Geared heads are expensive, but eventually I got tired of the play of my Manfrotto 410 (it shifted positions slightly every time I slided in the sliding back on my Linhof Techno) so I eventually got an Arca-Swiss D4 and lived happily ever after.
A friend of mine needs to upgrade the 410 sooner or later and the question is what alternatives there are out there today.
Arca-Swiss Cube
Linhof 3D Micro (less flexible cube, but also a bit less costly, at least in Europe)
PhotoClam Multiflex (AS Cube ripoff, almost as expensive as the original)
Arca-Swiss D4
KPS T5 (geared ballhead, unique(?) design)
Sunwayfoto GH-Pro (lighter D4 copy)
Manfrotto 410 (quite heavy, has issues with play)
Manfrotto 405 (very heavy, no good for field use)
...plus probably a bunch of super-heavy studio stuff, but interested in heads for field use here 1.5kgs or lighter
As far as I know the first five are up to the task of handling the weight of a view camera with sliding back, but all of those are also rather expensive. The Sunwayfoto GH-Pro is the most interesting budget alternative as it seems, but I haven't been able to find any information on how well it really handles the heavier cameras. Anyone who knows?
Also, I'd like to know if there are any more heads to add to the list above.
A friend of mine needs to upgrade the 410 sooner or later and the question is what alternatives there are out there today.
Arca-Swiss Cube
Linhof 3D Micro (less flexible cube, but also a bit less costly, at least in Europe)
PhotoClam Multiflex (AS Cube ripoff, almost as expensive as the original)
Arca-Swiss D4
KPS T5 (geared ballhead, unique(?) design)
Sunwayfoto GH-Pro (lighter D4 copy)
Manfrotto 410 (quite heavy, has issues with play)
Manfrotto 405 (very heavy, no good for field use)
...plus probably a bunch of super-heavy studio stuff, but interested in heads for field use here 1.5kgs or lighter
As far as I know the first five are up to the task of handling the weight of a view camera with sliding back, but all of those are also rather expensive. The Sunwayfoto GH-Pro is the most interesting budget alternative as it seems, but I haven't been able to find any information on how well it really handles the heavier cameras. Anyone who knows?
Also, I'd like to know if there are any more heads to add to the list above.