Do Ries tripod heads pan???

[Pasto]

I've been researching heads for my 8x10. Has anyone experience with the Ries J250 double tilt? I'm considering using it on a Feisol CT-3372 tripod. Am I correct that the Ries head only pans if you loosen it from the tripod? This would be very unfortunate design.....

[Vaughn]

Actually, it pans quite well and easily...at least on a set of Ries legs. I have been using one for 8x10 for many years.

[Heroique]

I have the excellent J250, and you’re correct, it doesn’t pan unless you loosen the tripod’s platform screw.

But I’ve never considered this an inconvenience, nor have I ever heard it called one.

The secret of course is to use a solid tripod – I have the Ries J600 for 4x5.

[Pasto]

OK, I guess I'll have to figure out whether it is easy to loosen the tripod platform screw on the tripod I'm thinking of buying. Does the Ries tribod have a thumb screw for securing the head?

[trog]

There's a teflon gasket between the J250 head and the tripod platform mounting surface that allows the head to pan quite smoothly.

[William Whitaker]

I guess I'll have to figure out whether it is easy to loosen the tripod platform screw on the tripod I'm thinking of buying. Does the Ries tribod have a thumb screw for securing the head?

Ries tripods have a screw to secure the head which extends well below the crown of the tripod so that it's easy to reach while using the camera. The Ries heads work fantastically on Ries tripods. But they don't adapt well to other tripods. I have three or four Ries tripods and love them. I also have other tripods that I find useful in some situations. I've never been able to satisfactorily use a Ries head on another tripod. But the Ries head on a Ries tripod is terrific, especially for large field cameras. YMMV.

[Louis Pacilla]

Here's a visual for the great verbal/text explanation of the earlier posts.


The vertical Reis knob under the crown of the tripod is what you use to loosen the head for panning. The Ries tripod and head work perfectly together.

[Greg Y]

I really like the way the Ries pans....rather than having a long handle getting in my way.

[Vaughn]

When I got my pod and head (A100 and A250), the screw was not long enough -- panning more than 270 degrees risked the head falling off the legs. Ries repleced ASAP. Good folks.

But unless one has an easy way to loosen the head on a non-Ries legs set, and have the plastic "washer" that goes inbetween the head and the legs, panning could be troublesome.

[Pasto]

Just found that the Feisol tripod has a panning accessory that fits between tripod and head. I think the problem is solved. Thanks to all for the valuable insights. A final question, is the J250 sufficient for an 8x10 field (10 pounds) + holder + heavy lens....