Gitzo tripod w/ Vinten Vision 3 head or Sachtler head

[jackcklam]

I am very interested in the idea of using a Gitzo tripod with a Vinten vision 3 or a Sachtler DV-6SB head.

Last week I bought a Gitzo GT-3540XLS and a gitzo g-1422 bowl 75mm adapter, along with a Vinten Vision 3, just to try them out.

The head can be installed on the tripod fine, but the tie-down cup of the vinten head is quite large in diameter, while the bowl of the gitzo tripod is quite small. There is very little room for the head to move on the tripod bowl, and the range of leveling adjustment is very limited. That kind of defeats the purpose of the leveling bowl. Now I have to set the length of each leg to to make the tripod totally level, and I can't quite use the bowl to level the head beyond a few degrees.

Any idea to make this combination work more effectively?

I tried a Manfrotto 501 head on the gitzo tripod and the range of leveling movement is quite sufficient - thanks to the smaller tie-down bolt of the manfrotto. I tried to use the manfrotto tie-down bolt on a Vinten vision 3, but the thread on the head doesn't match with the manfrotto tie-down bolt, making it impossible to use a Vinten head with a Manfrotto tie-down bolt.

I haven't tried sachtler yet. Can I use a manfrotto tie-down bolt on a sachtler head?

thanks,

Jack

 

[jackcklam]

Any idea to make the gitzo tripod work with Vinten or Sachtler heads?

 

[Jacquot]

I'm using a Gitzo G-1340V with the 1422 bowl and the Vinten Vision 3 head. I'm not sure what the issue is that you are addressing. Perhaps it's the 'limitation' of a smaller 75mm bowl instead of a 100mm?

I find that I can adjust the level fine with this combination and if it's on extreme terrain, a mix of the head and the legs levels things out. But maybe I'm missing what you're saying?

I'm happy with this combination and am a long time Gitzo user (although I've never been keen on using carbon fiber, just my preference).