manfrotto/bogen 410 geared head or....

manfrotto/bogen 410 geared head or maybe the 229?

Hi there,
I have been on the verge of purchasing a new tripod head for a while now. Since I have been on vacation it did not happen yet. But It will, very soon.
I sold my old tripod and Being a student I am on a budget.
Costs can ABSOLUTALLY not exceed the 200 dollar.
I am not buying a ballhead.
I want something that can easily hold a pentax 67 or a 4x5 monorail like the sinar f2.
I like the concept of the 410 by manfrotto because of its geared movements.
But I have always felt, the 410 was somewhat light and small for a pentax 67 or 4x5.
So I started focusing on the manfrotto 229, which is there top 3way standard head.
A salesman today told me about the 410 when I expressed my interest for the 229, and told me it can easily handle the camera's I am planning on using it with.
Since they cost about the same, I have some sort of dilemma here.


I am going to try both with my own camera, but in the meanwhile I hope for some experiences to be better prepared for a choice.
Especially on the fact that the 410 seems to loosen up as they get older.
What is the better choice and why???

Thanks game (i will post the eventual choice off course)

If you go to Ebay, you can buy the geared Majestic head, used in fine condition for about $60.00. This head is made to last and it will easily handle 8x10 cameras.

game said:

... Especially on the fact that the 410 seems to loosen up as they get older. ...

Click to expand...

:confused:

Well, for what it's worth, I bought a used 410 and it stays where I put it. I am now using it under a Mamiya RB.

The concept of the 410 is great but not for use with a pentaz 67!
I owned one until last december that i used with my 67II and shen hao 4x5.
It was solid at first but got sloppy and sloppy doesn't cut it with the shutter on those big cameras. The geared movements are great with lf gear and i miss it for that reason but my negs are sharper now and i shoot with more confidence knowing that. You didn't say what tripod your mounting it on but that's another issue. Others will tell you the 410 works great with their medium and lf setups but they haven't tried it with the pentax's. I'm not familer with your other example. You can search the posts for my other rants about the 410.
vinny

Well the tripod is a foba alfea/alfae, which is a really heavy motherf*cker. Too havy almost, but I'll manage.
The 229 head by manfrotto/bogen is just their best normal 3way head.

manfrotto 229



That one is suppossed to deal with the pentax. And I like it more than the gitzo heads.
Off course the 405 geared would be best, but that's over my head. And when entering that price range, things like a arca B2 are within range too, and I Don't feel like going there yet.
The majestic seems kindof rough, and is not on ebay right now, And I am going for some short term purchase.

So Is anyone able to gime some more, on the bogen.manfrotto 229? maybe even in comparison to the manfrotto 410 geared?

manfrotto 410 geared
Dead Link Removed


great!!!!! thanks Sam

Hi,

I use a 410 with a Hasselblad 500 and a Horseman 45FA. Nice and firm, and the geared adjustment is great. No sloppiness as reported by wildbill - hope it stays that way!

I used a 410 very happily with Ebony 5x4, Bronica SQA and Mamiya 7.

Like Wildbill, after some considerable use, I too got some sloppiness, but rectified it as posted in a thread in Archives. A simple task to perform, undoing an allen bolt, disengaging gears and rotating alloy casting; I discovered how to do it after buying a 405 head which is far, far heavier and more expensive.

I would happily switch back to the 410 if something happened to the 405. When i saw a geared head in use for the first time, I was impressed and soon migrated there. They are excellent for landscape photography, but not ideal for faster moving subjects!

the screw thing on the 410 is a great mention, I remember I read about that but I have forgotten i did. so thanks.

Does no one uses the 229 here?

hope someone does... thanks so far!
game