tilting center column tripod for 5x7 and choice of tripod

<p>Hi everyone.</p>

<p>I'm struggling with buying a tripod. </p>

<p>I would like to find a tripod for my Deardorff 5x7 which allows you to tilt the center column.<br>

Any tip?</p>

<p>If I cannot find it, which tripod would you recommend for my camera?</p>

<p>Because I've being reading a lot but I really don't know where to go. </p>

<p>I would use it for studio work and outside too. <br>

I was thinking about a Gitzo. But which one?<br>

Please give me a name..<br>

I have a Manfrotto 808RC4 head. Should it work?</p>

<p>My budget is around 600 usd.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot,</p>

<p>Francesco</p>

<h1> </h1>

<p>Hi Francesco, <br>

how about a Berlebach wooden tripod with leveling base?<br>

I just got a Report 3032 and I'm really impressed. I've never used a Deardorff, but the 3032 will hold a heavy 4x5 easily (I'm not talking about extreme long extensions or use in a full gale). The mounting base is a bit small, but x032-series is worth a look for sure.<br>

Depending on your workflow you could eventually mount the 5x7 directly on the base, without a tripod-head at all.<br>

The Berlebach Uni-series is much more stable, but these tripods are really heavy and also more expensive.<br>

Cheers, Georg.</p>

<p>I have an old Bogen 3050 with a 3047 head that I've used for my Rochester Camera Co. 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 and my lighter 8x10 cameras. I think you could get one for a lot less than $600.</p>

A Bogen 3050 does not have a tilting centre column.<br><br>A leveling base, as suggested by Georg, could offer whet you're after. I have a little Manfrotto 438 leveling base (offers 5 degree of tilt in any direction) that works quite well even with a heavy tripod head and camera on top of it (though the spirit level on the leveling base will be obscured by the mostly wider base of typical tripod heads).<br>The trouble, i find, with these leveling bases is that they add another 2 inches to the already considerable height of the stuff used to mount big cameras on.<br><br>But the amount of tilt such a leveling base - basicaly a reduced ball head - offers may be too small for what you're after.

... and the order of movements using a leveling base (first rise, then leveling) may not be the one you want, with the column still not going straight up or down unless you level the tripod using the legs.

<p>Francesco, <br>

here's a „vanity-shot” - just to give you an idea about the amount of leveling possible with the Berlebachs.<br>

They also make a version with a leveling column, but I for my part don't see the need for this.<br>

Georg</p><div></div>

<p>Berlebach tripods may be used for 8x10 cameras, but really are not steady enough. They also collapse easily and unexpectedly. I dumped an 8x10 Dorff that way, luckily it was not damaged, but easily could have been. I would suggest Gitzo or Linhof. Email me if you want more information on models.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot everyone for the suggestions.</p>

<p>Doing researches </p>

<p>I was thinking about the Gitzo GT3531 or the Induro C7414.</p>

<p>Maybe I ll go for the Gitzo cause it s smaller to carry around. <br>

Would it be enough right?<br>

For the head i m thinking about a manfrotto 229.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Francesco</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I think any Series 3 tripod will be "more than enough" for a Deardorff 5x7". About the center column, that`s another topic.</p>

<p>The Manfrotto 229 is a nice head, but it`s on the heavy side. If you want to "carry around", I`d opt for a ball head. Good, strong ones like some Arca-Swiss models, are one-third the weight.</p>

<p>My question is... do you want a center column, or maybe a "Systematic" version? Personally, for anything like 4x5" and larger, I`d avoid the center column. I`d get a Series 3 CF "Systematic" with a ball head, maybe the A-S P1. This head is an "inverted type" model that let you to pan after leveling the camera, a great useful feature to my taste.</p>

<p>If you plan to use the tripod with smaller cameras (35mm, medium format) a center column is way more comfortable, but a Series 3 is not as necessary. It all depends on the system you will use mostly. I have a Series 2 with center column, and two series 3 without it. Anyway, you can buy an spare accessory (center column) for a systematic version if you think you need it.</p>

<p>Another cosideration is 3 or 4 four section legs. If you plan to fit the tripod inside a bag, a four section model is a must. Three section ones are more comfortable (faster to setup) but too long for other than an external carrying system. Hope this helps.</p>

<p>I use an 8x10 Kodak 2-D on my Berlebach with leveling center post. It has enough range of motion that I don't usually use a ball head.</p>

<p>Francesco,<br>

I bought a Gitzo tripod a number of years ago that was supposed to be able to hold a 4x5. I mounted my 120 Mamiya C-3 and the tripod head flopped over no matter how tight I made the thing. I was terrified to try my Speed Graphic. IMHO I would go with a Bogen or as was mentioned an old wooden tripod. I returned the Higher end Gitzo and bought a lesser of the Bogen Line. I have had the Bogen for almost 20 years and it has never failed to perform even with View cameras and large video equipment.</p>

<p>BTW I think Bogen goes strictly under the Manfrotto name now.</p>

<p>thanks everyone for the suggestions!</p>

<p>Jerry, which Gitzo was this? It makes me think it was a model of the fifties-sixties (my father had one of this, impossible to be locked... or unlocked!).<br /> Current ones work like a charm.</p>

You mean that (assuming you're right in thinking that Bogen doesn't put their name instead of the real maker's name on things anymore) Manfrotto goes strictly under the name Manfrotto now, Jerry. ;-)<br><br>Gitzo heads from the fifties-sixties are as good as the ones they make today. Same for the tripods (except for those carbon and basalt thingies, which pander to the desire of having a good tripod without the weight of a good tripod - an impossibility). I don't know any that would flop under the weight of a Mamiya C3 no matter how tight.<br>More importantly though, you don't have to fear that any would. A 'humble' series 3 Rationelle head from 50 years ago will hold anything you put on it as well as anything you could think of.<br>And there really is no 'higher' end Gitzo. They all are as good as the other. The only differences are in what they are supposed to be designed to carry, but even then they all are made to the same standard using the same materials, same locking mechanisms, etc. The only real difference is size.

<p>Oops, I was refering to the leg locks. He still has anywhere this old one.<br>

About heads, I still use two of his (discontinued)... they actually work at 100%.</p>

<p>FOR SURE; MY OWN STUPID FAULT!<br>

I dumped my 8x10 mounted on the handsome Berlebach with the tilting head. It's rated to hold twenty-plus pounds. <br>

First flaw: the legs do not lock into a "spread" position. That means when you move the tripod, the legs don't stay open. That's how I dumped my Tachihara.<br>

Second is not a Flaw: but the tilting head may shift the center of gravity. Oops.<br>

It's a beautiful pod, but not the best for a heavy camera. </p>