Langenzenn Attacks - The Cullmann Tripods Are Coming!

I am sometimes nonplussed but that is not necessarily negative...it just means I have not yet figured out what I am looking at. This applies particularly when it comes to video equipment. My motion-picture ambitions peaked with the Bolex C-3 and have not been revived since the demise of double-run standard 8 Kodachrome.

So looking at the Cullmann Alpha 9000 tripod and head takes a little time. It seems to have more tubes than a Belpaire boiler and a head that reminds me of an Ikara mount. Is all this necessary for a cam-corder?

Apparently, yes. The tubes and the quick release catches allow the legs to drop rapidly when you are setting the thing up on the run. Presumably if you are continuing to run they clap together with equal speed. They are lightweight tubes but as they are widely spaced they are stable. Stiffness vs weight.

The head sits in a semicircular bowl with a locking knob - if the whole thing is not on level ground you can at least set the head on the horizontal before you start to pan and tilt.

The head has a fluid drive - stiff without being sticky. It would be a royal pain to use if you were tracking SR - 71's on full reheat but it should be able to cope with most slower aircraft. You can increase or decrease the resistance to smooth the action. There is a geared sliding mechanism that lets the cam-corder go fore and aft - then lock in place.

I puzzled about this but then a client brought in a full-blown video rig and I realised that these things have a considerable weight spread over a long mechanism. If you swing it on the balance point  - all well and good. If you get it overbalanced you have a problem.

The whole affair - legs and head - is only $ 399. It is a considerable bargain for the budding videographer.

The Swiss Pagoda

The object in the heading image is not a refugee from a Transformers movie. Nor is it  the main mast from a Japanese battleship. It is a European tripod head that is constructed in the grand tradition of trying too hard to go too far.

Those of you who remember the advertisements for large format cameras made in Europe will recognise the principle. Make a piece of mechanics hinge upon itself in 14 different ways and then bend them all on for the publicity shot. Never mind that you only ever move the thing in very small increments in the studio or out in the field - it is a game of advertising excess to compete with other machine shops.

Notwithstanding the above, this is a superb tripod head. It tilts, pans, swivels, and then twirls around for panoramic pictures. It clamps onto Arca mounts...not surprising because it is made by Arca Swiss. It is terrifyingly adjustable for friction and position. First-time users will be lost in a minute and even old hands will spend time over-correcting themselves.

It is possibly the most precise head generally available and would suit everything from a mirrorless to a monorail. Indeed, with a fully-configured monorail large format camera the photographer would not even need to use film or make any exposures - their entire studio time could be devoted to adjusting the movements until their subject died, rusted, or blew away.

More practical landscape workers could eliminate the wretched ball head and substitute this for far more control - it would make sunsets mellower and rocky shores more rocky...

The Heads Of The Family

Manfrotto wish to make you an offer you can't refuse.

The two heads that you see in this post are the answer to most of the landscape and studio worker's requests. 

They will handle the largest of cameras - up to the big 11 x 14 large format field cameras - and they will position them in the most precise way. You see each has a three-axis movement and there is a clutch mechanism on each movement that allows the camera to turn freely or to be swivelled in millimetres.

The advantage of this is evident when you are trying to get a level horizon in a landscape shot. A ball head is the worst thing in this situation as it becomes all floppy as soon as you release it and every time you try to return it to level you are fighting the same battle again. The three-way head lets you get one axis perfect before tackling the next one.

They feature bubble levels - which are window dressing in most situations - and quick release plates that are bigger than the average. The scales marked on the axes of the heads may be a help in architectural work, but would have to be referenced to some start point.

Serious heads for serious workers.