Arri 100 mm Ball Head Tripod

Fig 5 Arri Ball Heat Tripod configured for Astronomy. The handle has been installed from the opposite side. Shutter release cable. Mirror Up & Long Exposure Noise Reduction on.

Fig 1	Fig 2	Fig 3	Fig 4

Description

This is a European standard 100mm ball head tripod made by Arri (arriflex) in Western Germany. It's designed to hold a movie camera and allow smooth camera moves. Probably made for one of their 16 mm movie cameras. Wooden legs have very similar properties as carbon fiber and fewer problems with vibrations than metal tripod legs.
When I got this used tripod the pan motion was rough. After opening it up and cleaning out the old dried up grease and lubricating it with Silicon grease the pan motion now is very smooth. The head is made of nicely machined Aluminum parts. It is not a "fluid' head, but is extremely smooth in operation when properly lubricated. Probably when it was made they didn't have Silicon based lubricants so whatever they used biodegraded with time.

16 Sep 2011 - The head tilts forward/down 80 degrees and back/up 43 degrees. At first this might seem like a limitation, but it's only a limitation if you need to do a larger tilt all in one motion. For example in the normal configuration if you want to look high in the sky (like for astronomy) you can not do it. If the camera is installed with the lens pointing 180 degrees from where it was you can now look up in the sky, but the handle is also pointing to the sky, not very convient. BUT, the handle can be unclamped and removed then installed from the other side so now it's to the back of the camera. See Fig 5 at the top of the page.

21 Aug 2011 - The ball head adapter from the European 3/8-16 tripod head to American 1/4-20 is not very stable.
I've ordered a Velbon QRA-635L Quick Release Plate & Platform from Holga Camera (under $50 including shipping). This is a Quick Release head that comes with a 1/4-20 camera adapter plate and the base has in insert that adapts between 3/8-16 and 1/4-20, so removing the insert the base will fit this tripod.

Being wood is good in that it reduces vibrations, but it's also bad in that you can't leave it outdoors in the rain.

Figure 1
1    Marked ARRI
2    European standard 3/8"-16 tripod thread
It may be possible to use a Bogen sliding plate to adapt to American 1/4 thread and support a much heavier load than the ball and post type adapter in Fig. 3 # 14.
SLIDING PLATE FOR VIDEO HEAD / Cat. No: 3272
Sliding plate supplied with 2 X 1/4" and 2 X 3/8" camera fixing screws.
The question is what threads are on the bottom of this plate?
3    Vertical friction adjust
4    Pan friction adjust
5    Tie down loop on each leg
6    Ball leveling clamp
7    Leg extension clamp
8    Leg extension calibrated from 0 to 65 cm. overall height ranges from 36" to 64"
9    100 mm diameter leveling ball
I think this is a standard 100mm ball size that would accept other heads like the Bogen Manfrotto
316 HEAVY DUTY VIDEO HEAD / Cat. No: 3274
The 316 is designed for use with cameras weighing up to 35 lbs. It incorporates variable balance adjustment and a fixed drag system which allows for finger tip control at all times.
100MM HALF BALL / Cat. No: 3141BALL
Half ball for levelling video heads on tripods with 100mm bowl. Adapts flat-base video heads for tripods with 100mm bowl.

Figure 2
10    Handle 0.55" diameter
11    Handle clamp
12    Knob for tripod thread has chip
13    Level vial with good bubble
Figure 3
Shows tripod in lower position, about 16" tall.
14    Rowi International adapter from European thread to 1/4"-20 American standard thread
15    Leather strap to hold legs together
Figure 4
16    Foot Step to press point into ground
17    M6 tapped hole for dolly or platform?

Veibon QRA-635L Quick Release Adapter

Sep. 2011 got this to replace the 3/8-16 base to 1/4-20 ball head adapter. Looking for a much more robust way to mount a camera.

As Received	The base has a tripod adapter that's 1/4-20 when installed (like in this photo), but leaves 3/8-16 when it's removed. The rubber pad on top of the camera plate allowed the Nikon 300 mm f/2.8 lens to move, a BIG problem. The fix was easy just peel it off. Now there's a solid connection and no movement.	This is the old ball adapter.
base attached to tripod with 3/8-16 thread. The double female 3/8-16 to 1/4-20 adapter sitting on the base plate.	Bottom view of camera with tool loose. The tool is used to tighten the 1/4-20 camera anchor screw.	Bottom view of camera with tool in storage position.
Camera on tripod. MUCH stronger mounting than the ball head.	The rubber top of the camera adapter plate was moving under the load of the Nikon D300s with the 300mm f/2.8 lens. So I peeled it off.

References

YouTube: Vietnam War Weapons: RPG-2 & RPG-7 Film (1967) - @18:25 this tripod is shown holding a high speed (slow motion) movie camera.

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