Robus makes a 75mm Half Ball Leveling Adapter for their Vantage Series 3 and 5 tripods. Made of aluminum, the adapter feels extremely solid.
Why use a leveling adapter?
Video shooting
If the top of the tripod is not perfectly level, when you move the camera, the image will continually tilt.
Panoramas
Keeping your horizon level and consistent works far better than creating odd wave shapes when you’ve stitched them together.
Tracking birds and other animals
This makes your framing considerably quicker and more precise. If you know what you’re doing, at any rate.
Leveling your horizon quickly
Adjusting the leveling adapter is considerably quicker than adjusting one or more of your tripod legs.
You can use a ball head, as many people do, to level a tripod for a single image. But it doesn’t work so well for panoramas.
How does the Robus leveling adapter work?
Using the Robus leveling adapter with the Robus Vantage 3 and 5 Series tripods is easy. Indeed, these tripods come with a video bowl. Simply swap out the aluminum top plate for the video bowl. Then unscrew the handle of the leveling adapter, place the leveling adapter inside the bowl, screw the handle back on, and you’re ready to mount your camera.
When you wish to level the camera, simply loosen the handle slightly. This will allow the leveling adapter to move within the bowl. Then, using the bubble level, tighten the handle again. No bending down and adjusting tripod legs. The handle has a rubber grip, making it much easier to hold.
In the field, you could drop your legs into the most optimal position for stability. Then you could simply use the leveling adapter. This would be especially crucial if operating a heavy setup such as a DSLR with a heavy lens or a large video camera.
In use
Although I have never used a leveling adapter before, I was able to attach it and use this easily without reading instructions. I am not used to using a bubble level, but despite this, I was able to consistently get the camera level within several seconds after the first several attempts.
When tightened, the adapter never moved even while gently pushing on it or slowly rotating the camera.
This leveling adapter seems to be made for applications requiring leveling of heavy camera equipment, given its apparent build quality as well as the tripod it is designed to fit.
Specs
- Ball Diameter: 75 mm
- Mount Type: 3/8″-16
- Material: Aluminum
- Height: 4.5″ / 11.4 cm
- Handle Length: 3.2″ / 8.1 cm
- Bubble Level: Yes
- Weight: 9.3 oz / 264 g
Robus 75mm Half Ball Leveling Adapter
The Robus 75mm Half Ball Leveling Adapter is designed for Robus Vantage Series 3 and 5 tripods. It has a robust aluminum design and allows you to mount any 3/8″-16 flat base tripod head onto the Series 3/5 tripods, which have a 75mm bowl. The adapter features a 3/8″-16 mounting screw and a bubble level to ensure your camera is aligned with the horizon. In addition to the mounting screw, three set screws provide security for any mounted head, while the bottom handle features rubber grips for better handling when you level out your load.
