FLAAR Reports. Manfrotto 3263 tripod head. Updated AUGUST 2003 Digital Imaging, Report on Printers, RIPs, Paper, and Inks

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1 FLAAR Reports Updated AUGUST 2003 Digital Imaging, Report on Printers, RIPs, Paper, and Inks Manfrotto 3263 tripod head A Report by Nicholas Hellmuth, FLAAR at Bowling Green State University, Based on twelve years using a Gitzo Tele Studex Tripod

1 Introduction During 38 years of photography I have over and over heard the refrain, A really good photographer, with a perfect eye for a good scene, does not need fancy equipment.

2 1 Introduction During 38 years of photography I have over and over heard the refrain, A really good photographer, with a perfect eye for a good scene, does not need fancy equipment. But they forget the fact that even the best photographer, if they lack adequate equipment, simply can t capture the moment, no matter how fully they recognize that the resulting shot will win a Pulitzer Prize. Whereas fashion photographers need the spontaneity of shooting while moving, they don t want tack-sharp results anyway. But if you are doing art photography, copy or photography, architectural photography, or product photography, a tripod is essential. But what newcomers often forget, or skimp on, is the tripod head. A tripod is only as good as its head. In the FLAAR studios on three continents we utilize a variety of tripod heads, from the Arca- Swiss variety to the geared head. Selection of the head depends entirely on the size of the camera and the application: you don t usually want or need a geared head for a point-andshoot camera. A ball head is better. But for large format, and for some situations with medium format, a geared head is an intelligent choice. Features that make the difference The Manfrotto 3263 Delux Geared is my all time favorite. The smaller, lighter 3275 Compact Gear Head is an alternative for medium format cameras or for 35mm when a geared head is needed. The primary reason for using a geared head is to hold a heavy 4x5 camera. We have a second identical Manfrotto head to hold the rollout turntable motor and rotating platform. If your camera stays in one position most of the day, a geared head is good. If you are using a 35mm then the #3263 is larger and weighs more than your camera. This is a polite way of saying either go for the compact version, 3275, or go straight for a ball head. Ball heads allow for much more spontaneous shooting. Setting up Cambo 4x5 atop Manfrotto tripod head on Gitzo Tele Studex tripod in Antigua, Guatemala.

3 2 Difference between a Pro, Pro-Sumer, Enthusiast, Amateur, and Beginner Beginners will tend to not be aware of why to use a tripod at all. An amateur will experiment with a tiny fold-up tripod with thin telescoping supports. The enthusiast will go for a low-bid tripod, often with pan and tilt head (better for video and not as good for still photography. The pro-sumer will check out to see what professional photographers prefer. Hence they will tend to opt for a Manfrotto (Bogen) or Gitzo tripod. But they may not realize that the selection of the head design is as crucial as the tripod itself. The professional studio photographer may prefer a studio stand. I have to use a tripod because most of my photography is out on location; or if in museum studio, it may be in Tokyo or Zurich. I was photographing on assignment in Germany when the Manfrotto geared 3263 tripod head was first introduced. I suspect I bought the first one that landed in Munich. I have never regretted this decision and went on to obtain two more: for the BetterLight turntable system you need one tripod for the turntable and one for the 4x5 camera. This calls for two tripod heads. The 3263 is truly labeled the Deluxe Geared Head. It is self-locking and has three heights of quick release plates. In decades of photography I have never lost a camera off this tripod head for the simple reason that it is a locking-head. The plate can t come out even accidentally. If the plate is adequately attached to your camera, your camera can t fall out either. Where professional really means professional The BetterLight software can select a 12% of capacity pano (average of *** MB) up to 100% of true optical dpi (can be 240 MB up to 500+ MB, depending on lens and a variety of factors). The software can go up to 800 or more MB if you don t mind interpolating in one direction. The benefit here is allowing you to produce awesome murals. Adobe Photoshop CS is the only version which can handle these larger files, since Version 7 was limited to 30,000 pixel rows. What kind of computer do we use to handle these massive files? Dell Precision Workstations, dual processor, 3.2 GHz each processor, and SCSI 320 hard drives, preferably in a RAID array of 15,000 rpm disks. We use either Hewlett-Packard DesignJet printers or ColorSpan Mach 12 to print the wall-sized results. Manfrotto 3263 tripod head can support almost any weight: here the complete BetterLight Pano/WideView motor, Cambo 4x5 camera, and BetterLight Super 6K tri-linear scanning back.

3 Audra Magermans and Dusty Rising setting up panoramic equipment at Saddlemire Building at FLAAR-BGSU office. What holds the $20,000 panorama system steady is the geared Manfrotto 3263 tripod head.

Elsewhere in the same building are the FLAAR Photo Archives and the training and evaluation studios for digital photography equipment.

4 3 Audra Magermans and Dusty Rising setting up panoramic equipment at Saddlemire Building at FLAAR-BGSU office. What holds the $20,000 panorama system steady is the geared Manfrotto 3263 tripod head. Here is partial view of the FLAAR evaluation facilities at Bowling Green State University. FLAAR has 15 wide format inkjet printers and a $97,000 Cruse digital camera repro scanner in this room. Elsewhere in the same building are the FLAAR Photo Archives and the training and evaluation studios for digital photography equipment. FLAAR also has additional evaluation studios for photography at Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala. You can see them on You can see a different view of the FLAAR offices at BGSU in Ohio on the home page of All the camera equipment under evaluation is pictured on

So the camera has to be level, and firmly attached, as it turns on the motorized Pano/WideView accessory.

5 4 Dr. Hellmuth doing panoramic photography on location at Santa Clara Convent seventeen century ruins at Antigua Guatemala It takes about 12 minutes to do this panoramic with a tri-linear scanning system. So the camera has to be level, and firmly attached, as it turns on the motorized Pano/WideView accessory. All this is held securely by the Manfrotto tripod head. The resulting photograph is about 320 MB in file size.

using a BetterLight scan back in a Cambo Ultima 4x5 camera atop a Manfrotto tripod head

6 5 Dr. Hellmuth at San Jorge Atitlan, taking panoramic photographies using a Betterlight camera on a Bogen tripod Nicholas Hellmuth doing panoramic photography of Lake Atitlan using a BetterLight scan back in a Cambo Ultima 4x5 camera atop a Manfrotto tripod head on a Gitzo Tele Studex tripod. The resulting photos are visible on

6 And all of this is possible because of the

7 6 And all of this is possible because of the stability provided by the Manfrotto tripod heads atop sturdy Gitzo all-metal tripods. This is where you want heavy tripods, not carbon fiber. We do use carbon fiber tripods, they are essential, but not to hold large format cameras. FLAAR on location overlooking Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, Central America. Notice the Gitzo tripod Manfrotto 3263 tripod head holding the heavy pano system.

7 Alternatives The Manfrotto 3275 410 Compact gear head is for 35mm and medium format, if you wish the stability of a geared head for whatever reason. For 35mm and digicams I prefer a ball head.

The Cambo Ultima is a heavy duty studio camera comparable in sophistication and precision movements to the Sinar X or Sinar P Reality of Photography The question most people ask when they see me

8 7 Alternatives The Manfrotto Compact gear head is for 35mm and medium format, if you wish the stability of a geared head for whatever reason. For 35mm and digicams I prefer a ball head. The panorama system consists of Pano/WideView rotating motorized pano head, Cambo Ultima 4x5 camera, BetterLight Super 6K tri-linear scanning back. The Cambo Ultima is a heavy duty studio camera comparable in sophistication and precision movements to the Sinar X or Sinar P Reality of Photography The question most people ask when they see me photographing in a museum or out on location in the rain forests or at an archaeological site is Have you shot for National Geographic? Fortunately National Geographic has published 13 of my photographs of Mayan art, so I can leave the questioners satisfied. But millions of other photographers will only dream of National Geographic. My advice is that clothes do not make the man is only partially true. Conclusions If, like us, you shoot with several cameras, you should consider having two or more tripod heads. Actually we tend to use four cameras out on location: large format Cambo Ultima with BetterLight digital back, a medium format camera (usually a Hasselblad) with digital back, a 35mm SLR (which implies interchangeable lenses), and an advanced point-and-shoot of 5 Megapixels minimum. The purpose of the point-andshoot camera is to take product shots of the actual cameras we are really using in the shoot. The Manfrotto 3263 tripod head should absolutely be used with the large format camera. We would advise it for any heavy medium format camera as well. This substantial tripod head should not be used for 35mm and obviously not for small digital cameras either. We will discuss suitable tripod heads for these cameras in subsequent reports.

8 Upcoming In an upcoming article we would like to review the Gitzo Off-Center Ball head, the Gitzo Center Ball head, and possibly the Gitzo Three-way, which is more a pan and tilt system.

In a separate report will be discussing the benefits of the Manfrotto QTVR Plus kit.

9 8 Upcoming In an upcoming article we would like to review the Gitzo Off-Center Ball head, the Gitzo Center Ball head, and possibly the Gitzo Three-way, which is more a pan and tilt system. This review will be based on shooting thousands of photos with the former Gitzo BigBall head, which unfortunately I do not have any more. Thus I am looking forward to trying out the newer models. In a separate report will be discussing the benefits of the Manfrotto QTVR Plus kit. FLAAR has dedicated decades to traditional panoramic photography, and has moved this experience into the digital era. Our QTVR photos of archaeology museums and Mayan sites in Honduras, Central America, are among the first to be accomplished in that part of the world. They are visible on the site for over a decade. The circumferential rollout mode of the BetterLight requires two tripods, and hence two tripod heads. We use the Manfrotto 3263 for both, as you can see here. The white color is dissolved limestone from the many years that the FLAAR equipment was stored in Campeche, Mexico, during a program of photographing Mayan temples and palaces for a Japanese coffee table publisher Quiche urn, Highland Guatemala, Museo Popol Vuh, Universidad Francisco Marroquin, copyright FLAAR CLICK HERE TO VIEW EACH FLAAR NETWORK SITE Please realize that all reports are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The reader software is free from PDF files are intended to be read on your computer monitor. Naturally you can print them if you wish, but if the photographic images within the reports were high enough dpi for a 1200 dpi laser printer it would not be possible to download them. So the images are intended to be at monitor resolution, naturally in full color. FLAAR itself makes the files available only in PDF format because that is the international standard. We have no mechanism to print them out and mail them. Obviously if you have downloading problems we will try to help, but please realize that we assume you have a 56K modem (or better) and capabilities to handle a basic PDF file. Proprietary rights notice FLAAR Network, 2003; first issued December 2003

10 FLAAR PRINTER REPORTS are available on

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