Gitzo off center ball heads

rthollenbeck · Jan 22, 2017

Has anyone here used the Gitzo Off-Center Ball Heads for their large format gear? I've always used other heads such as the Sinar pan tilt. Does the new generation of these ball heads stand up well/operate smooth/have the strength for a heavier camera and the leverage a monorail places on them?

John Koehrer · Jan 22, 2017

I've used them with smaller formats & got rid of them pretty quickly.
The centering makes it very difficult to level a camera because of........
The center of gravity being off center.

Sirius Glass · Jan 22, 2017

I have looked a ball heads of all types and I have yet to find one that is strong enough and allow small adjustment without the camera suddenly flop over. If and until I find one that meets those requirements, I will not use a ball head for a large format photography nor for my Hasselblads.

rthollenbeck · Jan 22, 2017

Thanks for the replies. It's probably pretty hard to stack up to the Sinar pan-tilt. It's getting hard to find a replacement for the Sinar nowadays.

Vaughn · Jan 22, 2017

I used an older Gitzo Ball 2 for years with a lightweight 4x5 and then a 5x7. Like anything else, if it is what you have, you get to know it and use it effectively. One quickly learns how much torque to put on the knob to allow small changes, and that sort of thing. But I think such ballheads are best in applications where weight and size are major issues (for me - bike touring and backpacking). I also liked the simplicity of the ballhead -- fewer handles and knobs, nothing sticking out. Gearheads seem to be the way to go if weight and simplicity are not issues.

Mine looked like this old beast: http://www.qualitycamera.com/ebay2/Tripods/Gitzo/gitzoball-1465222067-33126.jpg

shutterfinger · Jan 22, 2017

I have some older Gitzo off center ball heads, fine for 35mm and some medium format cameras.
A leveling base such as https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._dyh90ri_dyh_90ri_rotating_leveling_base.html should be a good alternative for large format cameras.
I occasionally mount a Cambo Legend on one, quite nice, no other head.

Sirius Glass · Jan 22, 2017

I could not follow the link. Shutterfinder, would you please repost it?

Vaughn · Jan 23, 2017

Shutterfinder -- nice little device. A 66 pound capacity sounds high, but the simple design might allow for it. Sort of between using or not using a head at all. Probably good for 90% of landscapes, tho I do tend to point the camera all over the place and would miss that. Many times I am lucky to be able to set up a tripod at all -- let alone control the level of the camera via the legs.

Totally strange idea -- get two of them and get double the allowable tilt angle?

shutterfinger · Jan 23, 2017

Sunwayphoto DYH-90Ri Rotating Leveling Base at B&H.

The non rotating version DHY-90i https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1017838-REG/sunwayfoto_dyh90i_leveling_base.html
Other makes and styles https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/sear...&sts=ma&ci=412&N=4294204652&Ntt=leveling+base

Alan Gales · Jan 23, 2017

John Koehrer said:
I've used them with smaller formats & got rid of them pretty quickly.
The centering makes it very difficult to level a camera because of........
The center of gravity being off center.

+1

I bought a one off Ebay for smaller formats. I didn't like leveling with it either and put it right back on Ebay.

fdonadio · Jan 23, 2017

Shutterfinger, shutterfinder, butterfinger... I got a little confused!

Huub · Jan 24, 2017

I use one of the older under my little Shen Hao without much problems to be honest. I steady and level te camera with my left hand while i use my right one to slowly lock the ballhead. Works even with a heavy 360mm tele-xenar mounted. Tho in hind sight, a normal ballhead would have been slightly more versatile for me.

darkroommike · Jan 24, 2017

Have one, but I'm not a big fan. Too easy for the camera to flop over.

Ari · Jan 24, 2017

You can try an FLM ball head with the Tilt Lock function; the way it works makes it very similar to a 2-d head, so the problems normally associated with using a ball head are eliminated.
The heads can easily take LF-type loads.
This brief video shows the CB-48FTR ball head levelling an 8x10 camera:

Gitzo off center ball heads

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