Berlebach legs/ Ries head??

[Mike A]

Greetings, Today I just took delivery on my new Phillips 11x14 and I am considering my tripod and head options. I would like to go with one of Berlabechs set of legs and a Ries 250 head. Does anyone know the compatability of these two? If not a used Majestic head may be in my future.

 

[BradS]

Don't know about compatability but, I have a Berlebach 8043 Report which is quite usable with a LF (or, ULF as the case may be) camera with no additional head. Food for thought.

 

[galyons]

Well,
I'll be a bit of a contrarian here. I have had a Berlebach 3 section, center column tripod for about 4 years. It is wonderful to use, very well made and amazingly sturdy. I use it with my 4x5 field and my 2 1/4 SLR.

I tried the Berlebach with my 8x10 field camera, about 12-13 pounds sans lens. It worked, but I was concerned about stability when I was shooting lenses beyond about 12". The stability concern was more wind stability, than general shooting. At my normal shooting height, the leg length versus the available spread created a smaller footprint triangle than I was felt was optimally safe and stable. Simply put, I thought the combination to be "top heavy" and was concerned about strong gusts blowing it over.

I would really be concerned using the Berlebach Report series legs for ULF. That's a lot of bellows, (read "sail"). Berlebach has a heavier range of legs, not distributed in the US. I got lucky and bought a wood Miller from a fellow AGUG'er. You will not fully appreciate my comments until you try a "heavier duty" set of legs. There is a reason funky old Miller and Ries tripods are desirable. Rock solid stability and confidence. Right tool for the right job!

Cheers,
Geary

 

[Claire Senft]

No experience with either item

I have not used those particular items myself. I know that Phillips has been producing lightweigt cameras but I would think that of the 250 heads the A250 would be superior to the J250 in this instance.

 

[BradS]

Well,
I'll be a bit of a contrarian here. I have had a Berlebach 3 section, center column tripod for about 4 years. It is wonderful to use, very well made and amazingly sturdy. I use it with my 4x5 field and my 2 1/4 SLR.

I tried the Berlebach with my 8x10 field camera, about 12-13 pounds sans lens. It worked, but I was concerned about stability when I was shooting lenses beyond about 12". The stability concern was more wind stability, than general shooting. At my normal shooting height, the leg length versus the available spread created a smaller footprint triangle than I was felt was optimally safe and stable. Simply put, I thought the combination to be "top heavy" and was concerned about strong gusts blowing it over.

I would really be concerned using the Berlebach Report series legs for ULF. That's a lot of bellows, (read "sail"). Berlebach has a heavier range of legs, not distributed in the US. I got lucky and bought a wood Miller from a fellow AGUG'er. You will not fully appreciate my comments until you try a "heavier duty" set of legs. There is a reason funky old Miller and Ries tripods are desirable. Rock solid stability and confidence. Right tool for the right job!

Cheers,
Geary

I have to defer to actual experience. The Omega 45F is the biggest 'sail' I've got so was just speculating on the suitability of the 8043 to ULF. My point though was more to the possibility that one could get by very nicely without a head using one of the Berlebach tripods.

 

[herb]

Berlebach or Ries??

I had a Ries and the Ries Head-got rid of it. Head was a finger pincher, and since I had the "tall " version, it was bulky. I believe it weighed 10 lbs or more.

I am looking into Wolf Wood Line from Germany-they have a couple of 6 to 7 lb tripods that they say will support over 20 kg, or 44 lbs! Their web site is;
www.wooden-tripods.com, and their prices, near as I can decipher, are less than half Ries.

I use an Arca B1 ball head on a Toyo G 8x10, which weighs about 20 lbs. The B1 is rated at 90 lbs capacity.

The Ries are really nice, but heavy and expensive.