Introduction

When the Ries J-600 tripod was my main, day to day tripod, I had a Ries A-250 Photoplane tripod head which matched the tripod perfectly.

Specs

The J 250 Photoplane head is specified as weighing 2.5 lbs / 1133 gm, and has an overall height of 4.125" / 105 mm.  It allows a forward tilt of up to 90 degrees, and left and right tilts of 15 degrees.

Overview

The J 250 Photoplane head is designed to match the J and C series Ries tripod perfectly; the base diameter matches the top plate of the tripod, and the features of the tripod and the head complement each other.

The J 250 is a two axis head; it allows independent tilts toward the front and the back, and left/right.  Each axis has an independent lock.

The entire head (except for bolts, and the metal leaves that form the locking mechanism for front/rear tilt) is cast aluminum.

Front tilt is controlled and locked by the knob that clamps the metal leaves together - when loosened, the metal leaves can move, and the head is free to tilt forward and back.  When the knob is tightened, the metal leaves are held rigid relative to one another, and the head is locked against forward/backward motion.  Because there are so many metal leaves, the effective clamping area is very large, and the lock is very secure.

Side to side tilt is controlled by the lever, which tightens a clamp around the shaft that the head rotates on for side to side tilt. 

The head has no pan collar.  Instead, Ries tripods have spring-loaded tripod head mounting bolts, and the idea is that you loosen the bolt on the tripod, pan the head, and then tighten the tripod bolt to lock the panning motion.

Field Experience and Conclusions

For field camera work, the Ries head is great - very rigid, locks securely, and it offers plenty of flexibility. The locks for forward and backward tilt can be operated easily, even with stiff fingers, and the controls are easy to reach and can easily be distinguished by touch.

The large, broad camera mounting plate offers great support for field cameras, but would be hopeless unsuitable for other cameras, and makes using a quick release system problematic.  As a compensation, the mounting screw is spring-loaded so that you can set the camera on top of the head, and the spring will allow the camera to push the mounting screw down, and then will push the screw up into the threads of the camera's tripod socket when you start turning the knob.

The head design pretty much requires that you level the tripod to use it easily (fortunately, the design of Ries tripods makes this easy), and does not adapt well to the use of a quick release system.

The lack of a panning collar and the tight integration with Ries J and C series tripods makes this head a great match for those Ries tripods, but it would be pretty frustrating to use one on any tripod that was NOT made by Ries.