Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: geesbert on October 20, 2006, 08:54:57 am
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i just received my new gitzo 2940 tripod and now i want to add a decent head. my actual choice is the rrs bh-40 head, but i would like to add the b2pro2 clamp, as i would love to have a bubble level. currently i use a slide-in hot shoe spirit level thingy, but with a pocket wizard on top it is annoying to use.
my question now: is the build-in clamp bubble really parallel with the camera and is the b2pro2 small enough to work with the bh-40? it looks quite a bit bigger that the standard one, so does it clear it on all sides?
stefan
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I personally prefer the bigger 55!!! And I believe the bubble level is fiarly accurate.
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i really want to save on weight here. this tripod is for when i am out without assistant, who carries my manfrotto triaut with geared head, which is a great tripod once set up, but a royal pain to carry around...
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I would get the BH-40 LR II that has the spirit level on a lever clamp. The BH-40 Pro II is the same thing but with a spirit level in a screw clamp.
When I bought my ball heads from RRS they didn't have the spirit level option. I have a BH-40 LR (lever clamp, no spirit level) on a Gitzo 1348 tripod and have been very pleased with it. The lever doesn't clear the base on a 1300 series Gitzo tripod, but you can move it to one of six positions, and mine has plenty of room to tighten and release without repositioning the lever.
I also have a BH-25 LR on a Gitzo 1128 tripod for minimum weight scenarios. But I use it very seldom compared to the 1348 & BH-40 combination.
I've used the panoramic tools from RRS, and I expect their spirit level would be very accurate, both in relation to the camera (I'd recommend a RRS L plate) and it's accuracy for actual horizon level.
RRS isn't cheap, but it is fantastically functional, absolutely reliable, and aesthetically pleasing. If it was cheap, too, I doubt anyone else would still be in the ball head - clamp - plate business.
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as i am also using non-rrs plates i think i cannot get the lever clamp. i wouldn't consider using a ballhead without a l-plate! the rrs l-plates are fabulous!