Just curious about your tripods

[FallisPhoto]

1. Do you prefer lever/friction/speed latches on the legs or do you prefer collets?

Collets are the rings that screw down to lock the legs. I prefer those because they will never, never, never come open if you bump them and they don't wear out. On the other hand, they are not quite as fast as latches.

2. Do you prefer a pan head or a ball head, and why?

I prefer a pan head. I don't do a lot of action shots and I prefer the precision of a pan head. Ball heads, it seems to me, have one really strong point -- that they can get into action faster -- but that is all I can see that they have to recommend them.

 

[marke]

Even though my tripod has levers to lock the legs, I prefer collets. I just wasn't able to afford that type when I needed a tripod for my DSLR. I also have a smaller tripod that has collets, but I haven't used it much. Now that I'm involved in The Kodachrome Project, and I'm planning to shoot some night street scenes with my Leicas, it will be getting more use.

As far as the type of head goes, I prefer a ballhead for my normal DSLR and rangefinders. The only time I use something else is when I'm shooting wildlife. Then I use a gimbal head with big glass.

 

[rogue_designer]

I have several older Bogen's that have latches (3033, and 3011) - luckly they seem to be holding up. I know that collets are generally considered better long term.

As for heads. I have big 3 way pan/tilt heads for most of my work (3039 and similar) - I find it more accurate and reproducible for architecture and studio work. But I'm looking to get a ballhead for the smaller landscape pod that I throw in the trunk (and hoof around hiking). Probably one of the RRS heads.

It should be added, that I rarely use the tripods for any small format work. Maybe the occasional dSLR macro in the studio. Mostly, these are supporting the Horseman VHR, or the Wisner (6x7 and 4x5 view cameras) - so generally speaking, I am not concerned with speed, or weight (of the pod).

 

[Tuolumne]

I use a Gitzo tripod with RRS medium ball head. It's bomb proof, but somewhat heavy to carry around. The Gitzo uses collets to lock the legs in place.

I also use a Tiltall tripod which uses collets and a built-in tilting/pan head. After two decades this tripod costs less ($99) than it did in the '80s ($125), and is still made with incredible quality. I still prefer this tripod for general purpose use because of its light weight, high quality and ease of use.

/T

 

[Al Kaplan]

I have a little Leitz Table-Top tripod with the small Leitz ball head. I've used it sometimes by pushing it against a tree, a wall, even up against the ceiling sometimes, and it can also be used on a piece of furniture or the hood or roof of an automobile.

I have a Gitzo Studex for serious "tripod photography". Sometimes I use it with a Gitzo pan/tilt head and other times with a Slick ball head. No real reason, just whichever seems right at the moment. I used to also have the smaller Gitzo Reporter with a large Leitz ball head but the wife got it in the divorce settlement. The Gitzos have screw-down rubber rings. You buy a Gitzo and you have a lifetime tripod. I've had the Studex since the mid seventies and I bought the Reporter maybe five years earlier.

 

[photogdave]

I use a newer Gitzo Basalt tripod with the rapid locks. Basically you no longer have to lock off the first section before unlocking the next section. This makes it faster than the latch system.
I have a Kirk BH-3 ball head. It's small, light and can handle the payload of every camera/lens combination I own from 35mm to 6x6 MF. They use the Arca-style plates system so if you need specific lens/body plates there is lots of choice. I like ball heads for the size and speed.

 

[thetooth]

i use a carbon fiber bogen 3443d with levers and i on a 3 way bogon and a small gitzo ball head . works for me

 

[Jason Sprenger]

My go-to tripod is a Velbon 540 with flip-levers. I have had no trouble with the levers and they're fast. I've used this tripod with everything from 35mm RF to 4x5 Speed Graphic to a Nikon spotting scope.

For a tripod head, I use the Velbon PH-250B 3-way pan head that came with the tripod. I don't think a ball-head would work well with my spotting scope or the 4x5 Graphic.

 

[MartinP]

I use a cheap tubular-legged tripod, with lever-locks, at the moment, but am on the lookout for something second-hand that will go higher than 1m80.

Long ago I stopped using pan-heads when shooting architecture inside a very old church with an extremely unlevel floor. It was just too annoying to get the thing level every time I moved the tripod. A big ball-head proved to make things much simpler, that and mounting plates.

 

[ferider]

I use an older Gitzo Reporter tripod with Acratech Ultimate Ballhead. Oversized (which is good!) for my 35mm cameras, and strong enough to hold a Hasselblad. Not sure why I picked this head other than I played with several heads in a shop and really like how that one felt.

Roland.

 

[Roger Hicks]

You might (or might not) find the following interesting, though it really needs illustrating: http://www.rogerandfrances.com/photoschool/ps how tripod.html

The section on tripod heads doesn't exist yet, but I like NPC's ProHead, Novoflex's 'inside out' ball heads and Linhof's 3-way head. I see no merit in bulky, slow-to-use pan-and-tilt heads, though I do use them for bulky, slow-to-use LF.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[majid]

I use Gitzo CF tripods exclusively. I've pinched my fingers in Manfrotto lever locks often enough to have developed a strong loathing for them.

I use Acratech ball heads on my tripods, except for the Gitzo Traveler on which I use the Gitzo-supplied miniature ballhead.

 

[bennyng]

All my tripods and monopods are Gitzo with the rapid deployment G-lock. It's an improvement over their previous offering. I had the Slik tripods with latches previously, but now prefer the collet type.

As for head, I've stop using the 3 way pan head when I swop out of Slik tripods. All my tripod heads are ballheads.

Cheers,

 

[FallisPhoto]

I also use a Tiltall tripod which uses collets and a built-in tilting/pan head. After two decades this tripod costs less ($99) than it did in the '80s ($125), and is still made with incredible quality. I still prefer this tripod for general purpose use because of its light weight, high quality and ease of use.

Hey! Another Tiltall user! I have an old 70s Tiltall, a 50s Davidson (grandfather of the Tiltalls), and two Sliks. One of the Sliks has leg latches (it's supposed to be heavy duty, but I don't really trust it); all the rest have collets.

My go-to tripod is a Velbon 540 with flip-levers. I have had no trouble with the levers and they're fast.

I have. I've added three Velbons, over about a four year period, to the local landfill. I've found that their latches tend to self-destruct under heavy use. Maybe that's just me though. What really turned me off with leg latches though was when (years ago) one got snagged in my pants leg when I turned around; it popped open and tried to dump a Speed Graphic on the concrete floor. I managed to stick a foot under it before it hit, but that was the last time I ever trusted a tripod with leg latches. I also took a Velbon tripod out of my car's trunk one time only to find that one of the leg latches had disassembled itself during the drive. It was lying there under the tripod in four pieces. I just don't like latches. They're sneaky treacherous things.

I see no merit in bulky, slow-to-use pan-and-tilt heads, though I do use them for bulky, slow-to-use LF.

The advantage is precision. If you are shooting architecture, for instance, it is nice to have a pan head with a couple of levels built into it. It helps keep the architectural lines straighter. For landscapes, it is nice if your horizon is level. It is also nice if you are panning, so you are not panning uphill or downhill. If you are shooting people though, ... well, in a studio, when the person you are shooting is holding a pose, it doesn't matter much which you use -- the model isn't going anywhere. If the people you are shooting are moving though, a ball head is very much better. Also, landscapes and architecture don't tend to move much, so setting up time isn't much of a consideration. It really just depends on what you are shooting.

 

[oftheherd]

When strength, or maybe I should say camera weight may be a problem, I have a heavy duty Mamiya tripod with pant tilt head, and collets. I didn't get if for the collets, I got it for its strength and it came with collets. I don't really prefer them, but can use them.

For anything that they will support, which can be 4x5 under limited circumstances, I have some Velbons I am partial to. Both have pan tilt heads, one has levers on the legs, the other collets. Both have an adjustable column that can be tilted from verticle to horizontal. Makes for a good crime scene tripod as it is easy to use for closeups and still keeping distance if needed. Non-crime scene macro photography is of course easier too.

All three have the ability to unscrew the head and put it on the bottom of the column, which I think many tripods can do. I do have a couple of other Velbons that are a little smaller, with pan tilt heads and levers. I got them for various reasons and still use them sometimes. Frankly, I don't use tripods that much any more. I haven't done crime scenes in about 25 or so years. I don't need them for most of my current photography.

EDIT: I just saw your mention of latches/levers. I only like the older all aluminum tripods. I have only had one plastic levered tripod, which my wife bought for me after the house fire. It didn't last long. My aluminum legs have lasted a long time. Sorry yours haven't.

 

[JoeV]

My ~20 year old Bogen had the lock levers with knobs that rotated by ~90 degrees. After years of use, the helical surface of the locking mechanism became polished down smooth and the levers wouldn't stay locked; they relied on a rough finish to the molded plastic pieces to keep the friction high enough so they wouldn't slip.

So a few months ago I bought a new set of Bogen legs, using my old Bogen head. The new legs are great, having locking levers, with a positive cam-over that can't slip, and the center post is reversable for upside down camera shots between the tripod legs. And the legs have built-in rubber padding for shoulder carrying; my old leg set I used black foam pipe insulation to pad the legs for carrying.

~Joe

 

[dof]

I prefer tripods with collets and ball heads are definitely the way to go.

 

[newspaperguy]

Like Al, I treasure a Leitz tabletop tripod and ball head... had this one for 50+ years. (Leica Kleinstativ mit Kugelkopf)

My carry-in-the-truck is a Diawa forerunner of the Slik, with collets, and a Bogen ball head.
My only latch tripod is an old (and very short) 2-section Linhof that I used with TLRs.

 

[plummerl]

I have also had a Tiltall from the 70's, one which has always been very reliable. It finally suffered a seizure, and while I still plan to repair it (http://www.plumeltd.com/tiltall.htm), I went ahead and purchased a carbon fiber Feisol from http://www.reallybigcameras.com/ along with a terrific ballhead, Markins M10 (http://www.markinsamerica.com/MA5/M10.php). I still plan to repair the Tiltall (), but the urgency has been lessened. The weight difference is substantial!

 

[Pablito]

Tiltall is the ideal design for me. Unfortunately, every time the design got sold the machining got worse. But the original, made in New Jersey, was fabulous. Then the Leitz Tiltall was oK, subsequent versions were worse and worse. It's all in the quality of the machining.