Selecting a tripod head to go on my "Hiker" tripod (a modified 3205g) :
My tripod head requirements are: weight, compact size, quick-release, built-in level (preferred), and easy panning for panoramas. I'm shooting a Nikon N2000 body, a Nikkor 28-105 zoom, and a Nikon 300mm f5.6. The total weight is only a couple pounds.
I selected the Bogen 3437 magnesium 3D, so far it has been very good for landscape and most of the animal shots.
Here are the tripod heads (and quick-release adapters) I looked at:
|
Item |
Desc. |
Height |
Q-R |
Level |
Tension |
Pan |
Weight |
Capacity |
Cost |
|
3030 |
Bogen |
5.25” |
Yes |
No |
- |
Yes |
2
lbs |
13.2
lbs |
48.50 |
|
3437 |
Bogen |
4.1” |
Yes |
Yes |
- |
Yes |
1.1
lbs |
6.6
lbs |
86.50 |
|
3296 |
Bogen |
|
Yes |
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
32.95 |
|
3049 |
Bogen
|
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
14.95 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3026 |
Bogen |
5” |
Yes |
- |
No |
Yes |
1.4
lbs |
12
lbs |
31.50 |
|
3262
QR |
Bogen |
4.4” |
Yes |
- |
No |
No |
1.25
lbs |
8.8
lbs |
42.95 |
|
3413
QR |
Bogen |
4.1” |
Yes |
- |
No |
No |
1.2
lbs |
8.8
lbs |
47.95 |
|
3435
QR |
Bogen |
4.7” |
Yes |
- |
Yes |
Yes |
1.1
lbs |
22
lbs |
194.95 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G1276M |
Gitzo |
4.75” |
Yes |
- |
No |
Yes |
1.25
lbs |
11
lbs |
162.95 |
|
MH
1001 |
Giotto |
4” |
No |
- |
Yes |
Yes |
.81
lbs |
17.6 |
89.95 |
|
MH
1000 |
Giotto |
4.5” |
No |
- |
Yes |
Yes |
1.3
lbs |
22
lbs |
109.95 |
|
Mini |
Foba |
3.9” |
Yes |
- |
Yes |
No |
1.3
lbs |
12
lbs |
239.95 |
|
BH-1 |
Kirk |
|
Yes |
- |
Yes |
Yes |
2
lbs |
|
339.95 |
|
B-1 |
Arca |
4.5” |
Yes |
- |
Yes |
Yes |
1.7
lbs |
90
lbs |
399.95 |
Both the Giotto MH1001 medium ball head (with an additional quick-release adaptor or the Kirk modification) and the Bogen 3437 magnesium 3D (pan/tilt) head met my requirements at a reasonable cost:
I chose the Bogen 3437 3D (pan/tilt) head for the following reasons:
Everyone recommended a ball head...but, they recommended the BH-1 or B-1 at more than $300. Cheaper ball-heads were fine for some folks but most found them unacceptable. So I decided on a nicer pan/tilt rather than a cheap ball. Someday ($) I'll make the move to a ball-head.
A Bogen "Hiker" with 3437 head.
Hiking Tripod - Selecting a compact tripod for use while hiking
How to test your camera/tripod setup for camera shake.
An experiment on the effects of a 1% image resize in Photoshop. Also, optimum image sizing for the Fuji frontier.
The Wildlife Page - animal shots taken from my yard.
Comments are welcome, email Jack.
Page created March 2001.
made it this far.