Tripod head for 8x10 please?

[Robert Poole]

I have a very heavy Nesbitt mahogany 8x10 and find the Gitzo ball head unmanageable. What recommendations please? Maybe a geared head?

 

[GregY]

I'd suggest the Ries head

 

[Lachlan Young]

Gitzo G1570M, the Sinar tilt head, or if it's beyond that sort of capacity, Ries - probably the A-250 - or an equivalent super heavy duty head. Beyond that & you'll be looking at cinema or broadcast equipment.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I second the Gitzo G1570M. I have used one for many years. I also use it to support my 14x17.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Second suggestion for the Ries head.

 

[Alan9940]

I use a Really Right Stuff BH-55 atop some carbon fiber sticks for my Intrepid 8x10 and heavier MF cameras. For my 8x10 Deardorff, it's the Ries A100 (if working near the car) or the Gitzo G1570M.

 

[btaylor]

+ another vote for the Gitzo G1570M especially if you are going to be carrying things any distance.

 

[Two23]

I've been using a Ries J250 for my Kodak 2D 8x10 for the past year. It's very easy to fine adjust and rock solid. It's a very simple and well engineered product and better than any ballhead I've tried for something this heavy. Highly recommended.


Kent in SD

 

[Neil Poulsen]

I'm a fan of heads that use quick release plates. I find the alternative really awkward; trying to screw an 8x10 onto a tripod head every time.

A really excellent, used head/plate combination would be a Manfrotto 3D Super Pro 3-Way head with a long ago discontinued 4"x4" quick release hexagonal head. The tripod head used to sell as a 3039 model head. It has a maximum capacity of 26lbs. The 4"x4" quick release hexagonal plates are hard to find, but they would be ideal for your camera with the above tripod head. Another possible quick release plate would be a Bogen Universal. It's just as long as the 4"x4", but not quite as wide. I think that a Universal plate (also discontinued) would be easier to find. As long as one isn't tipping an 8x10 camera from side to side, the Universal plate might be just as good.

The only geared head of which I'm aware that I think could handle your 8x10 camera would be an Arca Swiss D4. They have a maximum capacity of 60 lbs, and they have a terrific build quality. The base model that takes only the wider quick release Arca plates would work. But at about $1150, their expensive. But none the less, I couldn't resist and purchased one (on time) for use with my 4x5. Sweet!

The following would work:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/966748-REG/arca_swiss_870103_d4_monoball_fix_geared.html

I would get a plate that's at least 4" long

 

[Dennis-B]

I use a Manfrotto 229 (Bogen 3029) for anything above 35mm, and the head is extremely stable. Neil Poulsen's suggestion of the 4x4 hex plate is spot-on. I gave up on any ball head years ago, especially with heavier-than-normal camera/lens loads.

 

[Nokton48]

A seconding for the Sinar Pan Tilt Head. I prefer the green early ones and I have accumulated five or six over the years. Used to be cheap and plentiful. Manfrotto three way heads with the 4x4 camera plate works well with just about everything I have up to 8x10. I also have some very old FOBA heads and right now I am on the fence on those. But the first two are my choices. I prefer the Sinar without question.

 

[ced]

Check the beast...

 

[abruzzi]

A seconding for the Sinar Pan Tilt Head. I prefer the green early ones and I have accumulated five or six over the years. Used to be cheap and plentiful. Manfrotto three way heads with the 4x4 camera plate works well with just about everything I have up to 8x10. I also have some very old FOBA heads and right now I am on the fence on those. But the first two are my choices. I prefer the Sinar without question.

Correct me if I'm wrong--I've never actually used a Sinar pan head--but the one limitation is it seems that it is two way, not three way. It seems it doesn't have yaw adjustment because on a Sinar monorail, you could rotate the entire camera around the rail to adjust the third axis. So that would work for any camera that could do the same but wooden folders probably aren't on the list.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Everyone by now probably knows that I don't use any kind of head. The 8x10 goes straight onto the platform top of my larger Ries wooden tripod, and the standard 3/8-16 turnbolt below gets tightened. More stable than any head, lighter weight, and fast to work with once you get accustomed. It's how early surveyors did it for decades; and they had to be especially accurate even atop remote peaks. But if you do feel the need to go with a head, excellent suggestions have already been given, like the Ries head itself, and a couple other already mentioned options. The good ole Bogen 3029 is the poor man's pan-tilt option, but rather tall and heavy. The Sinar option is really more appropriate for monorail design cameras like their. Ball heads are the least logical choice. And it would take a heck of a big heavy expensive geared head to handle an 8X10 decently; not recommended.

 

[Dennis-B]

Everyone by now probably knows that I don't use any kind of head. The 8x10 goes straight onto the platform top of my larger Ries wooden tripod, and the standard 3/8-16 turnbolt below gets tightened. More stable than any head, lighter weight, and fast to work with once you get accustomed. It's how early surveyors did it for decades; and they had to be especially accurate even atop remote peaks. But if you do feel the need to go with a head, excellent suggestions have already been given, like the Ries head itself, and a couple other already mentioned options. The good ole Bogen 3029 is the poor man's pan-tilt option, but rather tall and heavy. The Sinar option is really more appropriate for monorail design cameras like their. Ball heads are the least logical choice. And it would take a heck of a big heavy expensive geared head to handle an 8X10 decently; not recommended.

Early surveyors also used a plum bob to ensure the tripod was level and on a more modern note, however, I've used bubble levels to ensure level.

On a note of miscellany, I read an article published on the early days of the web, about the surveys conducted when the Erie Canal was built, in the early 1800's. Not only was the route of the canal surveyed, but in many cases the feed water from lakes had to be surveyed to ensure proper flow and back-flow rates. One such survey entailed surveying the perimeter of a lake near Syracuse, NY. The distance surveyed around the lake was around 75 miles. The surveyor had a total error of one inch in elevation over the 75 miles. If you've ever seen early 19-century surveyor equipment, you'll understand the amazement in this feat. I've seen actual surveyor's chain, transits, tripods, and compasses from the era, and I still stand amazed at the accuracy of their work.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Most bubble levels are a sick joke. For a number of years I sold Starrett precision tools, including their machinists levels; those are the real deal. My dad was a surveyor for the Grand Coulee dam project; and I learned on that old brass transit, later became a dealer of modern survey instruments and lasers, among many other related things. But where I grew up near the high Sierras there were peaks so remote and strenuous to get up that it took another hundred years for any second ascent by climbers per se; and they didn't have to contend with big wooden tripods and equipment cases like the first people up those spots. But sometimes one can get up some place like that and find obsidian chips laying around, from some ancient bighorn sheep hunter repairing a point up there.

 

[Alan Gales]

Unlike Drew, I like to use my head.

The Ries head is more like a platform than a head. I prefer the Ries double tilt heads myself.

 

[mshchem]

All kinds of Majestic heads on Ebay US, cheap, massive geared head.

 

[DREW WILEY]

That's the whole point, Alan - a functional platform effect capable of stabilizing both the breadth and width of a flatbed camera efficiently. I like the platform-style top certain tripods by themselves; but the Ries head also serves as a stable platform with a low center of gravity. A "stem" effect like a ball head is the least logical; and geared heads have the risk of internal gear play unless especially well made. Either way, a lot of extra weight. The problem with strong yet tall heads like the old Bogen cast one is that their very height contributes an additional significant torque vector making things harder to stabilize. The good ole Gitzo 5-series low-profile pan-tilt head was a decent choice up to a certain point. Some of these newer "half-ball" concept devices, that nest in a dished out area of the head rather then operate above it, also make sense. But I still think that no head at all is the smartest option. Sure works for me. (I do use pan-tilt heads with smaller gear like medium format, though certainly not for my heavy 300 EDIF Pentax 67 telephoto I was shooting yesterday - I bolt that thing straight to the top of the same Ries tripod that I use for 8X10. Makes all the difference in the world in terms of stability and truly crisp shots, especially in the wind.)

 

[Alan Gales]

That's the whole point, Alan - a functional platform effect capable of stabilizing both the breadth and width of a flatbed camera efficiently. I like the platform-style top certain tripods by themselves; but the Ries head also serves as a stable platform with a low center of gravity. A "stem" effect like a ball head is the least logical; and geared heads have the risk of internal gear play unless especially well made. Either way, a lot of extra weight. The problem with strong yet tall heads like the old Bogen cast one is that their very height contributes an additional significant torque vector making things harder to stabilize. The good ole Gitzo 5-series low-profile pan-tilt head was a decent choice up to a certain point. Some of these newer "half-ball" concept devices, that nest in a dished out area of the head rather then operate above it, also make sense. But I still think that no head at all is the smartest option. Sure works for me. (I do use pan-tilt heads with smaller gear like medium format, though certainly not for my heavy 300 EDIF Pentax 67 telephoto I was shooting yesterday - I bolt that thing straight to the top of the same Ries tripod that I use for 8X10. Makes all the difference in the world in terms of stability and truly crisp shots, especially in the wind.)

Drew, I like my Ries heads but I can understand why you prefer not to use one. For one thing it sure saves on weight hiking up those mountains you like to hike.

The joke about you not using your head never gets old, my friend.

 

[DREW WILEY]

How much does it weigh? Now subtract that amount and my way of doing it will obviously be that much even less. I don't use any kind of head all all atop any of my tripods for LF usage. None of their added weight, none of their added stability issues, none of their additional cost. No head at all. You can't come up with a lighter head weight option than zero. My Ries tripod turn bolt goes straight into the 8x10 camera base itself; nothing in between.

 

[JNP]

I have a very heavy Nesbitt mahogany 8x10 and find the Gitzo ball head unmanageable. What recommendations please? Maybe a geared head?

I use a Bogen 3047. There are large and small quick release plates.

 

[abruzzi]

I use a Bogen 3047. There are large and small quick release plates.

I use the 3047 on my 4x5, though I'm moving away from it, but I've found that for me, it is bordeline on the lighter 8x10. I think most of that is because it pretty tall. I prefer 3-way heads, but I'm looking at upgrading to a Gitzo 1370 or 1570 since it sticks up a lot less.

 

[DREW WILEY]

My Bogen and its hex plate got dedicated to a big new copy-stand setup in my lab. Gave up on it in the field long ago.

 

[Alan Gales]

How much does it weigh? Now subtract that amount and my way of doing it will obviously be that much even less. I don't use any kind of head all all atop any of my tripods for LF usage. None of their added weight, none of their added stability issues, none of their additional cost. No head at all. You can't come up with a lighter head weight option than zero. My Ries tripod turn bolt goes straight into the 8x10 camera base itself; nothing in between.

4.75 pounds.

So that is almost 5 lbs of weight you save by not using a head, Drew.