RB67 tripod decision

So far Iﾒve been using my Manfrotto 055 tripod with 029 pan and tilt head for

my RB67 since I have been on a real budget. I now have a bit more cash and the

055 (bogan 3021) isnﾒt the sturdiest tripod for it.

Iﾒve recently got a mamiya 7 and a cheap deal on a gitzo 1228 which will be

great I need much less weight with me or Iﾒm taking a plane flight. The 1228 is

probably insufficient, so Iﾒm looking at ditching the 055 and replacing it with

something more rigid to get the best out of the RB which I much prefer to use

over the mamiya since I'm not crazy on rangefidners or lack on wlf.

I really donﾒt want a tripod over 2.5kg-ish. The gitzo 1327 (or a used 1325)

looks like it will do the job, but at ﾣ425 is well over double what I got the

1228 for! Then there is the question of heads. The same head on both the 1228

and new tripod would be ideal - but what is a ballhead like with the RB? I like

a pan and tilt with it but that really piles on the weight.

I shoot mostly landscape and have no head yet for the 1228.

A Gitzo G-1325 is a good, all-around tripod for medium format and 35mm. You could save a couple hundred dollars by choosing the aluminum equivalent, G-1340. The 1325 is more versatile than the 1327, in which the column is fixed. The column assembly is completely interchangeable in the 1325.

A ball head is much easier to transport and use in the field than a 3-way head. However, good ball heads are expensive, in the neighborhood of $400, and cheap ball heads tend to have a sticky action and poor holding power. I use an Arca B1 for medium format (Hasselblad), 35mm and DSLR, and occasionally with a 4x5 monorail camera. The Arca has outstanding tension control, so you can partially tighten it and position the camera by hand - fast and easy.

It's easy to move a ball head from one tripod to another, depending on your needs. If you can't afford a good ball head, stick with a 3-way head, which will cost less than 1/3rd as much for the same holding power.

I suggest you go to the web site for Really Right Stuff. The company makes a complete

line of ball heads and camera plates for the professional and carries Gitzo tripods as well.

A couple of years ago RRS was purchased by a new person and he has put a lot of time

and effort into product development and production so that orders can be filled from

stock vs. everything being "made to order." On their web site there is a copy of a

magazine article about how to save money on tripods and ball heads, etc., the summary of

which is: Buy The Best Stuff The First Time and build a system around it rather than

economizing on various parts and trying to improve your whole package step by step.

The article is right, of course, and I finally took that advice this year and ordered a BH-40

head plus some compatible camera plates and the RRS ground level tripod. I think it's

really the way to go. I have a full Hasselblad system including 3 bodies and 8 lenses but I

tended to economize on the tripod and heads, ending up with no "system" at all and finally

recognizing the super-importance of stability.

All the RRS gear is precision made. They started by selling Arca Swiss heads and making

camera base plates for them but now they have expanded the line and have three sizes of

ball heads of their own.

I'm new to the RB67, but from what I have seen it handles quite nicely on a ball head. I use a Kirk BH-1. my legs are Promaster System Pro-2, with a hacked off down-tube. they probably weight a bit more than some of the high end legs, but they are fairly solid, especially when I put my tripod around the legs:

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