Ballhead or Geared head ??

**Dick Roadnight** · 8-Apr-2002, 15:19

Yes, Ellis. "The Manfrotto 400 is a great geared head, I have a 600mm lens, Sinar p, 2x convertor and Hasselblad 555ELD on mine now", I use the Sinar p as a bellows for the Hasselblad, with the official Sinar- Hasselblad camera adaptor. I do not know how well the 600mm Apo-Ronar will perform at infinity, but I have taken some test shots. 1,200mm is a great length of lens for landscapes, on 66 or 69. I have the magasine adaptor on order to avoid vignetting problems with shift, and for lenses shorter than 150mm (90 + 47).

**Ellis Vener** · 8-Apr-2002, 15:44

Very cool set up Dick! Are you limited in movements by vignetting from the H'blad body depth/ It seems to me that a rollfilm back would be easier to set up as opposed to the motorized blad body, although i like the idea of a motorized film advance. Are you also using a metering prsim?

**Ellis Vener** · 8-Apr-2002, 15:45

Sorry, should have read the last part of your post more carefully.

**Dick Roadnight** · 9-Apr-2002, 19:07

Ellis: For a series of plates, I set up the tilt, and focus with the geared column if required.

For complicated shots the binocular reflex finder and the asymetric tilt system work better, but you can set up the tilt, then re-focus with the Hasselbald and meter with the prism. TTL flash would be handy e.g. fo macro, but the Gossen starlight is usually OK.