#photography nerditry:
#photography nerditry:
#photography nerditry:
I've been playing with the Rogeti RG1 geared tripod head, and I'm liking it more than I expected to. Rogeti is a small specialized Chinese manufacturer; the tripod head is their flagship product. Compared with the Arca C1 Cube (my go-to), it's a bit smaller and lighter, but the thing that's really growing on me is the interchangeable modules for z-axis (panning) movements.
It's not cheap (about USD900), and there are a few annoying quirks, but I'm using it more and more.
Most high-end geared heads (Arca-Swiss, Linhof, etc), have an integrated Z-axis (panning) control built in to the top clamp. The idea is that you can use the X and Y controls to level the head and then as the last step pan the (leveled) camera for precise composition. The problem is that on most I've used (except the Linhof Micro 3D), the panning isn't itself precisely level! It often tilts slightly as you rotate the camera, negating the whole point of geared X/Y controls in the first place.
The Rogeti fixes this by having separate panning modules that you can use (or not), and which are built to stay precisely level throughout their rotation. If you don't use a panning module, then the camera is fixed pointing straight ahead (this also saves a bit of volume and weight) Or you can insert either a free-turning or a geared panning module between the camera and the top of the head. It's a nice system, and very precisely built.
The downside is that Rogeti decided to "improve" on the standard Arca-Swiss dovetail plate by including a vertical locking pin in the middle of the edge of the plate. I can see the advantage to this as a clean-slate design, but it means that while their clamp is backwards-compatible with existing plates, their plates can only be used with their clamps. And that means that the panning modules only fit on the Rogeti head, which is an annoying limitation.