Hello and I have a question

Hello , I have been watching this site for sometime now after being directed here by Rich Voninski. This site and APUG are the two best sites I have seen on photography. I normally shoot black and white and I hope to be able to post some of my images sometime soon.

Now for my question: I am thinking of getting a new tripod head. Have been thinking of the Arca-Swiss B1. I currently use a Pentax 67II and I am curious how I keep the camera level with a ball head. Do I get one of the leveling bases and place it on the top of the ballhead and then attach the camera? Since this camera does not have a hotshoe the hotshoe bubble levers won't work on it. Any help would be great!

Mark Rewald

I recommend the Kirk BH-1 or the equivalent from Really Right Stuff. Some people also like the Arca-Swiss B1. Leveling bases are very heavy, and unnecessary (unless you shoot panos). A spirit level and a leveling base do two different things. The base simply gives you a level base from which to make your other adjustments. A spirit level makes sure that the actual camera is level. If I were you, I'd find a way to rig a spirit level despire the lack of a hotshoe mount.

I second Scott's recommendations. The RRS BH-55 comes with a plate that has a (small) built in level. http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/ballheads/index.html

Also, consider an Acratech head. I've had one for years, it's been totally abused and still works great. Might be a tad light for your Pentax.

I have the RRS BH-55 for my Hasselblad H1 and it works great. I've been using a geared head up until now, since I really like being able to tweak the position of the camera, and the ball head is much better than I expected it to be. If you get the panorama plate for it there is a level bubble built in and the plate rotates from that level position to allow you to take a panorama. Of course, you'll also need a rail to move the lens back so it rotates over the nodal point. Lots of stuff to get, I hope your bank account is in good shape.

Just because you don't have a hot shoe doesn't prevent you from using a bubble-level. I know a number of the 4x5 folks here use a bubble level. Some just set it on top of the camera when they need it, and other have one glued to their camera, I believe.

I used to have a P67 not the II version that I used on a Foba Superball. I used a Kirk P67 plate to attach it to. This plate allowed the left and right corners of the camera body to extend beyond the width of the ball head's arca-swiss style clamp. By holding one of the double-bubble hot shoe levels on the flat underside of the camera that extends beyond the clamp should work just fine to get your body level. Unless you're using a plate that runs parallel to the film back, then this idea would not work. The Kirk plate runs perpendicular to the film back.
Don

I use the RRS BH-40 head with the lever clamping plate with a spirit level built in. It's very nice. My body is a Canon 20D which does not extend over the level. My 4x5 camera does extend over the plate's level so I have to use the level built into the camera or a handheld level that I place on the front or rear standard.

The RRS people can tell you if their gear will work with your setup. Their gear is top notch!