Gitzo G1270 head any good for 400-500 mm telephoto lenses?

[memento]

Hi everyone,

just a quick question: I could get a Gitzo G1270 head for a good price and I do in fact need a decent, but lightweight and not toooo expensive, head for telephoto photography with e.g. a 70-400/4-5.6 zoom or fixed 400/5.6 lenses. I am using a Sony A7R but other Sony bodies with APS-C sensor might also be used with this.

Is the head any good for this? My main concern is weight, stability and cost.

Thanks,
Thomas

[Ellis Vener]

If your lenses have rotating tripod mount collars, and you can find one for a reasonable price,   the Sinar Pan Tilt head is really had to beat for telephoto work. No roll (lateral) tilt  but the rotating tripod collar on the lens takes care of that need and the head can support an extremely heavy load. I used one with a  600mm f/4 AI-S Nikkor and my Nikon F5 cameras as well as  Sinar P and C 4x5 view cameras. The Foba ASMIO head is virtually the same thing. If you want a geared head the Majestic tripod heads do a great job as well. The Majectic heads are heavy, relatively large and bulky but very precise and you can find them on eBay usually for under $100.00.  The Majestics aren't great for photographing  things and animals that are in motion but they will likely outlast your grandkids, as will the Sinar and Foba heads. 

Even  though I owned two (a No.5 and a No. 3) I was never a fan of the Gitzo Rationale panning double-tilt heads: too much creep when working with long lenses and doing architectural work. 

[uvl]

I'm using this and have used it with a DSLR +  Sigma 150mm F2.8. It's versatile and IMHO the only head which goes with this kind of tripods. You can point down the center column and still have the camera in an upright position. That's not possible with any other head. The Gitzo 1270 is a quite solid construction compared to similar sized ballheads. You can even get spareparts for it in case you want to modify.
I wouldn't use it for birding because it might tilt with a heavy camera on it. Maybe hanging it on the boom arm with the camera upside down would work for that

[Ellis Vener]

"You can point down the center column and still have the camera in an upright position."

I don't understand what you mean. I get the pointing down the column bit - if you are referring to point the camera down at the ground but not the upright bit. 

[uvl]

I mean this: with the camera bottom plate parallel to the ground. Sorry for my bad English.