Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/08/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Speaking about "on the platform" I had an eye opening experience the other day. I had a two foot stool set up on my white backdrop and i turned a light on it. We were talking about large format. So I grabbed my Cambo Calumet 45NX 4x5 camera which i hardly use and my Gitzo 320 Studex Performance was sitting there already set up but with no head on it. No head in sight. So I put the camera RIGHT on the tripod platform which had NO HEAD on it. I had just read last week on the large format list the people used to do this with wooden tripods; use no head. So with the camera on the tripod with no head in between it was never so vibration free and secure and certainly LEVEL. I dropped the front standard which was not enough so I raised the back and there the stool was upside down right in the middle of the groundglass! And with no converging perspective as the back was parallel to the upright stool. This sure turned my head around! Made me want to go out and get some LF shots with the camera right on the tripod! I might bring the head along just in case but it made for a much more wobbly arrangement when I tried it later. Mark William Rabiner don't need no stinkin tripod head