Need advice on a Miller DS-60

[Jimmy Reynolds]

Good morning, i've found a Miller DS-60 for sale, with nice carbon legs at a pretty good price, is it overkill? I've usually got my Epic, a Xeen lens, mattebox, follow focus, vlock and maybe one or two little bits extra on the camera, occasionally got something like a sigma 150-600. Does anybody have experience using this head below the minimum weight? also it only does 75 degrees each way, that bothers me a bit, but i'm sure i can live with it if i make a 15 degree plate to go in the middle for the one shot in a blue moon that i need to tilt straight up/down. Does anybody know if the bowl can be removed and a mitchell base put on, or are the different out the factory?

PS i'm so over using kak manfrottos. Time to level up.

Thanks

Jimmy

 

[Brent G Miller Jr]

I don't have any experience with Miller tripods but figured I would chime in because no one has replied yet. I'm sure others may have some alternative suggestions but if you want heavy duty (and I say heavier the better as a tripod) then an affordable options might be a Kessler Crane K-pod with a Herceles 2 head. It's friction based but it's so heavy duty I've gotten some of the smoothest motion ever with these, and they're virtually bullet proof. Only around $1,000 each too but I wouldn't call it very "portable" though I have bagged 2 of them and checked them onto an airplane with no issues.