leveling like modern theodolites, so had to be set with legs only, and then minor screw adjustments.
But the position and aim had to be right on. That was just taken for granted. People were accustomed to it.

[John Kasaian]

Weren't the Theodolites the bad guys in the 1960's movie The Time Machine who wanted to eat Yvette Mimieux?

[Drew Wiley]

I think you're confusing them with geodes dug out of Shuteye Peak that were used to power the time machine. But it was called Shuteye because there was a cave somewhere around there where the Indians slept overnight on their commute to Granite Creek, and then over Mammoth Pass. I thought a Mimieux was a double gauss French lens put on leatherette-coated Yvette folding 127 cameras. Were they really that bad?

[MikeL]

If I’m packing I’ll ditch the head sometimes, but if it’s not serious packing, I don’t mind the 2.5 pounds of the J250. But then I’ve never been one to bother with cutting handles off my toothbrush to save weight either. If you can wait they come up now and then at around half price.

And under certain conditions I use a Tiltall with 8x10 and 4x5 so I don’t put a lot of heed into pound ratings.

[Leszek Vogt]

Not sure if this will interest you, but saw Majestic head (used) in the Bay Area CL.

Les

[esearing]

For my old Calumet 4x5 metal camera which weighed a ton I used this video QR mounting bracket on a ball head as a replacement for the standard QR plate. Manfrotto 577 Rapid Connect Adapter with Sliding Mounting Plate (501PL). I am sure there are similar plates and brackets for higher prices but this held up well for many years. Was great for my Canon 300mm and 100-400 lenses too. this could be mounted to a leveling base or 3 way head too.

[William Whitaker]

If you're building the camera, why not build the head, too? Maybe make one following the design of the old platform heads that look like a clapperboard from the side.

[Torontoamateur]

I use the Manfrotto 400. Perfection, control steady. cannot be beat.

[jvanhuys]

In my experience so far, the current best 8x10 tripod head in the world (definitely the sturdiest, best-machined) is the Luland 150mm TH-150 (with brass screws). It is very expensive, but if you got the bucks, they do have an even higher-tier model for about 100$ or so more, but I can't even fathom what that head could carry. For those who care, I found Luland's communication and passion to be awesome. They're based in Hong-Kong, but you can also get the tripods on eBay.

I'll upload some pictures or videos of this beautiful tank mounted on my Berlebach Uni24 tripod. Funny that I stumbled on this thread today; this morning I had some free time and wanted to test the limits of this head, not in terms of weight, but in terms of it's outright stability and vibration dampening.

I mounted my Nikon 1000mm f/11 reflector on my Nikon D3x (I ordered a special 1/4 screw in addition to the 3/8 screw from Luland) and the pictures were so sharp, I feel like doing an entire project with this old gem. It was so good in fact, that I decided to pop on my old Nikon TC-301 2x extender, which I've found to be completely unusable until now, due to how the f/11 reflector already amplifies vibrations. Imagine my shock, when I looked through the viewfinder and the image of a person's face more than a hundred meters away, filled the frame without even the slightest vibration. Of course the photo would need to verify my perceptions and it sure as hell did... razor sharp.


Footnote:If you're wondering about Ries Tripods, I ordered a Ries A200 recently and after a month of either no communication (called and emailed), strange excuses, or very abrupt one sentence replies, I found it impossible to continue that relationship. I asked for a refund, but that too, took a long time to process. The entire experience left me feeling exhausted. Word of caution to anyone new to the world of heavy-duty tripods and heads: don't fall into the Ries Tripod marketing trap: 'If it's good enough for Ansel Adams it's good enough for you." I did and came out burned (and at some point even felt scammed to be honest).

On a positive note though, the Luland 150mm TH-150 has re-invigorated my desire to shoot 8x10 and exotic 35mm telephoto lenses, and for that I can't recommend the brand highly enough.

[Greg]

In my experience so far, the current best tripod head in the world (definitely the sturdiest, best-machined) is the Luland 150mm TH-150

For years now I have been using a wee bit smaller (older model?) Luland tripod head very similar to their current LD115. The "carrying platform size" on my head is just shy of 4"x4" (10cmx10cm). It has been just a pleasure to use with my 8x10 Chamonix. Its size seems perfectly matched for the 8x10 format. If I didn't already have and use a large Ries head with my 11x14, I would have no hesitation in acquiring the 150mm TH-150 head for my 11x14. For me the TH-150 may be an overkill for use with an 8x10, but definitely not for an 11x14.

[Drew Wiley]

I've had SUPERB service from Ries over the years. These are difficult times due to pandemic issues, so give them a break. All kinds of manufacturers are having problems getting necessary components, and even with staffing, right now. They wouldn't have been in business for so long, or have garnered so much praise from so many people on this very forum, if they weren't doing things right.

[Greg]

I've had SUPERB service from Ries over the years. These are difficult times due to pandemic issues, so give them a break. All kinds of manufacturers are having problems getting necessary components, and even with staffing, right now. They wouldn't have been in business for so long, or have garnered so much praise from so many people on this very forum, if they weren't doing things right.

Agree 100% When I ordered my large Ries (A100) with its large Ries head directly from Ries a few years ago, I had a very pleasant experience. My first call was probably 20 minutes long and very informative. I had several questions that were patiently answered in detail. My second follow-up call was a lot shorter but just as pleasant. Both calls ended with no pressure to order at that time. More of if you decide to order in the future, just give us a call.