Bogen 3047 on the Berlebach ball head:Bad or OK?

[steve_williams3]

I have a ZoneVI lightweight tripod and I love it EXCEPT when I need to

shoot indoors on my hardwood floor. Those sharp mountain climbing

legs I adore so much outside create a real problem. I could not find

or come up with any solution that was satisfactory so I ordered

a Berlebach 4032 and another Bogen 3047 pan tilt head. Afterwards I

come to realize that I will have to mount the head on the ball head.

My concern is that I walk around a lot with camera and tripod on my

shoulder. The Zone VI is rock solid and I don't worry about a thing.

Is the Berlebach going to do OK like this with the camera and Bogen

head bouncing around at the end of that ball head? Any enlightenment

would be appreciated. Thanks.

[sean_yates]

Well it's too late now, but I thought Zone VI made a spreader for

their legs to solve the indoor problem. Have they stopped making it

or have things gotten goofy with the Calumet take-over? Bogen, et

al. makes/made spreaders and auto-dollies and spiders, etc for

tripods, I imagine one could be adapted or used if you could find one

in a camera store to try before you buy. I use an old Husky model on

my Bogen 3046. You could also try to make one yourself or contrive

rubber tips by adapting, say crutch feet or floor guards for

furniture.

 

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But, if you want to keep the Berlbach and continue to carry the

camera on your shoulder - I'd suggest you always make sure the ball

is clamped down tight and affix a lanyard of some kind so that if the

camera does come loose, it won't fall very far. I lost a Wisner 5 X

7 Technical to a Bogen 3047 in a similar manner. Do they have a

safety lock on the newer incarnations of that head to prevent the

Q.R. plate from being released accdentally? I know they aren't cheap

but how about switching your head to a Ries J-200? Those screw

directly into the camera and there's no possibility of 'em coming

loose if you do your job.

 

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In any event, bear in mind that hi-grade video and film gear weigh as

much as an 8 X 10 and more and those shooters use ball and socket

tripods all the time. They usually dismount the camera when they

move it a great distance, but I have seen them carry them over the

shoulder for short distances.

[tony_brent]

My Berlebach ball head will carry the 8x10 Deardorff, but I don't

trust it slung over my shoulder. I have no fears about a 4x5 camera.

One thing I do with a mounted camera is to carry the tripod as

vertical as I can, with the camera bed resting on my shoulder rather

than hanging out behind my shoulder. I can get the rig back on the

ground in a hurry that way if I have to.

[steve_williams3]

Well, the Berlebach arrived today and I must admit I am impressed by

the quality of the 4032 tripod. The built in ball head is much lower

in profile than I imagined and with the Bogen 3047 head attached to it

it makes a real pretty combination. It seems solid and I foresee no

problems with it when I put the Zone VI 4x5 field camera on it.

 

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Now I have to see if I can part with the Zone VI tripod....

Again thanks for the input and advice.