An inexpensive universal tripod quick release for the Rollei 6001/6003/6008

[thomas pindelski www.pind]

I thought this might prove of interest to those looking for a sturdy

tripod quck release for the heavy Rolleiflex SLRs:</P>

 

<a href="http://www.pindelski.org/Equipment/rolleifixes.htm">Please

click here</a>

[wayne_crider4]

Thanks for the info. To note, I have seen the standard quick releases go for as

cheap as $25 at the now disappearing camera shows. Outside that I'd

probably be interested in doing as you did, but the camera plate fabrication

i'm not into, and a machine shop would probably charge me the same as what

i can buy the original release for.

 

What is interesting to me is the table top tripod there. You obviously find it

sturdy enough. What did that cost you?

[thomas pindelski www.pind]

Wayne - the table top tripod is made by Leitz and usually sells used for $100 without the Leitz ball head. Add another $75 or so for the latter. Very sturdy and compact, but I usually use a full size Linhof tripod with this heavy camera.

[yui_cheng]

Thanks for the info. Any suggestion for the quick release/tripod adapter for lens-mounts like the monster Schneider long or zoom lenses, especially when using ballheads?

[thomas pindelski www.pind]

Yui - One thought would be to add a broader plate, screwed to the small aluminum one, to provide larger bearing and support surfaces for the big lens. As the small aluminum plate is flush with the top of the tripod plate there would be no interference problem. Further, this broader plate would also rest on the larger circular area afforded by the tripod plate, making the whole think more secure.

 

You would have to be careful with clearance where the sloped part is angled down for insertion into the tripod plate, but other than that it sounds like a simple enhancement.

[jim_chow]

I used to use the quick coupler w/ my 6008. For lenses up to 180mm, it works fine. But after I got the 300/4 apo, despite it having a built-in compatible coupler, there was too much flex. I traced much of the flex down to the coupler, that the weight wasn't distributed evenly along the entire surface and the contact area was simply too small. Also, there was flex in the tripod column (gitzo 1228 carbon). The last source of flex is because the location of the coupling on the 300mm isn't centered along the center of mass of the body/lens combo, ESPECIALLY when you're using a teleconverter. The center of mass is about where the tc is. The optimum way to solve the problem is to have a custom mount machined to slide on rails like the RRS/arca swiss view camera type rails. My way around the problem was to (1) use a RRS plate on the lens...ditch the coupler, (2) use a larger tripod w/ no center column (gitzo 340 and 410), and (3) use the RRS macro focusing slider mounted on the ballhead such that the center of mass is located over the head. Of course, the point of connecting (on the 300mm lens) will not be over the head, so when you tighten down the ballhead, you'll still see the frame change a little when you release your hand that's supporting the body due to its weight. OTOH, it's nearly not as much as before, so I've been able to live with it. It seems that something like the RRS focusing slider only with a longer rail and custom device on the back end that connects to the RRS plate under the body would allow one to to focus, then tighten the rear connector (rail to plate under camera body) to form a single, rigid unit. The drawback, however, is you cannot pan/focus since the helicoil causes the lens length to change, so you'd have to keep the rear rail connector loose. Hope this makes sense.

[wayne_crider4]

Jim, I think I have a better idea for you. Probably cheaper too.

[yui_cheng]

Folks, thanks for your valuable suggestions. Because I happen to have both Schneider zoom and 300mm lenses and I have been trying to find the best camera/lens support for my set up. My solution so far is to use the Rollei quick release adapter (as Jim correctly pointed out the "footprint" of this adapter is very small) on top of my Linhof quickfix plate and secure the combo onto my lenses. I use the B-2 ballhead to support the camera and lens. This is not a cost effective way nor is it the most secured way. I don't have any experience with neither Wimberley or Kirk Cobra devices. But I wonder why wouldn't Kirk or some others build a "sleeve" type adapter that is adjustable on a rack base to hold the big, long lenses for rock-solid support. Any one know of such an option? Regards.

[jim_chow]

Another possibility is to have a collar device made that fits over the outside of a teleconverter/lens. That device would then attach to a quick release plate. This way, you can locate the collar at the center of mass. However, if you use the 300mm w/ tc and have the collar around the tc, the lens will be unsupported (not that it's a problem since the mounts are very strong)...definitely not as bulletproof as my previous suggestion, which is more or less based on the Arca Swiss monorail. You could have a collar made for each lens that requires it.

[jim_chow]

It's not just that the Rollei quick release adapter has a small footprint, but the center of mass for the 300mm + tc is so far off, all the weight places the stress on one end of the connector, so the effective footprint is even smaller than the physical size. The RRS plate I'm using now helps alleviate that problem (I think it's plate 74n...can't be sure, though.).

[yui_cheng]

Jim, thanks for the additional information. I thought about using the Wimberley head before but had to give the idea up due to the same weight/gravity concerns that you had. Because what's missing is an adjustable collar (sleeve)/rail type adapter to work with the Wimberley head. I like the Linhof adapter over the regular Arca style quick releases is because it is almost accident proof so my equipments are protected. Hope someday soon there will be collar type adapters for MF long lenses like the ones Kirk is making for Nikon and Cannon 35mm SLRs. Cheers!