anabasis Posted January 4, 2008 Share #1 Posted January 4, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have just ordered a 180 Summicron R and want to use it with my Wimberley Head II and R8. I wonder if there is anyone on the forum who has used this lens with this tripod head, and if so, what plate is best? I contacted Wimberley and they don't have a definate recommendation for this lens but are suggesting that I try a P-30 plate. I can't wait to try this lens out. JCA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 4, 2008 Posted January 4, 2008 Hi anabasis, Take a look here 180 Summicron-R Wimberley plate. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Angora Posted January 4, 2008 Share #2 Posted January 4, 2008 I heard Arca-Swiss can make special plates on request, for about 160€. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psquared Posted January 5, 2008 Share #3 Posted January 5, 2008 Hi Jeremy, Congratulations on the lens. It's super. I use mine on a ballhead with a Markins PL70 plate. The plate is 2.8 inches long and works nicely.on a ballhead. I use R9+DMR. With R9+DMR, the camera is too heavy, so I cannot get the gear to balance correctly, because camera hits the quick release clamp vertical level adjustment screw. Also, with the lens this forward, it's a little awkward to use the focusing ring. With this setup (R9+DMR), you would have about 4 3/8 inches from the front of the tripod foot to the front of the camera (mainly the DMR part that would be equivalent to the motor drive position). If you don't use a motor drive, the Wimberley P30 plate (4.43 inches long) will probably work. Hope this helps. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterits Posted January 5, 2008 Share #4 Posted January 5, 2008 Great combination. I have not used that particular lens, but have used a DMR/R8 combination with a 105~280 Vario-Elmar-R lens and a 3 1/4 inch Really Right Stuff plate on the Winberly Head and it works very well. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
masjah Posted January 5, 2008 Share #5 Posted January 5, 2008 Sorry if I'm being naive, but are we talking about mounting the camera/lens combination by the lens tripod bush rather than the camera bush? Surely the former is preferable; would this affect the optimum choice of plate? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsolomon Posted January 5, 2008 Share #6 Posted January 5, 2008 i wish this was my problem ! that is one sweet combination have fun ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
topoxforddoc Posted January 5, 2008 Share #7 Posted January 5, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I tend to use my 180 'cron with a monopod; I have a Manfrotto carbon one tripod, but rarely use it. The 180 'cron with the R9?DMR is a really great combo'. I remember that Guy Mancuso said the 180 'cron was the one R lens he missed when he moved to his M8 kit. Charlie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anabasis Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share #8 Posted January 6, 2008 Thanks for all of the responses. I use the R8 with the Motor-R most of the time. If there is a major issue with the tripod plate on the lens, I will forgo the MD and just use the manual winder. As for the DMR, I just can't justify to myself spending an extra $1000 on it instead of a D3. Besides, I love slides from the Leica glass, and from what I've read here and elsewhere, the 180 is one of Leica's best ever. Fortunately I have several plates already for my long Nikon glass, so I will just have to experiement to see which plate works best to balance this combination. I should get the lens tomorrow and will have to see what we can do and report back as to which plate works the best. JCA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
masjah Posted January 7, 2008 Share #9 Posted January 7, 2008 Thanks for all of the responses. I use the R8 with the Motor-R most of the time. If there is a major issue with the tripod plate on the lens, I will forgo the MD and just use the manual winder. As for the DMR, I just can't justify to myself spending an extra $1000 on it instead of a D3. Besides, I love slides from the Leica glass, and from what I've read here and elsewhere, the 180 is one of Leica's best ever. Fortunately I have several plates already for my long Nikon glass, so I will just have to experiement to see which plate works best to balance this combination. I should get the lens tomorrow and will have to see what we can do and report back as to which plate works the best. JCA Jeremy Even if there is a major issue using the mounting bush on the lens, I would think very hard before using the camera bush. Even with the 280/4 (which is not as heavy as the 180/2) Leica say that a neck strap should be mounted on the lens, not on the camera. Then the lens mount bears the weight of the camera, not the weight of the lens. I would have thought that the same caution might also apply to mounting the combination on a tripod. Just a thought - though maybe I'm a bit overcautious ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anabasis Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share #10 Posted January 9, 2008 I managed to mount the 180 Summicron on my R8+MD and put in on the tripod head. I am going for the P-20 plate instead of the P-30. The extra length of the P-30 isn't necessary. There isn't much clearance between the front of the MD and the back of the plate, but the whole rig balances perfectly. I am not sure the weight difference between the Motor-R and the DMR, but that would certainly affect the center of gravity and therefore the plate you might need to use as well as its position. While the tripod foot is very solid, focusing and adjusting the aperture ring while on the mount is a bit awkward and I will have to get used to their respective positions. To be clear, I would NEVER mount any lens of this size on a body and then use the camera tripod mount. My philosophy is that if the lens has a tripod foot on it, it is going to be used instead of the camera's bushing. Thanks for the input from everyone. JCA PS picture of the rig on the tripod is on flickr. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
topoxforddoc Posted January 9, 2008 Share #11 Posted January 9, 2008 Jeremy, Have fun. It's a truly great piece of glass. The focussing ring is so smooth that you can focus with one finger. It's not a problem on a monopod, but I can see why it might be more trickey on a tripod. Charlie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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