#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.
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.
Anyway, if you’re considering a geared tripod head (and if you want to do precise architectural work, you probably need one), the Rogeti is worth a look. B&H sells the head itself, but the panning modules seem to only be available directly from the factory (meaning a couple weeks of shipping time from China).
Another quirk: the one of the bubble levels in mine is a bit off. This is a common problem, and why I never trust the levels in the head - I only make adjustments based on the levels directly on the camera body.
Anyway, for precision work, the Rogeti is more usable than any of the Arca-Swiss heads I’ve used. Only the Linhof Micro 3D (more expensive and with a more limited range of movement) does better, at least among heads I’ve used.
Neglected to include links:
Rogeti: https://rogeti.com/products/rg1
Linhof: https://linhof.com/en/3d-micro/
Arca: https://arca-swiss-usa.com/products/c1-cube-geared-tripod-head
Disclaimer: I bought, borrowed, or rented everything discussed here, with my own damn money, not vendor freebies. Don’t bother liking or subscribing to my youtube channel, because I don’t have one. And my links are just links, not “affiliate” advertising.
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I only follow you for the great photos and the occasional recap of the story of locksmiths trying to run you out of town
All that is predicated on my process for composing geometrically precise architectural photos (zero or single point perspective), which is roughly:
Find a good view of the subject and put the tripod there (Google street view is often helpful for preparation).
Use the LOWER pan control to aim the camera approximately toward the subject.
Use the X and Y controls to level the camera, using spirit levels on the camera body. This should make vertical lines on the subject vertical.
…
…
Use the TOP pan to rotate the camera parallel to the main face of the subject, until horizontal lines on that face of the subject appear horizontal.
Use shift on the camera to compose the final framing.
Finally, at long last, capture the image exposure at an opportune moment.
Note that most lenses have some geometric distortion, especially toward the edge of the circle. You can correct that in post, but in the view, it’s best to use the center of the frame to check geometry.
So, basically, what I generally do is work from the bottom tripod and camera controls toward the top, in a way that avoids needing to re-adjust controls once I’ve properly set them.