I use an Acratech and I'm very happy with it. They are unique in the way
they flop over for vertical format pictures. The ball clamp is at 45 deg.
This apparently bothers some people because it limits the movement when the
camera is in the horizontal position unless the pan bed is rotated. They
also make an almost identical head with the clamp horizontal. With that one,
you would have to use an L bracket to flop your camera to vertical. The head
is very sturdy, well made, resistant to dirt, and probably about the
lightest strong head you can find. For architectural photography an
L-bracket can be very handy. You can change your camera orientation with
essentially no change in what the lens axis is pointed at. The acratech
works well with my Tamron 400f4 + 1.4x TC. That's probably about as far as I
would push it though. It also works well with my Mamiya 7 & Horseman VHR.
http://www.acratech.net/
As a couple others have said really right stuff has a new low profile head
(BH-55) with double drop down slots that looks very promising and is priced
high enough it better be. They also have a smaller, simpler, head (BH-25)
which they rate at 8.8 lbs. They are also about to come out with a middle
sized version BH-40 but haven't even posted pictures. They have a very nice
web site with good info that I would recommend you visit. The reviews at
Luminous Landscape seem to give a good description of both really right
stuff and acratech.
http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/rrs-bh55.shtml
http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/arcatech.shtml
At this point I can't imagine using any other style clamp than acra-swiss
style. Really Right Stuff recently came out with new flash brackets that may
lead to slight changes in the lens plates (double dove tail). I haven't
found a lens plate that fits the tripod foot of the digital Zuiko 50-200.
Good luck with your search,
-jeff
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Harrison" <robhar@xxxxxx>
Subject: [OM] OT: Tripod Heads
>I need a new one. I have a nice little Giotto MH-1001 medium ball head for
> my Reporter series Gitzo, but it¹s just not secure enough for precisely
> framing architecture.
>
> Feedback from users of the above, or other suggestions?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Rob in Seattle
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