Tripod for TLRs/WLV cameras

[shorelineae]

I currently have a Rollei City Traveller XL tripod with a simple ball head.

The Problem
It's perfect and small enough for TLRs and easy to use but often, one of the legs doesn't lock and the tripod collapses. I'm looking for an appropriate replacement for it.

Cameras to be used on it:
Ricoh Diacord G (light) and a Bronica S2A (heavy).

Use case:

• I will mostly be walking around with it or driving around with it in my car. It would help if it was travel friendly but it's not necessary.
• I aim to use it for 'street scenes' so it would help if I was able to set it up quickly.

Budget... I am tempted to buy a Gitzo Series 0 or 1 or the like but I would have to justify the purchase as I'm not a professional and not earning anything from my photography.

Any suggestions?

 

[CMur12]

I have a Bogen/Manfrotto tripod with a medium format 3D head that I really like. I don't know much about current tripods, but I would offer the following considerations. (My Manfrotto 3020 tripod may be heavier/sturdier than you require.)

1. As you are probably already aware, you don't need as robust a tripod for cameras with waist-level finders (WLFs), since you don't require anywhere near as much extension as you would for eye-level viewing. This is especially true for a TLR, which generates so little vibration. Your Bronica SLR would be heavier and generate more vibration, so I'm not sure how much more support it would require.

2. Ball heads: I don't mind ball heads for eye-level cameras, but I don't like them for WLF cameras. I prefer a 3D head that tilts separately on two separate axes, as it enables me to fine-tube alignments more precisely. (I find that I am more sensitive to lines and alignments with a WLF than with an ELF.)

I hope you find a good tripod and head that fit your needs.

- Murray

 

[Godfrey]

For the kinds of use you mention, I've been using a Peak Design Travel Tripod. It's sturdy enough for my Hasselblad 500CM with a 150mm lens, light enough to carry all day, and packs down very compact ... about two soda cans stacked on top of one another. It deploys very quickly and folds up just as quickly. Not inexpensive, but a high quality tripod that will last for many, many years of use.

G

 

[CMur12]

I think the kind of tripod head I was referring to is more commonly called a pan-tilt or three-way head.

Here is a simple Manfrotto head like mine, but smaller:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/553889-REG/Manfrotto_056_056_3_D_Junior_Head.html

Mine has a larger platform and adjustable levers, rather than knobs, for adjustment. I don't see it listed at BH Photo, but I may have bought the tripod and head 25 years ago, so they may no longer offer it.

Godfrey, that Peak tripod looks good. It is a bit expensive, but I'm impressed that you can use it with a Hasselblad and 150mm lens.

- Murray

 

[Dan Daniel]

I've found this Manfrotto 3-way head to work well for a variety of cameras and weights. The handles push in so it become fairly compact. I bought an Arca adapter and mounted it to a Manfrotto quick release because I am set up for those plates.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1034870-REG/manfrotto_mhxpro_3w_3_way_pan_tilt_head.html

I have it mounted on a Feisol carbon tripod, a fairly typical style.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._CT_3442_Tournament_CT_3442_Rapid_Tripod.html

 

[Spavinaw]

I have an ancient Star D by Davidson tripod. Think I got it back in the 1950's. It is a three section, twist locking legs, no center column tripod. The head has a removable plate that is 2 7/8 inch (72mm) square. It will support all four corners of a TLR. Seems the tripod was made for a TLR because the head rotates and pivots front to back but does not flip over 90 degrees as for a vertical shot. I know there are fancier models with a geared center post. Don't know if they have the plate for TLR's.

 

[shorelineae]

Thanks all.
@Spavinaw I really like the look of the square plate.
@Cmurl12 Good point about the ballhead, I did find it harder to adjust the horizon precisely. I've never used that pan-tilt type of head before - is it easy to setup/adjust fast?

 

[CMur12]

Thanks all.
@Spavinaw I really like the look of the square plate.
@Cmurl12 Good point about the ballhead, I did find it harder to adjust the horizon precisely. I've never used that pan-tilt type of head before - is it easy to setup/adjust fast?

I find it easy and quick to adjust, though I'm usually doing everything in a methodical, unhurried manner.

Though the alignments are made in two steps, to manage two planes, I think precise alignment is much quicker and easier to accomplish this way than with a ball head. I find it almost impossible to be precise with a ball head.

- Murray

 

[chipgreenberg]

Gitzo

Gitzo

I have a Gitzo Series 1 1545TUS I really like. I have a Markins head on it. I use it with my Minolta Autocord (light) and Rollie 6008af (not so light). The tripod is certainly light enough to carry and folds compactly when needed. Seems fine with either camera. I'm not that tall and don't fully extend the first 2 leg sections to get to WLF height for me. The locks work great, it's a quality product. I also walk with it a bit and leave it in my car. The legs fold over the head to reduce length but I usually don't do that to speed up set up time a bit.

25 years ago when I sold my studio one of the few things I kept was my Gitzo tripod with a Foba head. It got stolen from my trunk in NYC and I never replaced it with something that expensive (until recently) because I wasn't "earning anything from photography anymore" and it was hard to justify the expensive. I'm glad I finally replaced it. Since I won't have it in NYC anymore I hope it's a lifetime purchase!

 

[seany65]

I have a Neewer 62" tripod which is more or less the right height when the centre column is at the bottom of it's travel. it has a ball head with two spirit levels, one for when the camera is horizontal and one for when it's vertical. Unfortunately they are the bubble-in-circle type so not much use for panning or tilting.

I did have to buy the head separately in order to get two bubble levels as the original head only had the vertical bubble.

They do make other heads.

 

[aizan]

How tall are you? Do you want a center column? That will help narrow the choices.

I can't think of any pan/tilt heads that are small enough for a series 0 or 1 legset. The Arca-Swiss D4, Linhof 3-D Levelling Head II, Foba ASMIO, Cambo Precision Controlled Manual Head, and Sirui FD-01 are "compact," but they're series 2 or 3.

 

[shorelineae]

How tall are you? Do you want a center column? That will help narrow the choices.

5 feet 11 inches.

I am still pondering over it. What I like about the current tripod with the dodgy leg is that I can simply pick it up and walk around with it.
I don't think I need a center column as such.

 

[besk]

For traveling I am willing to stoop. I use the lightest Sirui carbon fiber tripod.
I am 6'.

 

[Richard G]

I have a cheap Slik carbon fiber in the boot of my car. The compact Gitzo Traveler is great, but for your needs the tedium of reversing the legs of a Traveler tripod is not worth it. Unless you have it set up all the time.

 

[Rob-F]

I have the Gitzo Totalux, which is small and compact. But since I got the [Pro]Master carbon fiber of the same size, I don't use the Gitzo much. The [Pro]Master is faster to set up, and lighter in weight. There is an advantage to using the heavier Gitzo, though. The greater weight makes for a more solid, stable base for the camera.

I've use my Acratech ball head on it, mostly. I have picked up a Gitzo pan and tilt head, which can be easier to set up than a ball head, although not as good for travel and compactness.

 

[john_s]

Regardless of the type of head, I have found the Arca-type plate and clamp very secure and easy to use, in my case RRS and Kirk. The only think I don't like is that it annoys me when hand holding the camera because of the protruding plate on the bottom. On balance, that is worth putting up with.

 

[Rob-F]

Regardless of the type of head, I have found the Arca-type plate and clamp very secure and easy to use, in my case RRS and Kirk. The only think I don't like is that it annoys me when hand holding the camera because of the protruding plate on the bottom. On balance, that is worth putting up with.

Yes the plate is a nuisance for hand-held shooting with a 35mm camera, or a DSLR. It's slightly less annoying on the Hasselblad. But in either case, I wind up removing it for hand-held shooting.

 

[p.giannakis]

I am reading everyone's comments and googling you recommendations. I have a small Rolleicord so I am in the lookout for a tripod too. I have used cheap second hand tripods in the past I have been very happy with them (important for me to have a spirit level bubble), charity shop finds no more than £20.
Some of the suggestions are well above £200 - have you noticed the benefits in terms of stability and ergonomics over the cheaper equivalents?

 

[Hari]

I'm looking too. The Tiltall at 6 lbs is too heavy.
The Leitz Table Tripod is sometimes useful as
is the Minox table tripod. I'm looking for a
2 to 3 lbs tripod that puts the Rollei at waist level,
so it doesn't have to have many sections.

 

[shorelineae]

I'm looking for a
2 to 3 lbs tripod that puts the Rollei at waist level

When I'm hand holding my TLR, I like to focus with it at chest level and then sometimes I switch to waist level. With that in mind, it would be nice to have a small tripod on which I could quickly adjust the height of the center column. So the legs don't have to be that big.

I don't expect to be doing ultra long exposures as such on this sort of tripod..