Majestic Tripod Head Information

[AidanAvery]

Hoping to rely on some of the collective wisdom here. I recently acquired a Majestic tripod head, and I'm hoping to determine if it will support 8x10, but I can't seem to find any information about the model, nor can I find any mention of it at all online.

I am away for the holidays and I don't have an image of it on-hand, but the model number is 707. It has the typical Majestic lettering and also mentions where it was built (Chicago, I believe).

I can update with a photo when I am home on Jan 5 if nobody has provided any info by then.

[pendennis]

Easily.

[AidanAvery]

Thanks, Dennis. I'm glad to hear that? Do you have any more information, by chance? I don't know much about Majestic tripod heads. Looks extremely solid to me, but I'd love to learn more either about this specific model or Majestic in general.

[Mark Sawyer]

Hopefully you acquired the whole tripod, not just the head, as it would be hard to adapt the head to another tripod. Yes, they're quite sturdy, more than enough for an 8x10, but it's not a tripod for hiking.

[AidanAvery]

Mark, I did not acquire the whole tripod. Just the head was given to me. Unfortunate that, based on your comment, it sounds like won't just be able to slap it on my Bogen 3036.

[Mark Sampson]

It may be possible to mount that head on a larger Manfrotto/Bogen; it's worth a try anyway. You might have to find a machinist to make a sleeve, though.
I've owned one Majestic head and used a few others... I can't imagine a still camera that any of them couldn't support. One Majestic that I used carried a 16mm Hycam high-speed motion-picture camera... that thing probably weighed 25 pounds. Another held a Calumet C-1 "Green Monster" easily.

[Jim C.]

Not familiar with that model number, most of the Majestic heads I own the serial and model number were on stickers
which fall off over time. They're rated for 35lbs if memory serves correctly, so it'll hold an 8x10 easily, the only issue would be if
you were to crank the head over to it's 90º position, the tripod and camera may take a dive.
As Mark Sawyer said it's defintely not a hiking tripod, it can be if you want a good work out.

[shelby_wright]

Does anyone have a recommended (affordable) quick release system for a Majestic head? I scored one for $25 locally recently which obviously thrilled me, but getting the camera on and off is going to be a pain.

[pendennis]

Thanks, Dennis. I'm glad to hear that? Do you have any more information, by chance? I don't know much about Majestic tripod heads. Looks extremely solid to me, but I'd love to learn more either about this specific model or Majestic in general.

I don't own a Majestic, and have only borrowed one from a friend on a couple of occasions. I used to own a Toyo 8x10, and borrowed a friend's Majestic.

I converted an older Slik Master 67, which had a proprietary head and would not tilt. I removed the head which was held on by a single hex screw, and it revealed a hollow center shaft. I had an extra Manfrotto mounting plate, had a friend turn down the stud cap on the plate, so the plate would sit flush in the center shaft. It was then a matter of using an industrial two-part epoxy to hold the plate in the shaft. I did that some 30 years ago, and its still holding. I did bore a hole in the shaft/plate, and thread a small headless screw to insure security.

[Mark Sawyer]

Aiden ~ I have a couple if you want to stop by and see them sometime. Meanwhile, here's the brochure:

https://cdn-docs.av-iq.com/brochure/Tripod_Brochure.pdf

[cowanw]

Have you seen this.
https://sites.google.com/view/majesticgearedhead

[cowanw]

Does anyone have a recommended (affordable) quick release system for a Majestic head? I scored one for $25 locally recently which obviously thrilled me, but getting the camera on and off is going to be a pain.
The problem is working the quick release way under the camera bed (assuming a large format camera) The quick release has to be no more than flush to the Majestic plate and to the camera bed. I solved the problem by replacing the tightening screw on the Arca Style adaptor with a long rod and handle threaded to fit and using a 6 inch Arca Swiss plate on the camera.
Probably not affordable!

[cowanw]

Connectivity all depends on what is on the bottom. Could be a regular tripod screw hole and you are good to go; could be a much bigger tubular hole, then you need a tubular rod/adaptor with a screw hole in the bottom. They are very floppy in one dimension, depending on how you set the crank drive ; side to side or front to back; Large format is problematic, frankly.

[Rick A]

S.K. Grimes can make an aluminum adapter to mount the Majestic head to your Bogen tripod. I had a Majestic head some years back, I took it to my local high school metal shop and had a brass adapter machined. It was cheap (IIRC about $15) The shop instructor had a student run it for me.

[Roger Thoms]

This thread shows a typical adapter. https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?150749-Majestic-Tripod-Head-1-1-2-quot-Post-Adapter-(Model-800-adapter)-Request-For-Comments

Roger

[Lachlan 717]

This thread shows a typical adapter. https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?150749-Majestic-Tripod-Head-1-1-2-quot-Post-Adapter-(Model-800-adapter)-Request-For-Comments


And here: https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?98228-Majestic-Mod&highlight=Majestic


And here: https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?173575-Majestic-1400-Head-Adapter&highlight=Majestic

[Thom Bennett]

Glennview offers adapters of all sorts for Majestic: https://glennview.com/tripod.htm

[Dan Dozer]

I got a Majestic head and mounted it on an old Surveyors tripod for my 8 x 20 and it worked fine.