How to shoot Down with Arca-Swiss L60 / L75

[dchew]

The L60 / L75 geared heads are relatively small, light and solid for a geared head. Their Achilles heel has been range of adjustment. The 75 is limited to 15 degrees, L60 only 10. This isn't quite as bad as it sounds because you can shorten one or two legs of the tripod to get an addition 20 degrees or so. If that isn't enough, you can add a leveling base like the RRS TA-2U for an additional 20 degrees.

That is plenty of adjustment for normal shots, but it still doesn't allow for shooting straight down for leaves, rocks or other close encounters. I've been trying to come up with other gadgets or adapters that would enable shooting down (or up I guess). So far, this is the best thing I've found in my several boxes of idle pieces-parts that I've gathered over the years. It is from RRS; I think it's the L-bracket from an A7r. I don't know for sure. It is stamped "BA7-L, which makes me think it is from the Sony:

It weighs 50 grams and seems pretty solid. Here is how it connects the STC to the L60, but it would work on just about any camera:

It is not the best solution, but it works and is what I have sitting around. I wonder if anyone else has solved this in a more elegant way, or if there is a product out there designed to do this that doesn't weigh too much?

Dave

 

[jng]

The L60 / L75 geared heads are relatively small, light and solid for a geared head. Their Achilles heel has been range of adjustment. The 75 is limited to 15 degrees, L60 only 10. This isn't quite as bad as it sounds because you can shorten one or two legs of the tripod to get an addition 20 degrees or so. If that isn't enough, you can add a leveling base like the RRS TA-2U for an additional 20 degrees.

That is plenty of adjustment for normal shots, but it still doesn't allow for shooting straight down for leaves, rocks or other close encounters. I've been trying to come up with other gadgets or adapters that would enable shooting down (or up I guess). So far, this is the best thing I've found in my several boxes of idle pieces-parts that I've gathered over the years. It is from RRS; I think it's the L-bracket from an A7r. I don't know for sure. It is stamped "BA7-L, which makes me think it is from the Sony:

It weighs 50 grams and seems pretty solid. Here is how it connects to the STC to the L60, but it would work on just about any camera:

It is not the best solution, but it works and is what I have sitting around. I wonder if anyone else has solved this in a more elegant way, or if there is a product out there designed to do this that doesn't weigh too much?

Dave

Dave, I think you're on to something here... I would add this small clamp from RRS; it takes a 1/4" threaded bolt and can be attached to the bracket, which would make mounting and unmounting the camera much simpler. I think the functionality would be worth the extra 64 grams.



John

 

[dchew]

I like that idea. If there is enough clearance, I could attach that to the female thread at the bottom of the vertical part, then hack off most of the aluminum above that.

You know how I love to modify stuff, even when it doesn't make sense.

Dave

 

[jng]

I like that idea. If there is enough clearance, I could attache that to the female thread at the bottom of the vertical part, then hack off most of the aluminum above that.

You know how I love to modify stuff, even when it doesn't make sense.

Dave

So you haven’t sold off your Sawzall?

 

[Vilpo]

Did somebody here mention Novoflex corner piece QPL 4590?

QPL 4590

Corner piece with 4x 1/4 thread

www.novoflex.de

 

[JeffK]

this is so timely. I messaged Rod Klukas at Arca Swiss recently, about how I could do something similar with my L75. These are great ideas. And I have a bracket for my A7r2 from RRS as well. Big question is if it will support the "beast"? I may still want to look at a Cube anyways. It will look cool on the shelf.

 

[dchew]

Did somebody here mention Novoflex corner piece QPL 4590?

QPL 4590

Corner piece with 4x 1/4 thread

www.novoflex.de

That could work depending on how it would connect to the camera. I suppose just screwing it in with a hex tool wouldn’t be too bad.

Anyone know how much it weighs?

Dave

 

[Smoothjazz]

It looks good Dave, and I am debating whether I should buy the L75 head. I am sure I have a spare bracket lying around like this as well.
My question is at this point, adding the bracket, how much weight savings is there over the Area Swiss cube?

 

[dchew]

It looks good Dave, and I am debating whether I should buy the L75 head. I am sure I have a spare bracket lying around like this as well.
My question is at this point, adding the bracket, how much weight savings is there over the Area Swiss cube?

L75 is 630 grams, plus some sort of L bracket should be less than 100 grams, so ~750 vs 1100.
Approaching a pound. But if you need to add a leveling base, that won’t be good.
Dave

 

[JeffK]

Michael Strickland does a review of the cube https://www.michaelstricklandimages.com/blog/2016/10/5/gear-review-arca-swiss-cube-c1. He show's this use case in the review for the cube. Looks cool.

 

[Vilpo]

For Alpa STC, a stitching mount?

 

[jng]

For Alpa STC, a stitching mount?

Well that certainly appears to be the most elegant solution. But how many grams (and dollars/Euros) of unobtanium would this add up to?

 

[dchew]

For Alpa STC, a stitching mount?

And why did I never think of that??

 

[jng]

this is so timely. I messaged Rod Klukas at Arca Swiss recently, about how I could do something similar with my L75. These are great ideas. And I have a bracket for my A7r2 from RRS as well. Big question is if it will support the "beast"? I may still want to look at a Cube anyways. It will look cool on the shelf.

View attachment 195326

Michael Strickland does a review of the cube https://www.michaelstricklandimages.com/blog/2016/10/5/gear-review-arca-swiss-cube-c1. He show's this use case in the review for the cube. Looks cool.

These are beasts, indeed. There's nothing quite like the Cube when it comes to stability, including when shooting straight down. However this can get dangerously tippy as there is a lot of mass handing pretty far from the tripod apex. I compensate by extending the rear tripod leg further and at a greater angle from vertical, so the whole contraption appears to be sitting back on that rear leg. This photo shows my typical setup,although you can't quite see the angle of the rear tripod leg that's extended off to the right.

John

 

[MGrayson]

These are beasts, indeed. There's nothing quite like the Cube when it comes to stability, including when shooting straight down. However this can get dangerously tippy as there is a lot of mass handing pretty far from the tripod apex. I compensate by extending the rear tripod leg further and at a greater angle from vertical, so the whole contraption appears to be sitting back on that rear leg. This photo shows my typical setup,although you can't quite see the angle of the rear tripod leg that's extended off to the right.
View attachment 195330
John

Extra points for the kitty.

 

[docholliday]

When shooting downward with any camera, I tend to not use any head, but rather a lateral arm that I can counterbalance with a sandbag. Reduces instability a lot, no worries about tipping, and forces the camera mass to balance over the center of the apex. I used to hang a geared head or Z1 on the end, but found that it wasn't necessary if I was on level ground/floor and actually made it easier to level. I started doing this when I shot 8x10 and kept the habit.

The lateral arm also allows me to push the camera further away from the tripod by simply adjusting the counterweight. Not the lightest weight solution, but I'll take stability and safety over a few extra ounces anyday. During a production shoot, there's so many things happening to pay attention to and the last thing I wanted to add was a camera support that could easily come crashing down.

If I'm out on some personal shooting, I've taken the lateral arm with me and an empty sandbag. I can always pick up some rocks to make a balance bag that I can just dump out when I'm done.

 

[dchew]

For Alpa STC, a stitching mount?

Is that the one for the Max? I have one for the 12+ and it doesn't fit. I also have the one specifically for the STC, but it isn't like that, so I assume it is the one for the Max here:
Alpa Max Stitching Adapter

 

[jng]

Is that the one for the Max? I have one for the 12+ and it doesn't fit. I also have the one specifically for the STC, but it isn't like that, so I assume it is the one for the Max here:
Alpa Max Stitching Adapter

Zoiks! 256 CHF! I suppose the good news (if you’re in the US) is that the US dollar is strong right now. But sheesh, thatsalottadough!

John

 

[FloatingLens]

These are beasts, indeed. There's nothing quite like the Cube when it comes to stability, including when shooting straight down. However this can get dangerously tippy as there is a lot of mass handing pretty far from the tripod apex. I compensate by extending the rear tripod leg further and at a greater angle from vertical, so the whole contraption appears to be sitting back on that rear leg. This photo shows my typical setup,although you can't quite see the angle of the rear tripod leg that's extended off to the right.
View attachment 195330
John

FWIW, I also ended up in the situation with the Leveler 75 wanting to shoot at steeper angles (not vertical though) and thought the head's capabilities are too restricted. However, angling one of the tripod legs allows for a much extended range up and down beyond 30 degrees; at the cost of some stability of course, because the camera's mass is not perfectly center. Essentially, the leveler's job is to give precise adjustability around the intended zero position, the rest can be up to tripod base or any auxiliary brackets towards the camera.

It took me some time getting used to new found possibilities in the field. All in all, it's not the tripod head that is really limiting. It is one's own head

 

[MGrayson]

Another solution is a leveling base + Acratech pano head. Very solid if you care about fore/aft tilt more than side to side.