Equipment & Techniques > Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear

FTM CB-##FT and FTR tripod heads; anyone using them?

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Ellis Vener:
I was doing a web search the other day and, while I had seen the brand name before , had never investigated the German made FLM product line. 

The CB-##FT  tripod head design looks really interesting: it's a true ball head but you can lock the head at any angle and then use another control    for pitch (fore/aft tilt) movement. The -FTR adds click stocks o the panning movement at the base of the head. I'm not really interested i the FTR model.

Is anyone using these heads? What has been your experience with them? If you have also used o ne of the other leading ball heads from Arca-Swiss or RRS, etc., how do they compare?  Is the multiplicity of controls  confusing when you are doing field work?

A link to the FT model I am interested in: http://www.flm-gmbh.de/en/products/tripod-heads/professional-tripod-heads/cb-48ft/

peter_c:
I have the CB 48-FTR fitted with SRB-60 plate, bought just a few months ago.  Can't say I've used it extensively; the tilt lock works as advertised but within the limits of a ballhead.  Once you have the ballhead set to the desired friction level, a simple twist locks the ball in place, so it's not confusing.  The head was bought to update my Gitzo pan / tilt and offset ball heads on a 30+ year old gigantic Gitzo tripod with both Contax 645 and Sony A7 series cameras.  The fit and finish of the head is very high as one would expect of Made in Germany gear and locks down rock solid.  I'm pretty sure it would handle my technical camera or a 400mm lens easily.  It's been years since I handled an Arca Swiss but believe the FLM to be in the same league.  I was impressed enough that I just took delivery of a small FLM head for my tiny Gitzo Traveller for an upcoming holiday.  They're under the radar but I think FLM is worth seeking out.

Ellis Vener:
Thank you  Peter. I'm leaning towards adding a CB-48Ft to my collection of tripod heads, but neither of FLM's USA dealers have it in stock. Adorama carries the CB-48FTR but since I'm pretty sure I don't need the 15-degree detents on the panning base I don't want to pay an additional $70.00 for that feature. I'll be replacing the flat camera platform that comes with the head for an RRS panning clamp

Ellis Vener:
I ended up ordering a refurbished / demo   FLM CB-58FTR directly from FLMcanada.com and  it should be here sometime this week. Thank you to Peter C for suggesting that I see what they had in demo stock.

Ellis Vener:
As I wrote earlier, I decided to go with the CB-58FTR instead of the CB-48FTR. In for a penny, in for a pound!

It arrived last night and while I haven't had a chance to do any real world testing, I do want to share what I worked out about how to use the tilt lock mechanism as the manual the head came with wasn't at all helpful, how to use the base rotation index, and my initial impressions.

Tilt lock:

1) Lock the panning base and fully loosen the main control and the tilt lock control.

2) Set the roll (left/right tilt) angle and set the tilt lock.

3) Set the pitch (fore/aft) angle and then lock the main control.

Overall initial impressions:

It's very well built and not as large as I expected it to be. The controls feel very positive.

When engaged, the click stops for the panning base feel positive but not stiff. There is a spring loaded button in the center of this control. With the head oriented so the index mark on the side of the head is at 0 holding down the button  keeps the head from rotating when installing or removing the head from a tripod. 

The "stop ring" on the main control is pretty easy to figure out. Basically it's a tension control so you can set a minimum tension  that is appropriate for the weight and balance of the camera and lens (or if you shoot pans or macros, the camera+lens+rail(s)+ vertical arm) of your panoramic set up). It's easier to use than the thumbscrew tension control on my Arca-Swiss B1 and B2 Monorail heads.

The way I have decided to set up the CB-58FTR is with the main control to the left and the panning and tilt/lock controls to the right side. The main control is at about a 170-degree angle from the tilt-lock and panning control. This places the drop down slot facing forward.

I have also replaced the basic (tiny) platform the head came with a Really Right Stuff PC-LR panning clamp. As  a general note I  find that having panning mechanisms at the base of the head and at the camera level is a far better way to work  than just having a single panning movement.

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