Somewhat Ignorant Bogen Head Question

[Barry Rivadue]

Pardon my ignorance with the following....

I have a Bogen 503 head, though I'm not crazy about its Bogen/Manfrotto mid-spreader legs/sticks. I don't know offhand what model the latter is, except the tripod overall cost about $499. Anyway, my questions are:

a) can I put the 503 on different sticks, even non-Bogen/Manfrotto?
b) how difficult is it to mix 'n match, removing the head and attaching it elsewhere?
c) what are some popular sticks for the 503?

Thanks so much!

[Edward Carlson]

If I remember correctly, the Bogen heads have a 3/4" threaded hole, so any sticks that have a 3/4" mounting stud will accept it. Bogen also makes a ball adapter to make the flat based heads fit into a 75mm ball base for the fancy (and very useful) claw-ball tripods.

[Don Bloom]

actually the Bogen is 3/8th inch which is pretty standard thru the industry

you might look at the 515 legs which have a ground spreader although a "mid-spreader" is available also (my preference) and it takes a 75mm ball head. The 503 would screw right on to the ball no problem.
To remove the 503 head you must go to the bottom of the head where it is attached to the center post and look carefully. You'll see 3 small recessed slot screwws. A small screwdriver with a bit of hard pressure and you can lossen the screws. Don't take the all the way out they're a bite to put back in. Now the fun begins because the head is firmly screwed onto the 3/8th inch screw on the center post. You'll have to tug and pull and tug and pull but you can get it to release -once you do simply turn it counterclockwise until it "falls into your hands". Screw it back onto the ballhead or center column of the new tripod legs tighten up the 3 recessed screws and you should be done.

Don

[Barry Rivadue]

Thanks!!!!