8x10 tripod head options

[jeroldharter]

I am getting a Wehman 8x10 camera that will weigh 8-10 pounds with lens attached. I am trying to figure out the best way to attach it to a tripod.

I have an Arca Swiss Z-1 ball head. So my options are to buy an oversized plate from RRS or Feisol and use the ball head but in my trial run with a standard size head it seemed a little slight.

So I am wondering about other options. I don't want to use an 8 lb 8x10 with a 3 pound tripod and then use a 4 pound tripod head (e.g. Ries) if I can avoid it. Seems to defeat the lightweight aesthetic. I am thinking of trying the Feisol leveling base as a basic, lightweight tripod head. Has anyone tried something like that and, if so, how did it go?

What are other lightweight options? Is a quick release plate even worth it? Thanks.

[Peter De Smidt]

How about one of the Gitzo low profile three-way heads, such as : http://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=828

I have an earlier version. I cut out the little piece of metal at the end of the slot. To load the camera, attach the tripod screw to the camera. Slide the screw into the slot and tighten. This works really well with large field cameras. It works even better if there are two tripod mounts on the camera. Use two screws and there's no possibility of the camera spinning on the mount. That's what I do with my Kodak D2. I bet Mr. Wehman could add a second threaded hole if there aren't normally two on the camera.

Btw., I'd love to see the camera when you get it. I"ve been intrigued by it for awhile.

[jim kitchen]

I use this head on a surveyor's wooden tripod... :)

http://www.adorama.com/BG3263.html

It does not budge...

jim k

[Steve Hamley]

I use a Gitzo GT3541XLS and a Gitzo 1370M head for 8x10 and it works well until you start using lenses over about 19".

Lightweight + 8x10 means carbon fiber and a (relatively) large head platform. You could certainly get by with a shorter tripod for 8x10, say a Gitzo 1348 or its 3-section counterpart, or a GT3541L.

More beef means a 5-series Gitzo like a 1548 or a GT5541L and 1570M head, but you won't need it unless you're using long lenses and/or shooting in considerable wind and need the weight to stabilize the camera.

Cheers, Steve

[Archphoto]

There is a thread here called: The mother of all 3 way heads.

I use the first one, the one from Linhof for my Sinar P2 8x10 and it realy works great.
The other option mentioned in that thread is a Manfrotto 3 way head.

And then you have the option of mounting 2 Sinar panorama heads together or have a serious look at the Manfrotto 400 geared head.
All options are a bit expensive though.....

Peter

[George E. Sheils]

Just bought a secondhand Sinar Pan & Tilt Head to use on my Berlebach Report tripod.

What a tripod head!

Can hold mf cameras, 4x5, and even heavy 8x10 Sinar P without any creeping.

It is the best bargain I have ever got as it cost me the princely sum of £11.50 on UK eBay just a couple of weeks ago. All it was missing was a centre screw which I replaced with a cheap Hama Centre Screw with thumb ring for just €2.50.

Total cost including shipping worked out at less than £20!

Yesssss.

Pick one up if you can - they are brilliant.

[jeroldharter]

Just bought a secondhand Sinar Pan & Tilt Head to use on my Berlebach Report tripod.

What a tripod head!

Can hold mf cameras, 4x5, and even heavy 8x10 Sinar P without any creeping.

It is the best bargain I have ever got as it cost me the princely sum of £11.50 on UK eBay just a couple of weeks ago. All it was missing was a centre screw which I replaced with a cheap Hama Centre Screw with thumb ring for just €2.50.

Total cost including shipping worked out at less than £20!

Yesssss.

Pick one up if you can - they are brilliant.

George,

Good advice. I would be happy to buy your for 30 pounds so you make a nice profit!

[Blumine]

I use a Z1sp with my Wehman and it works well. Its not perfect, but its a very good portable setup thats quite stable. Your current head is probably strong enough.

Blumine

[Drew Wiley]

My option - none. As I've mentioned on several threads before, I never use a head
for 8x10. Don't need the extra weight or the weak link in the stability. Easy to get
along without one with a little practice, and really no slower than most 8x10 setups.
The camera sits right on top of my Ries tripod platform.

[jeroldharter]

I use a Z1sp with my Wehman and it works well. Its not perfect, but its a very good portable setup thats quite stable. Your current head is probably strong enough.

Blumine

Which type of Arca plate do you use for the quick release?

[Blumine]

Which type of Arca plate do you use for the quick release?

I am using the biggest plate Arca-Swiss makes, which I believe is 80mm with a 3/8" screw.

Blumine

[George E. Sheils]

George,

Good advice. I would be happy to buy your for 30 pounds so you make a nice profit!

Chance would be a fine thing Jerold!:D

This is one item which won't be for re-sale.

[Jim Ewins]

Drew is quite correct don't use one. KISS

[Warren Clark]

Hi Jerold,

I use the heavier Ries tripods/heads for close to the truck for the 8x10.
For longer treks the Gitzo 1348 and a 1321 levelling base is a good minimal
setuo for me--good for most general landscape shots-- 15 degree tilt in all
directions as it is a limited rotation ball. No quick release but the tripod
and base is only 6 lbs and very stable.

Warren Clark

Ft. Collins, Colo.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

I've been using my Bogen 3221 tripod and the 3047 head for my 8x10 Seneca Improved for years. I've used this with the 21" component of my Turner Reich lens with no problems at all. Not in crazy winds but it is still solid. This weights about the same as what you are talking about. Not expensive and I use the Bogen quick release and have never had any problems.

Jim

[Michael Jones]

The three heads I use and fell comfortable with (in order of appearance) are the Gitzo 5 series low profile (for a Deardorff) ; Reis J (for a Phillips Explorer); and a Majestic gear hear (all others). I tried a Bogen 5047 and 5048 and did not like the action. My Phillips Explorer weighed in at 5.5 pounds and the Reis J was perfect. I also used a Compact II and Nagoaka 8x10 with it with no issues.

As Drew says, try without a head. That’s always the right price point. I’ve been know to do that with ULF and it works. I always revert to a head and for ULF settled on the Majestic. Its overkill for 8x10, but I never walk far.

Good luck.

Mike

[sepiareverb]

Bogen 3258 and Majestic 1001 (http://www.adorama.com/BC1001.html?searchinfo=majestic+head)

[jeroldharter]

Bogen 3258 and Majestic 1001 (http://www.adorama.com/BC1001.html?searchinfo=majestic+head)

The Majestic heads look solid. I can't find weights on them. Just by looking, I guess they weigh as much as my camera, lens, and tripod combined!

I wish someone would make a very simple (I guess like a Ries) pan-tilt head that is solid and light for a reasonable cost.

[Kirk Fry]

My majestic and head weigh 19 lb. and will hold an SUV. As for heads, Mr. Ritter has a light weight solution: None. Read what he has to say.

KFry

[JosephBurke]

I prefer my Gitzo 1570 M either atop my older Gitzo leg set or my Ries leg set....for 11x14 I use the Ries J-250 DT head (A-100 legs)....anything smaller then the Gitzo head....I also have the smaller Ries J-250 DT head (and J-100 legs)...the Gitzo is used far more....

[jeroldharter]

My majestic and head weigh 19 lb. and will hold an SUV. As for heads, Mr. Ritter has a light weight solution: None. Read what he has to say.

KFry

Where do I read that? Do you have a link?

I have toyed with the idea of going without a head but I don't like the idea of spinning a big camera around the screw. It seems like a good way to drop a camera, especially with cold hands.

[Michael Jones]

I don't like the idea of spinning a big camera around the screw.

My Tripods (Reis) have screws holding the tripod head. You place the head in the correct position on the tripod crown and then screw the mounting stud into the head. It would be the same for the camera; no spinning, just tighten to the tripod crown.

Mike

[Steve M Hostetter]

I am getting a Wehman 8x10 camera that will weigh 8-10 pounds with lens attached. I am trying to figure out the best way to attach it to a tripod.

I have an Arca Swiss Z-1 ball head. So my options are to buy an oversized plate from RRS or Feisol and use the ball head but in my trial run with a standard size head it seemed a little slight.

So I am wondering about other options. I don't want to use an 8 lb 8x10 with a 3 pound tripod and then use a 4 pound tripod head (e.g. Ries) if I can avoid it. Seems to defeat the lightweight aesthetic. I am thinking of trying the Feisol leveling base as a basic, lightweight tripod head. Has anyone tried something like that and, if so, how did it go?

What are other lightweight options? Is a quick release plate even worth it? Thanks.
is this new camera a rail cam or a flatbed design?

[Drew Wiley]

Jerold - I do this all the time. Just mount the camera on the Ries platform and slightly
loosen the screw to pivot the camera. Since the thread goes in a ways, this very slight
amount of loosening won't allow your camera to drop! Most view camera accept the
3/8 thread post directly. With my Gitzos I have removed the center column lock,
polished things flat, then run a 3/8 stainless post of my own, retained by teflon washers. Years of hard use, no problem. The only distinction, is that with the lightwt
Ebony 4x5 I use a quick release system, with one component mounted to the stud
and the other to the camera. My 8x10 Phillips has a reasonable amount of metal armor
around the tripod socket itself (as all view cameras should!), so there's little risk of
damage. If this doesn't work for you, then heck, just go back to a tripod head. But
I certainly don't miss one.

[Drew Wiley]

Just to clarify, the screw post is turned from the bottom to mount the camera.
The camera itself doesn't turn, except when you want to pivot the angle of view a
little.

[sepiareverb]

The Majestic heads look solid. I can't find weights on them. Just by looking, I guess they weigh as much as my camera, lens, and tripod combined!.

Solid indeed. And likely as heavy as many 45 set-ups. But it holds the 810 or 1114 without complaint.

[jeroldharter]

is this new camera a rail cam or a flatbed design?

Flatbed. It is a Wehman 8x10, the regular model that weight about 7.5 pounds.

The Ries tripod sounds like a good option for functionality, but a trade off on price and weight.