Projects
Replacing tripod Pan/Tilt handles
Introduction
My main tripod (an older Velbon carbon fibre model) has a pan/tilt head with two control handles. One locks the tilt, and the other locks the platform adjustment (horizontal to vertical camera orientation) feature. The tripod comes with two lengths of arms, both with M6 threads. My normal practice is to have the longer handle on the pan/tilt, and the shorter one on the platform adjustment control. This means that the longer handle can be adjusted to lie parallel to the center column between two of the legs when collapsed for compactness. The down side to this is that the head has to be re-leveled each time the tripod is used.
The short arm is not too much of a problem, and does make a useful carry handle.
Replacement
Since I mostly work with static subjects, I chose to try replacing the longer control handle with an M6 bolt of the right length that was equipped with a ratchet handle. The thread was determined by inspection of the control handle.
This is much shorter, and the handle can be aligned in almost any direction. The handle is pulled up against a spring to rotate, and released to lock back onto the bolt. The tripod head tilt does not need a lot of tightening, so the bolt plus lever does not have to be adjusted very often.
On this head there is not really enough room to use a lever handle for the platform adjustment, so I kept the original short handle,
The tripod does not have to be adjusted to get the handle out of the way when collapsed, so operation is quicker. Most of my camera needs with a view camera are met by a level bed. It would be a different story if I needed to tilt the camera up or down frequently. Obviously, the adjustment can still be made, just without the leverage of the longer handle.
Not all tripods use M6 bolts, and may not lend themselves to this sort of modification. And since you are placing a valuable camera on the tripod, you want to be sure it works as expected.
Experience
Well, the jury is still out. It is less trouble to set up and pack, and more streamlined when collapsed. The bolt is steel and the control handle seems to be some light but hard alloy, so with the size difference the weight is not vastly different. The handle is about 14g (0.5 oz) heavier than the lever handle bolt.
Tilting the camera does require two hands - one for the lever and one to control the camera as it is tilted.
The conversion is reversible, which is always a nice option with a modification.
It is tedious the have to ratchet the handle to install the bolt. The best method appears to be to start it manually, then pull up the handle while using a suitable driver to screw in the bolt. Subsequent adjustments are maybe 1/4 to 1/2 turn to release tension and adjust the head.
Materials
This particular lever handle is a 40mm length M6 item by Uxcell, available from various hardware and on-line sources. There are other manufacturers. These come in various sizes, but it is important to know the thread size and the length of thread required. Examine your tripod head carefully before trying something like this - fittings do vary, and what worked here may not work on other tripod heads.