Leitz Ball Head - question re 1/4 or 3/8 camera mount

[johnson]

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I have an old Leitz ballhead with a mangled 1/4" male screw, which does not look pretty but mounts to a camera OK. This is in the picture with the screw pointing up.

The other picture (screw pointing down) shows an apparently un-mangled equivalent with what looks like a larger 3/8" mount, surrounding (I'm guessing) a 1/4" mount.

Was it the case that older Leicas not made for export had a 3/8" mount, and therefore older ballheads were made like in the latter example, such that they could be used with either 1/4" or 3/8" camera mounts?

If so, was the 3/8" sleeve intended to be easily removable from the 1/4" mount inside?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can clear this up for me.

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[tim]

Hi Johnson,

On my old Leitz ball head I can unscrew the top plate and simply turn the screw mount upside down to switch between the different sizes, if so remember correctly

… can check tonight, if that would help

Cheers

Tim

[johnson]

Hi Tim,

Yes please, that would be very helpful. I did try to unscrew the screw on the side of the head, but on mine it seemed stuck fast.

Cheers

[Anbaric]

Some of these Leitz heads have a clever coaxial screw design where a  3/8" sleeve can extend or retract around a central 1/4" screw. Sometimes these can become jammed if there is corrosion or damage etc.

Others, like mine, have a reversible disc that can be screwed on with either the 1/4" or 3/8" screw facing up, and perhaps there are also heads that only have one type of screw; these things were made in several variations over many years.

[johnson]

Hi again Tim,

Inspired by your comment, I had another go at the screw on the side of the head component. With this out, with some force I was able to unscrew the whole head component (it appeared to be held by some sort of threadlocker gunk) which revealed a spring loaded mechanism.

It now seems that the 3/8 sleeve on the head is intended to be simply pushed down to reveal the 1/4 mount. There is even a keyway inside the head to prevent the sleeve from twisting. What a great pice of engineering and so well made. Similarly the baseplate has a spring-loaded mechanism to work with either a 1/4 or 2/3 tripod mount.

It's just a shame that the previous owner of mine didn't seem to know this and instead hacked off the 3/8 sleeve and in the process also badly damaged the 1/4 inch mount.

[johnson]

Thanks Anbaric,

I was typing my comment while yours arrived. Thanks very much for the confirmation.

[wlaidlaw]

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I once spent hours trying to remove the 3/8 sleeve on my Leica ball head, only finally to discover that it just pushed down (Doh!). My Leica earlier ball head has a reversible mount with 1/4 one side and 3/8 the other, held in place by a knurled sleeve. 

Wilson