Tripod and Head for 5x7

Nick Zentena said:

It's not just the camera of course. You've got a lens on there to. With a 35mm it's likely a big heavy lens on front of the camera with the tripod screwed to the camera. That's a teetter totter isn't it? With LF odds are the lens is much lighter then the camera. With some cameras you'll have multiple tripod mounts or at the very least you can adjust things so the whole setup is balanced over the tripod.

Click to expand...

With an Astro Berlin 1000mm telephoto I'd not use such as tripod either... Its not made for that kind of mass. They are not really so top-heavy since their support brace puts the center quite far front but still too much mass and even the slightest vibration or flex movements can shift focus. For such a large lens system I'd look to a very different class of tripod. I'd probably go hunt for some baby wooden legs and an old Mitchell base.
What does a 5x7" camera weight? Sure some can be light (press cameras) but some are not. Some have light modern glass and some use heavy brass barrels. Same cameras use lightweight wood and others... The Bolex tripod I mentioned since its cheap, will support almost any 5x7" camera and is reasonably lightweight. Its strength to weight ratio, its robustness and quality has made them favorites for decades. They, however, were not cheap and if you were to purchase one new today it would cost several times over the price of those Bogens and Gitzos (the current incarnation, the Super-Stix, lists for over $1500 USD without head).

Yeah I suspected as much Nick. I can see some of the dynamics that come into play when I overloaded my video tripod with my quarter plate camera (doesn't weight much but everything gets thrown off balance when I extend the bellows out all the way). But, I'm completely new to this and, even though I've read every post of tripod/head recommendations here, over on largeformat.info and anything else that I could get my hands on I still feel like I'm missing something ... I was in heaven when I came across a magazine review of giotto's, gitzo and berlebach tripods but reviews like that are few and far between.

I've ordered some legs and a head, I just hope I made some good choices out of the mind boggling array of options.

Thanks again everyone

let me throw a new wrench into the game. What do you people think of quick releases. not the type you use for 35mm or 120 but the type you slide on and have a knob on the side to tighten up. I think it is a sinar or linoff style.. using it for 8x10, 5x7,4x5

mike

Quick releases add one more possibility of instability between camera and solid ground. They do have the advantage of speed and convenience. When one intends to make very few, but very good, photos their advantages disappear. When engineering and construction are equal, a simple design can often outperform elegant designs. My ancient Tiltall is very cost-effective for up to 5x7.