Are there any 3-way heads that can take an arca style QR clamp?

[Anupam]

After a long time using ballheads, I was thinking of going back to a good quality pan/tilt head. But looking around it seems that all of the innovation in high quality lightweight heads over the last decade has occured in the ball head arena. Are there any good, relatively light pan/tilt heads that I am missing. I am invested in the arca style clamp release system, though, and find them superior to the Manfrotto alternatives, so a new head would have to accept an arca clamp. I can't think of a reason why this would be difficult but can't find any heads that match my requirements. Suggestions would be welcome.

[Pete Roody]

Arca makes the B2 (now called the Z2). It is a pan-tilt head but looks like a ball head. Strong, but a little heavy.

[Frank Petronio]

Locktite (or have a machine shop get medieval on...) a clamp onto the head of your choice.

It does seem strange that nobody has made a really good 3-way with an integrated Arca-clamp.

FWIW, the compact Linhof 3-way head I used to have was the best tripod head ever, for up to a moderate sized 4x5 or light 5x7.

I think quick release systems are a waste of time but that's just my two-cents.

[Anupam]

I think quick release systems are a waste of time but that's just my two-cents.

Just curious, Frank, but for non-studio use, how do you get the camera on and off the tripod? Screwing it on tight every time seems a very tedious proposition.

-A

[Blumine]

You can buy an Arca Quick release that has either 3/8 or 1/4 inch threads on the bottom. Then you can just mount it on any tripod or head with the proper thread. BH and they come up on ebay from time to time.

Its what I did for my throw around tripod I keep in my trunk. Cheaper than buying another ball head.

Blumine

[Anupam]

Blumine, that would have solved the problem, but for some reason I can't find a head with a solid 3/8 stud - only measly 1/4-20 on top of cork covered platforms. Neither the most stable nor the most ergonomic solution.

[Frank Petronio]

Remove the cork in some cases...

There has been quite a discussion before where some machinists and metallurgists chimed in and explained that a 1/4-20 screw will hold as well or even better than the 3/8-16 screws for anything up to an ULF camera...

I found the Linhof and Sinar tripod screws on those heads to be just fine, they are a pleasure actually, nice and large and easy to grasp. Even the Gitzo screws aren't bad. With a flat base camera I rather look at the tripod head and see that the screw is in solid than to trust two more extra connections needed for the plate. I'll give it up that the formed Arca-plates that conform to a DSLR body are very secure, but unless you add some keystone-type pins to your flat view camera base, the Arca plate system is just an added expense.

One of the best tripod/camera connections is an Arca clamp and the long, full length Arca-Swiss rail base. You can slide it along to balance the camera anywhere. Of course you need to have an Arca-Swiss camera....

[Don Hutton]

One of the best tripod/camera connections is an Arca clamp and the long, full length Arca-Swiss rail base. You can slide it along to balance the camera anywhere. Of course you need to have an Arca-Swiss camera....You can also just get a long Arca plate to fit onto any camera and then do the same thing. I have two "abutting" 3 inch arca plates on the bottom of my 8x10 Chamonix - it forms one long 6 inch plate along which you can slide the camera for balance - works a treat. I think Kirk Photo makes an eight inch plate which would be even better, but I happened to have these two plates handy...

[wfwhitaker]

...One of the best tripod/camera connections is an Arca clamp and the long, full length Arca-Swiss rail base. You can slide it along to balance the camera anywhere. Of course you need to have an Arca-Swiss camera....

Or use a Multi-Purpose Rail (MPR) from Really Right Stuff. I have the 6" one under my 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 for just that purpose and it works well. I'm using my Arca head for now, but really don't care for ball heads and view cameras. Acratech has introduced their Long Lens Head which is a pan/tilt head and looks interesting.

[Frank Petronio]

http://acratech.net/product.php?productid=10&cat=1&page=1

That looks great... it would even make me go back to plates ;-)

Also it is nice to see something original coming out from all those companies that piggybacked on Arca.

[Struan Gray]

I'm not a great fan of quick releases for the LF I do, but if I were, a Novoflex Q-base on a Sinar pan-tilt head would be a sweet combination. A levelling base on the tripod would take care of my third axis needs.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I have an arrangement like Don Hutton's on my 4x5" Tech V--short plate on the body, 4 inch plate on the bed, and a long clamp, so I can slide the camera from one rail to the next or clamp between them. It's very strong, and it functions as a compact ersatz macro rail in a pinch.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

I use routinely a Gitzo series 3 classic alumin(i)um tripod with the #1370 3-way head on top.
This head is now discontinued, however the 1570, same shape but slightly bigger, is still offered.
On the large plate of the Gitzo head, which is covered by a kind of cork layer, I have screwed, with the large Gitzo brass screw, a classic Arca Swiss quick-release clamp. I insisted that the A/S clamp should be fitted with a solid 3/8" thread, not a small 1/4" . No problem, this was available from A/S upon request.
The screw presses the clamp so hard against the cork, that the cork is slightly compressed as if it was milled to the exact shape of the clamp ; therefore, although you could objet that there is no anti-twist safety system, the probability that the clamp could rotate looks really minimal to me.

[David A. Goldfarb]

About the 1570--Not all Arca-style QR clamp knobs will clear the platform. The clamp on my B2, if it could be removed, has a long enough knob shaft to work, so I would start by trying an Arca-Swiss clamp. My Wimberley C-30 clamp didn't work with it.

[Peter De Smidt]

I have a Kirk Arca-style clamp that I use on a number of heads. It has the bigger 3/8 thread. Right now I'm mainly using it on a Manfrotto 410 geared head, but I've used it on a Sinar pan tilt head and on a Gitzo three way head.

[Bob Salomon]

Yes, Berlebach makes an excellent 3-way pan head with variable tension control and an ARCA quick release built-in.

[Brian Ellis]

Several companies make adapters that allow you to go from say a Bogen hexagonal plate to an Arca plate. I've used one made by Kirk on my Bogen 410 geared head for many years without encountering any stability or other problems. I have a very hard time believing that a quick release plate produces any stability problems with a 4x5 or 8x10 camera. If they do I've never found them and in 20 years of photography I've never used a tripod without also using a quick release plate.

[Aaron Rocky]

I have Gitzo GS5160CDT Arca Swiss adapter plate. It works with Gitzo newer QR system with safety lock (model number ending with a C instead of B). For around $45 it's quite expensive for such a small piece of metal but much cheaper than RRS stuff.

[mrladewig]

Several companies make adapters that allow you to go from say a Bogen hexagonal plate to an Arca plate. I've used one made by Kirk on my Bogen 410 geared head for many years without encountering any stability or other problems. I have a very hard time believing that a quick release plate produces any stability problems with a 4x5 or 8x10 camera. If they do I've never found them and in 20 years of photography I've never used a tripod without also using a quick release plate.

There is this option (which I think would work well).

The other option is to buy a 3-way head with no QR plate and the buy an Arca style clamp as a stand alone.

[Jean-Louis Llech]

I use a Gitzo G-1570 M low profile head in magnesium. It can take TWO quick release clamps. Mine are Linhof's Quickfix. But any other model can be fixed on it using the two 3/8 screws.

[Rafael Macia]

You can buy an Arca Quick release that has either 3/8 or 1/4 inch threads on the bottom. Then you can just mount it on any tripod or head with the proper thread. BH and they come up on ebay from time to time.

Its what I did for my throw around tripod I keep in my trunk. Cheaper than buying another ball head.

Blumine

This is what I did using the Arca 3/8 on my Linhof 3663 wonderful combo!

[Jean-Louis Llech]

The Gitzo G-1570 M low profile head is like an aircraft carrier :) . I post two pictures of the Gitzo head and the Linhof lower side.
When the camera is fixed on the two clamps, it is firmly secured on the head, even when applying large head movements.
If I need to lower the drop-bed with 72 or 90mm wide angle lenses, (15 or 30 deg.) I just have to insert the Linhof rear QR plate (under the housing) on the Gitzo front clamp, and the drop bed can be lowered. Using two QR clamps secures the camera but allows dropping the bed.