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Tripods
I also tried the 3047 tilt-pan head. Despite the fact it isn't a ball-head, I found it
much easier to use for tracking than the 3055 (take this in context because I've
never used a "good" ball-head like the Arca). If you must have an inexpensive (less
than $100), yet solid head, I'd recommend looking at the 3047 and avoiding the
3055.
-- Don Atzberger, March 29, 1997
My legs are Bogen 3021 with a circular spirit level (< $5) glued over the center
column axis. When I plan on panning, I take a few seconds to adjust the lens to
keep the pan plane parallel to the horizon. With this platform, my Bogen 3047 (I
don't use the left/right tilt or the built-in spirit levels) and a Bogen 3063 fluid video
head always give me tracking ability and stay horizontal. I no longer own a 3055
ball-head as I found it too prone to vibration and not ergonomically freindly.
I have inproved my Bogen hex-plates in two ways:
* I have sawed off and smoothed the each of the 6 corners
* I have added a second screw to secure my lens' tripod collar to a flat (#3041) hexplate.
-- Dave Herzstein, July 10, 1997
The "religion" around Arca ballheads is really not appropriate to the many of us
that don't use very large cameras or long lenses. I rarely shoot, even in medium
format, with anything over two pounds, so my issue isn't absolute stability of heavy
equipment but rigidity during long exposures and the ability to very carefully
compose. I have found that the Linhof Model 1, just as an example, is an excellent
ballhead for my purposes and costs just slightly over $100. There are probably
other ballheads in this price range that would meet the needs of a lot of us that are
not into huge lenses or large format.
Also, regarding Benbo - there are some issues with how well the "bent bolt" works,
but I have found times when it is indispensable. I recently went on a tour of a ghost
town (photos will be at www.hyperreal.org/~jeffs/) by next week in which I wanted
to work against a steep railroad embankment with mud down below. It was very
easy to use the embankment for one leg with the other two just above the mud line.
I happened to notice that other photographers had to work on the railroad tracks,
getting a very different perspective.
One tip on buying a Bogen/Manfrotto: Mr. Greenspun suggested buying with the
http://www.photo.net/equipment/tripods/philg (9 of 53)7/3/2005 2:21:12 AM