Bogen 3047 Deluxe 3-Way Pan/Tilt Tripod Head with Quick Release Plate

by Manfrotto

Product Details

Product Manual [906kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4 x 4 inches ; 4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000077VZW
• Item model number: 3047
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 16, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Bogen 3047 Tripod Head is designed to meet the demands of heavy duty professional shooting. Sturdy enough to handle up to 16.6 pounds, the 3047 also comes with a quick release plate that makes it a snap to grab your camera and switch to handheld filming whenever you want and a secondary safety catch to make sure it remains mounted on the 3/8-inch attachment screw when you don't. Three easy-to-grip rubber-coated lockable handles and two bubble indicators help you achieve precise positioning and alignment. The 3047 gives you a 360-degree panning range, as well as lateral tilt, and is suited for medium format cameras and below.

Product Description

Black Finish / Supports 35mm, Digital, Medium-Format and View Cameras / Quick-Release Camera Plate / 3 Easy-Grip Handles

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very solid 3-way head, January 11, 2005

By 

FB` "bitless" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bogen 3047 Deluxe 3-Way Pan/Tilt Tripod Head with Quick Release Plate (Electronics)

In using this for a few months, I have found it to be very solid, and apparently indestructible piece of equipment.

I use it with the 3021BPRO tripod.

The motion of the joints has a well oiled soggy quality. The hand grips have a smooth but not redundant release curve, which means ease in finetuning alignment - there is about a quarter turn between "wide open" and "clamped tight" within which controlled adjustment is comfortable. The material and diameter of the grips is also above par - not squishy soft, but not rock hard, and thick and long enough for an easy grip.

The quick-release locking mechanism works nicely, with a sturdy snap when the camera is inserted, absolutely no jiggle when shut, and a comfortable dual-lever release. This mechanism is a tiny bit cumbersome when the head is tilted for portrait shooting, and has an infrequent quirk of snapping "shut" if banged around some without camera or plate in place - which will confuse you for a second the first time it happens and you try to snap in the camera.

As you can see in the manual available here, both 3/8" and 1/4" attachment screws are provided.

Both the front and side tilts go 30 degrees in one direction (back and right) and 90 in the other (front and left). If you want the opposite tilt, just snap the camera in facing the other way.

Thinking about this just now, this head (most/all? heads, really) is heavily biased for right-handers - so this may be something to think through if you are left-handed.

I have mentioned how solid this head is, and it bears repeating. I often put it down head-first (this is how it wants to be put down, being the heaviest part of the assembly) and routinely snatch the head with tripod off the floor by one of the hand grips, and while I'm sure this is counterindicated in a manual somewhere, it has never felt like this was straining the mechanism in any way. The edges and surfaces of the joints themselves are well finished, so if you need to carry it by the head a little bit, this is comfortable enough, with no sharp bits to get snagged on. For any extended carrying, you will almost certainly want to have the whole thing on at least a strap.

If you travel, and intend to check your tripod with this head attached, or just carry it in a bag, be aware that it -is- considerably bigger than it -looks- -- I have a "Large" Hakuba bag, and this head just barely fits, and only when adjusted to a very awkward angle to minimize the protrusion of the hand grips. You could, of course, just be smarter and take the grips off for travel. (Just don't toss the retaining screws in place initially.)

On a functional downside, the front/back spirit level is obscured (underneath the head & camera) when the head is tilted for portrait shooting, so if this is important, you will want to fiddle with it before tilting the camera sideways, which is counterintuitive and hence a problem.

Another minor gripe is the hexagonal plate - mounting it exactly straight on the camera is always a little bit of a challenge. This is not unique to this particular head, but I always find myself second-guessing and squinting when attaching it to the camera. Bogen makes what they call an "architectural plate" which fits this head and has a little lip to align the back of the camera exactly with the plate, but I have not looked at this any further because it hasn't been enough of a problem.

Hypothetically, the only reasons I could have for replacing this head in everyday use would be exacting geared movement, or a lighter weight, but both of those would come at a higher price than they are currently worth to me.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT! but..., November 4, 2011

By 

V. trusca (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bogen 3047 Deluxe 3-Way Pan/Tilt Tripod Head with Quick Release Plate (Electronics)

the person above me nailed it. i found this in a thrift store and jumped on it for the price of 3 dollars included with the bogen 3021 tripod head...hard to pass that up

the tripod head is immensely durable. the whole thing is metal and if i didnt know any better it feels like cast iron despite whatever its made of. my point is expect this thing to be VERY heavy for a tripod head. infact its about as heavy as other entire tripods....not just the heads. that being said it doesnt mean its not great. just know what youre getting into. if weight is not a concern then this is for you!