How do I use a tripod head with a Sinar camera?

[Martin Lee]

Firstly, I'll list my equipment:
Sinar F2
Gitzo 1325
RRS BH-55 w/B2 Pro Clamp.

At the moment I don't have any method of attaching the F2 to the Clamp. My BH-55 isn't involved at all and is sat in my big box of camera toys.

I attach the monorail clamp to the tripod, and just drop the F2 into the clamp and tighten down. I've found that so far lens movements make up for the fact that I can't tilt the camera.

It does seem to me that for landscapes I'll actually rarely want to tilt the camera, but being able to pan may be useful.

What do people normally do?

One issue I can see is that with the head, clamp AND monorail clamp the camera will be quite a distance from the tripod. This seems inherently unstable.

Another is that I haven't found an arca-swiss style QR plate that will attach to a Sinar Monorail Clamp in a secure way. For example, on my Mamiya RZ67, the QR plate looks like this:
http://reallyrightstuff.com/mmRRS/Images/full/B43.gif

Note the two pins that stop the camera from rotating on the clamp and relieve stress from the thread.

So what's the done thing for Sinar (or indeed other) monorail cameras?

 

[JohnArs]

For a Sinar the best head is this one:
http://photo.net/gc/view-one?classified_ad_id=932850

Cheers Armin

 

[archphoto]

Sinar F2 ?

Try the Manfrotto 410 geared head, for a my P2 I use a 405 geared head: very presize in adjusting and lots of movement.
You will love it.
I use the 410 upto my RB 67.

Peter

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The Sinar Pan-Tilt head is the most natural to use with a Sinar. You level the camera left right with the rail clamp and tilt fore and aft with the head.

That said, I use an Arca-Swiss B2 head with a custom Arca-Swiss style plate that was designed by another photographer who needed such a plate, so he had a few of them made and sold off the extras. It has a flat round platform with a pin to keep the camera from twisting and an Arca-Swiss type dovetail on the bottom. The B2 is a double-ball head that combines the control of a pan-tilt head with the strength for weight of a ballhead, and like other Arca-Swiss ballheads, the balls are eccentric, so they apply more resistance as the tilt angle increases, and the pan control is as smooth as a fluid head.

 

[Martin Lee]

Thanks for all the replies.

The Sinar Pan-Tilt head is the most natural to use with a Sinar. You level the camera left right with the rail clamp and tilt fore and aft with the head.

That said, I use an Arca-Swiss B2 head with a custom Arca-Swiss style plate that was designed by another photographer who needed such a plate, so he had a few of them made and sold off the extras. It has a flat round platform with a pin to keep the camera from twisting and an Arca-Swiss type dovetail on the bottom. The B2 is a double-ball head that combines the control of a pan-tilt head with the strength for weight of a ballhead, and like other Arca-Swiss ballheads, the balls are eccentric, so they apply more resistance as the tilt angle increases, and the pan control is as smooth as a fluid head.

To be honest, I was hoping not to have to spend too much more. The BH-55 is an excellent ball-head, and it would be nice to have at least some way of attaching it to the Rail Clamp securely.

The Manfrotto solution still leaves one question, how do I securely attach the Manfrotto QR plate to the Rail Clamp? I know the answer is to remove the camera from the Rail Clamp before moving, but sometimes I have had to sling everything over my shoulder and run and I'd like to keep that option. With the Mamiya RZ67 and Really Right Stuff plate/clamp/head, I've never felt any qualms about doing this.

 

[archphoto]

Don't wory about the 410, the QR plates sits rock solid onto the rail clamp.
The QR plate measures 6.5 x 8.5 cm.

Peter