Frank Petronio
Well-known
If the Sinar heads are overpriced in China then how much did you pay for the Norma itself? Some people ask crazy prices ~ let them.
Elsewhere, a clean 4x5 Norma will sell in the $400 to $600 range and the heads will be in the $200 range, give or take. If you are in a hurry you may not be able to find one for a fair price, that's life. But if you went through the trouble to get a vintage Sinar Norma, I'd get the proper head for it, especially for the 8x10 usage where you need the extra strength and stability.
Short of that, a lot of the heads mentioned above may work OK for 4x5 but are not strong enough for 8x10. If I had to use something else I would look for a Gitzo 1504 3-way pan tilt or one of the rare Foba 2- or 3-axis pan-tilt heads (not their ball heads). The Manfrotto geared heads are OK if you keep them tightened and don't toss them around, I think they are fragile/brittle. The 405 will handle an Ebony 4x5 but certainly not a Sinar 8x10.
Actually any tripod/head that can support the weight will appear to work but when you go with something too light then you get subtle vibrations that lessen sharpness. Easy to demonstrate if you do a test with a heavy and light tripod set-up.
Elsewhere, a clean 4x5 Norma will sell in the $400 to $600 range and the heads will be in the $200 range, give or take. If you are in a hurry you may not be able to find one for a fair price, that's life. But if you went through the trouble to get a vintage Sinar Norma, I'd get the proper head for it, especially for the 8x10 usage where you need the extra strength and stability.
Short of that, a lot of the heads mentioned above may work OK for 4x5 but are not strong enough for 8x10. If I had to use something else I would look for a Gitzo 1504 3-way pan tilt or one of the rare Foba 2- or 3-axis pan-tilt heads (not their ball heads). The Manfrotto geared heads are OK if you keep them tightened and don't toss them around, I think they are fragile/brittle. The 405 will handle an Ebony 4x5 but certainly not a Sinar 8x10.
Actually any tripod/head that can support the weight will appear to work but when you go with something too light then you get subtle vibrations that lessen sharpness. Easy to demonstrate if you do a test with a heavy and light tripod set-up.
