divewizard
perspicaz
About a 18 months ago I bought a MeFoto C2350 GlobeTrotter Caron fiber tripod to use with my Fuji 6x9s, Mamiya 6, Hasselblad 500CM, and SLRs.
I already had a very nice Induro tripod with a Really Right Stuff BH-55 ball head I love, but it is far to heavy to carry on hikes. The RRS head works with anything I put on it including dual Pentax 6x7s on a bar I use for high resolution stereo photography. I can put anything on the RSS ball head and with the tension knob easily position it, and when I have it positioned tighten it and it does not move.
My issue with the MeFoto tripod is the ball head is close to useless. When I tighten the ball head after I position a shot it moves significantly, so much so that accurately setting up a shot is close to impossible :bang:.
So for the last few weeks I have researched replacement candidates that are light weight, small enough to fit in the case when installed on the tripod, have a tension knob for positioning, and do not move when locked down.
I initially looked at the RRS BH-25 & BH-30 ball heads, but I eliminated them because they lack the tensioning knob. After even more research I narrowed my choice down the the Acratech GP-ss and Nomad. Although the GP-ss is a bit heavier, it also has the ability flip and be a leveling panoramic head or a a gimbal head.
I wanted to see if the tripod would still fold up in compact manner with this Arcatech GP-ss so I found out that Samy's Camera is a dealer. I live a block from the Culver City store so I called them, but they did not have it, but told me the the store on Fairfax had one in stock. So I headed to the Fairfax store.
I took my MeFoto tripod, Nikon D750, and Nikkor 28-300mm lens with me because it was the heaviest camera I have, except for my Pentax 6x7s, and with the lens extended it has a significant amount of weight off axis.
When I got to Samy's Fairfax store I first went to the area where they sell most of their tripods and ball heads, but could not find the Acratech products. After some inquiry I was directed the professional suite on the 4th floor. When I went up I was greeted by a very nice saleswoman who looked up the GP-ss and saw it was in their store warehouse and went and got it for me. She let me try it out with my camera and tripod. I was a bit worried it it not work well since the ball is smaller than the full GP sized unit, but when I tried worked great. the tension knob was very easy to adjust, and when I positioned the camera and tightened it down the position of the camera did not move. I then tried the legs folded up and saw that I could position the ball head so the tripod folded as compactly as before and easily fit in the case. I was sold and I told her I would take it. She gave me the 10% professional discount and I paid her and headed home with
I have since tried this with most of my cameras and it works great, I have not tried the Pentax 6x7 yet, but i suspect it well work well for that as well.
In this image you can see that the Acratech GP-ss ball head is just slightly larger than the original MeFoto Q2 ball head.
The above tow photos show two different methods of compacting the MeFoto C2350 GlobeTrotter carbon fiber tripod with the Acratech GP-ss ball head. Both methods fit in the case and are as small as with the original ball head.
The folded MeFoto C2350 GlobeTrotter tripod with the Acratech GP-ss head easily fits in the case.
photos and text ©2018 Chris Grossman, all rights reserved
I already had a very nice Induro tripod with a Really Right Stuff BH-55 ball head I love, but it is far to heavy to carry on hikes. The RRS head works with anything I put on it including dual Pentax 6x7s on a bar I use for high resolution stereo photography. I can put anything on the RSS ball head and with the tension knob easily position it, and when I have it positioned tighten it and it does not move.
My issue with the MeFoto tripod is the ball head is close to useless. When I tighten the ball head after I position a shot it moves significantly, so much so that accurately setting up a shot is close to impossible :bang:.
So for the last few weeks I have researched replacement candidates that are light weight, small enough to fit in the case when installed on the tripod, have a tension knob for positioning, and do not move when locked down.
I initially looked at the RRS BH-25 & BH-30 ball heads, but I eliminated them because they lack the tensioning knob. After even more research I narrowed my choice down the the Acratech GP-ss and Nomad. Although the GP-ss is a bit heavier, it also has the ability flip and be a leveling panoramic head or a a gimbal head.
I wanted to see if the tripod would still fold up in compact manner with this Arcatech GP-ss so I found out that Samy's Camera is a dealer. I live a block from the Culver City store so I called them, but they did not have it, but told me the the store on Fairfax had one in stock. So I headed to the Fairfax store.
I took my MeFoto tripod, Nikon D750, and Nikkor 28-300mm lens with me because it was the heaviest camera I have, except for my Pentax 6x7s, and with the lens extended it has a significant amount of weight off axis.
When I got to Samy's Fairfax store I first went to the area where they sell most of their tripods and ball heads, but could not find the Acratech products. After some inquiry I was directed the professional suite on the 4th floor. When I went up I was greeted by a very nice saleswoman who looked up the GP-ss and saw it was in their store warehouse and went and got it for me. She let me try it out with my camera and tripod. I was a bit worried it it not work well since the ball is smaller than the full GP sized unit, but when I tried worked great. the tension knob was very easy to adjust, and when I positioned the camera and tightened it down the position of the camera did not move. I then tried the legs folded up and saw that I could position the ball head so the tripod folded as compactly as before and easily fit in the case. I was sold and I told her I would take it. She gave me the 10% professional discount and I paid her and headed home with
I have since tried this with most of my cameras and it works great, I have not tried the Pentax 6x7 yet, but i suspect it well work well for that as well.
In this image you can see that the Acratech GP-ss ball head is just slightly larger than the original MeFoto Q2 ball head.
The above tow photos show two different methods of compacting the MeFoto C2350 GlobeTrotter carbon fiber tripod with the Acratech GP-ss ball head. Both methods fit in the case and are as small as with the original ball head.
The folded MeFoto C2350 GlobeTrotter tripod with the Acratech GP-ss head easily fits in the case.
photos and text ©2018 Chris Grossman, all rights reserved
Richard G
Veteran
Real world example of a solution to a common problem. Thanks.
kxl
Social Documentary
Acratech makes great products. I've had the Acratech Ultimate ballhead for years. Their manufacturing plant is in Pomona, which is about 40 miles east of you. I actually bought mine directly from the plant, where I met Scott, their founder and designer. He offered me a 'factory second' -- a small bit of coating on the bottom had chipped off -- at a steep discount so I bought it on the spot. Great company, great products.
divewizard
perspicaz
You're welcome