Gitzo 1570M head with 8x10 problem

[jonathan smith]

After doing some research in the forum, I recently purchased a Gitzo 1570M head to use with my Zone VI 8x10, which is the first 8x10 I've ever had. The first time I used the setup I became frustrated with how hard it was to unscrew the camera from the head in order to walk around with the gear. I looked into getting a quick-release, which I'm used to using with a 4x5, but feel like that little piece of metal between the camera and head will create a very unsturdy and flexible situation.
Is it possible, and reasonable, to use a quick-release with an 8x10, and if so, does anybody know the best one to use with the Gitzo 1570, or is the awkward and laborious carrying of the camera connected to the tripod just something I have to deal with? My camera has a single 3/8" hole in the center.
I didn't get an 8x10 to make things easier, but I hope that there is a better way to support and keep the camera relatively still. Thanks for any advice.
-Jon

[Scott Davis]

If you want a quick-release system, the 1570m head is not for you. The idea of the 1570m is to give you the maximum, stable platform on which to mount your camera. I have the exact same setup- a Zone VI Ultralight 8x10 mounted on a Gitzo 1570m low-profile head. While unscrewing it is not an instant process, I don't find it arduous to mount or unmount the camera. If you would like to try a substitute that would have some kind of quick-release mechanism, you can try one of the big bogen/manfrotto geared heads, but the advantage you may gain from the quick release may be more than offset by the weight gain from the bigger, heavier head. With an 8x10, the problem is that the camera is big enough and heavy enough that it is easy for it to torque itself off the mounting screw for the Q/R plate. You also have a much smaller contact patch between the camera and the head, making vibration easier to transmit from the tripod to the camera.

[Geary Lyons]

The first time I used the setup I became frustrated with how hard it was to unscrew the camera from the head in order to walk around with the gear. -Jon

Jon,
I use this head as well, but on a Miller tripod. I don't take the 810 off, I just carry it on the tripod, if I am going relatively short distances. I would not use a QR with the 810 camera, for all of the reasons already well stated!

Cheers,
Geary

[Walter Calahan]

I don't recommend quick release for 8x10. As Scott says you want large acreage between the camera and the tripod. I don't have your Gitzo head, I use a Ries head instead. Once the camera is mounted to the Ries head I can carry the camera and tripod together with little worry.

Best of luck.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

This is a common problem and the solution is so simple that people go "why did I not think of that?"....Instead of trying to screw the camera with the platform in horizonatl position, tilt the platform until it is vertical, screwing the camera is very simple then. I do it with my 8x10 and 12x20 in no time this way....good luck!

[Rob Vinnedge]

The problem is deceptively simple to solve, but it took me I don't know how long to do what Jorge just described. The head is stable and light used alone without other attachments.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I have this head as well, and do exactly what Jorge suggests, particularly when I'm using it with my 11x14" flatbed.

[Oren Grad]

Another vote for Jorge's approach. I have Gitzo 3- and 5-series low-profile heads which I use with large flatbed view cameras, and in most situations, flipping the head up at least 45 degrees makes mounting and releasing the camera much easier.

[dodphotography]

reviving this thread...

I want to set up a QR system on the 1570m so that I can use medium format rigs on my head when I am not shooting 8x10. I want to avoid having to buy another ball head and be switching heads on and off my legs whenever I decided what I am going to shoot.

Any recommendations for this?

[Ari]

reviving this thread...

I want to set up a QR system on the 1570m so that I can use medium format rigs on my head when I am not shooting 8x10. I want to avoid having to buy another ball head and be switching heads on and off my legs whenever I decided what I am going to shoot.

Any recommendations for this?

Buy a QR clamp that fits all of your plates, and affix it to the Gitzo head.
It may be tricky, as the platform on the Gitzo is large, and you'll need to be sure to have enough clearance so as to be able to loosen/tighten the clamp easily.
Make sure the clamp's tightening knob extends out from the Gitzo's platform.
But read post #2 again.

[Peter De Smidt]

Another option, not for the squeamish, is to cut out the metal at the back of the camera screw slot. To mount a camera, screw the camera screw into the camera just until the threads disappear. Slide the screw right onto the head, tilting the head forward helps. Tighten. I do this with my 8x10, with the added element of a second camera screw. Some cameras have provisions for two camera screws. So both slide right onto the head very easily, and it is impossible for the camera to spin. Losing the metal isn't hard, and it doesn't effect stability. It might effect resale value, but I don't plan on selling it.

[tgtaylor]

I have that tripod and head and use it exclusively for use with a Toyo 810G monorail. The extra large plate allows me to mount 2 tripod mounting blocks thus increasing the cameras stability. If you have a 8x10 field camera I would recommend an Arca Swiss style QR plate which I use with a Toyo 810MII field camera on a series 3 Gitzo (G1349) equipped with an Arca Swiss z1-sp ball head. Mounting the camera is a snap – just eyeball it as you slide the plate into the head's slot. To remove, just tilt the camera back at a small acute angle with your body against the back and it just slides off. The thing to remember is not to turn the heads QR release knob when you're focusing under the dark-cloth which becomes second nature in short order. The only problem with the AR system is that once you go down that path you have to buy QR plates for all your cameras or, like me, transfer the plate from camera to camera. I have one plate for the 4x5's and 8x10 fields.

Thomas

[Lenny Eiger]

To me, the solution is quite obvious. Don't take it off the tripod. I've carried an 8x10 all over the place and once I got out the car, train, airplane, whatever, the camera got put on the tripod and was carried that way.... It seems crazy to me that anyone would unpack and pack up after every shot. Of course, that's just my opinion...

Lenny

[Michael Kadillak]

To me, the solution is quite obvious. Don't take it off the tripod. I've carried an 8x10 all over the place and once I got out the car, train, airplane, whatever, the camera got put on the tripod and was carried that way.... It seems crazy to me that anyone would unpack and pack up after every shot. Of course, that's just my opinion...

Lenny

When you find yourself in an area where multiple images are to be had, there is no question that carrying a tripod and the 8x10 on it makes sense. However out West where considerable distance between shooting prospects are found you have no choice but to break down at the end of each shooting session. A quick release plate and an fast setting up camera helps. My wooden Canham and my C1 Calumet are nowhere the ease of the Toyo 810M as far as speed from backpack to ready to trip the shutter, but these days the price of sheet film drives efficiency to the point where I expose fewer sheets with a far more discriminating eye and set up/take down times are not the dominant criteria that they used to be.

[Captain Hughes]

I recommend that you consider a Ries tripod and head. For an 8X10 I would go with a A100 tripod and a A250 Head.

[Michael Kadillak]

I recommend that you consider a Ries tripod and head. For an 8X10 I would go with a A100 tripod and a A250 Head.

I have owned the Ries A100 and A250 head for over 15 years and not once has any of my 8x10 cameras sat atop it because in my opinion its beefy design and weight is completely overkill for this format. The Ries combination is reserved for my 35# Deardorff V11 and the 12x20 F&S. My main tripod for 8x10 is a Bogen 425 with their three handled head with the two leveling bubbles that takes the hexagonal quick release plate. Hauling around 20 pounds of tripod and head unnecessarily when half that weight will do makes more sense to me.

[pierre506]

Try Manfrotto 400 geared head although I have Ries A250.
Manfrotto 400 has the QR.