Berlebach Tripod Impressions?

[Gatsby1923]

Hey any Berlebach users out there? I am considering one for my 4x5/5x7 work. Just want to know what every one's impression of them is.

Dave M

 

[Amund]

I have a 3032 and I`m very happy with. I use it with 4x5/5x7/8x10.
Well buildt, sturdy and quick to set up.

 

[dphphoto]

I've used a 2042 for the past 10 years for 4X5. Have never felt the need to "upgrade." Lightweight, but sturdy and easy to use. Dean

 

[Wayne]

I have no complaints about my 4032. I use it for my 8x10 Ansco.

Wayne

 

[matt miller]

I have the 3032 and love it. I sometimes wish it were lighter and that it collapsed down shorter, but those feelings are rare. It's been a great tripod.

 

[jeroldharter]

I have the one with 2-piece legs and a leveling post. I use it with Toyo 45 AX and Canham 4x5 DLC. I use an Acratech ball head also. Very happy with it. Durable, well-made, good value.

 

[Bruce Schultz]

It will work just fine for you. I use mine with an 8x10 and I didn't buy a head for it.

 

[Rob Skeoch]

I have a 4002 and love it... 8x10 only.
I've also used most of the other models and keep 4 or 5 in stock at most times. The most popular model is the 3002 if you don't want a centre column and the 3012 if you do.
The 8003 is also nice if you fly alot because it's shorter.

 

[Paddy]

I'm wondering who supplies Berlebach in the U.S.?

 

[Mark Sawyer]

I have a Berlebach, and I like it, but I have a Ries that I like even better, so that's all I ever use...

 

[patrickjames]

I was going to ask why the hell anyone would want to use one of those wooden thingys, being someone who can sit on his Gitzo, and then I looked them up. Now I know why. I wouldn't trade my Gitzo for one, but for larger formats (8x10 and up) they look to be the way to go.

Patrick

 

[photo8x10]

I usually use a Berlebach 9033 for my 8x10 camera, and I'm very happy with this tripod.


Stefano

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

I have a 3032 I've used with 35 through 8x10. Great tripod but NOT up to properly supporting an 8x10. I got Ries for that which is far superior. For less it would be fine. Best. Shawn

 

[Tom Stanworth]

I have a 2 section and 3 section for LF up to 10x8 and think they are truly superb. Fast to use, stable as hell, well made, great service...and to think people pay 4x the price for a Ries....

 

[jss]

another berlebach user..

i recently got a 8023, 3-section w/ column. i put a manfrotto 3047 head on it. the camera i have most often on this combo is a burke&james 8x10.

i've had the tripod set low with the column raised for in-home studio work, usually i have the legs extended with the column down all the way for outdoors work.

i took a suggestion from theflyingcamera, and put rings on those hooks inside the leg joints and thread a nylon rope through them in a triangle.. makes it very sturdy (the legs will not splay at all). overall a great tripod.

 

[Early Riser]

I bought a Berlebach, brought it home and compared it in rigidity to a gitzo CF. No comparison the Gitzo CF was far more rigid. I returned the Berlebach, I felt that it would shake too much in the wind.

 

[P. Yee]

I have a 3032 my 8x10 camera. I am quite please with the tripod. No separate head is needed. I bought my tripod through a local camera store. They normally don't carry the tripod but but will order from the distributor.

 

[ronlamarsh]

Berlbach Tripod

I have a 4032 wooden tripod and though it may be heavy and unweildly for the money it was the best bet, I got it on sale from calumet years ago for $100. I scored an old gitzo pan/tilt head from Boeing surplus awhile back which makes it easier to adjust for level as the ball head can be difficult with a heavy camera. As to stability its tops. Last fall i was in our local wheat country at my favorite spot, I got up at 4am to get there for sunrise only to find I had to set the camera up facing into a constant head wind, not just a puff of breeze either. I made my shots anyway and the combination of heavy wood tripod with a heavy cambo monorail worked great. All the images are tack sharp. A lesser tripod i.e under 5lbs would have blown away. At one time I remember reading AA and he claimed wood was better at damping vibrations as it didn't produce harmonics. just a theory. I can't afford a gitzo

 

[User Removed]

I used a Berlbach tripod for awhile, but then got myself a Ries and was MUCH happier. I started with a Ries Model-A for my 8x10 and 11x14, but now use the Ries Model-J for 8x10 since it's smaller. For 4x5 and 5x7, I would suggest the Ries Model-J or a Ries Junior with 4" crown.

Ryan McIntosh
www.RyanMcIntosh.net

 

[Tom Stanworth]

I bought a Berlebach, brought it home and compared it in rigidity to a gitzo CF. No comparison the Gitzo CF was far more rigid. I returned the Berlebach, I felt that it would shake too much in the wind.

I am sure you are right. The big CF Gitzos are something else (in price also!) but I figure that with a 10x8 windsail on top wind is not a problem the tripod can solve. Any wind enough to bother a tripod is going to be pulling that big LF camera all over teh place, buffeting teh standards etc.

I find mine plenty rigid enough (I use a big Gitzo magnesium LF (non Quick erlease) head with huge plate area) and find the head actually has more flex than the tripod, but this is only under significant pressure, but teh 10x8 can provide that sort of leverage. What I love about the wood tripods is superltive vibration dampening and the fact that dirt and grit is not going to render it inoperable. Spikes are handy too. I looked at the gitzo CF that was big enough for the 10x8 and wit worked out about 600 pounds. The Berlebach was 120 pounds...

Oddly enough, my personal perception of the ideal in materials has resulted in a Walker 5x7 synthetic camera atop a 3 section wooden Berlebach. This combo has been in storage for a year and a half now and i have not had the chance to use them....

 

[Amund]

I have a 3032 I've used with 35 through 8x10. Great tripod but NOT up to properly supporting an 8x10. I got Ries for that which is far superior. For less it would be fine. Best. Shawn

I`d say it depends on wich camera and how you shoot. The 3032 is certainly properly supporting my Wehman 8x10, but I rarely shoot anything longer than a 250mm lens....

 

[rossb]

Berlebach tripod impressions

I also have a 3032 which I use with 4x5 (both field and occasionally an 8lb monorail. A good general performer, light, but stable.

 

[removed account4]

i have a double leg extension one (without columned-head)
and use it for 4x5-8x10 and like it. never had problems with it
in very cold or very humid (new england) weather.

 

[Rob Skeoch]

I think they're great. I used my 4002 with a ebony 8x10 on it at Per's Sierra gathering last fall. A lot of the early pre-dawn shots were 10-15 min. long and they held the camera steady. I use it for closeups with the bellows extended and haven't had a problem.
If you're looking for one I ship them to US clients every week. Blaze just bought one this week, and Per bought one in the fall. I import them with the nice dark finish and they look sharp.

 

[MarcoF]

I've used a 9043 with my Gandolfi 4x5", and I was very very happy with it, no need to use a separate head, no problem of over heating/freezing on the surface, great stability.

Now I shoot only 8x10" (Sinar F2, and sometimes, Sinar P), and I purchased another Berlebach tripod, but not one of the Report series, but one of the UNI series instead, IMHO they're best suited for 8x10" and ULF, I chose a UNI 24 and it can load up to 50 kg. (110 lb).


Ciao
Marco