Leveling base for Intrepid 8x10 in the field

For me, Sinar is a bit of an exception. They work so well with their own Sinar head, I have one tripod that has one permanantly mounted. The aren't really a leveling setup, and are only two way insted of three way so they aren't very useful for other cameras. (the Sinar head provides pitch and yaw, since roll can be done on the camera itself by loosening the rail clamp and rolling the the rail itself.)

There is two way you can mount the camera to the head. One direction allows you to pitch down maybe 20° but up 90°, the other direction reverses that and allow you to pitch up 20° and down 90°. The really work well as a part of the whole Sinar system, though they are a bit expensive when you find one for sale.

I'm using a Leofoto YB-100 leveling base with handle attached to their 100mm bowl. Provides a good amount of adjustability and is really solid. This is on a Gitzo carbon tripod and it's more than adequate to handle my Deardorff 8x10. It's a lot lighter than the Gitzo 1570 3-way head it replaces, but the Gitzo head is also very solid.

Yes, leveling bowls work very well. FLM's HB-75 Half Ball leveler for CP34, CP38 and Atlas tripod legs is a 75mm half-ball adapter that will fit into tripod legs that have a 75mm bowl.

I settled on a large leveling base (Sunwayfoto LB-90R) with Arca Swiss QR clamp. I will go headless.

Also Intrepid released the bail back upgrade kit for 8x10:

Today the new 8x10 bail back arrived from UK. It looks solid enough, while adding 248 grams to the weight (original back 610g, new bail back 858g).

I tried it with my usual assortment of plastic 8x10 film holders, and it was easy peasy. No more prying open the hard springs. And finally the camera does not move a hair while inserting and removing film holders.

I think 248g of added weight is well worth the improvement. Look forward to taking the kit out for a hike. I also acquired a tiny Wollensak EWA 159/12.5 lens as wide angle to compliment the 305/9 G-Claron. Still quite manageable with a large shoulder bag.