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 Originally Posted by RalphLambrecht
As I said, It's a size and weight consideration.
That makes sense.
That accounts for why my 9x12 Patent Etui's - the smallest, lightest LF cameras ever made use 3/8" tripods threads, and my 10x8 Agfa Ansco Commercial View camera uses 1/4" 
Ian
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I don't think that historically it's a size and weight consideration. My tiny Voigtlander Perkeo II 6x6 folder has a 3/8" socket, and that's pretty common on other 1950s European medium format folders. My 1890s 11x14" American Optical field camera is 1/4".
Of course with a 3/8" socket, it's easy to add a bushing for 1/4", while the reverse adapter doesn't usually provide as good a support, so I would think that that would be another factor.
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I'm not aware of any modern 35mm camera with a thread larger than 1/4". Most MF cameras I'm familiar with have 1/4" and/or 3/8", and many LF cameras have 3/8" with a feature to insert a 1/4" thread. Of course, there are always exceptions (and people eager to point them out), but their is an obvious trend of size and weight towards larger threads, and it makes sense to use a larger thread for an increased holding-power requirement. This seems to be supported by a historic trend with older (and larger) cameras having larger threads, because I haven't seen any 1/4" threads prior to the introduction of the Leica.
Here is a quote from Wikepedia on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripod_(photography)
The historic standard threading for the bolt that attaches the camera to the tripod is 1/4"-20tpi (threads per inch) British Standard Whitworth (Whitworth or BSW) for smaller cameras or 3/8"-16tpi BSW for larger cameras and pan/tilt heads.
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Originally Posted by RalphLambrecht
This seems to be supported by a historic trend with older (and larger) cameras having larger threads, because I haven't seen any 1/4" threads prior to the introduction of the Leica.
The 1890's British Quarter plate camera that I've just restored has a 1/4" thread as do some of my other early cameras, but my pre-WWII German cameras all use 3/8" except for my Leica. I think my first Rolleicord was 3/8" as well. It may well have been a preference in the German camera industry.
Mamiya certainly used 3/8 on some of their MF cameras up until the mid 70's.
Ian
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My Zork C has a 3/8 thread
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My 500cm has both 1/4,3/8 thread.
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What's the shear strength of a 1/4" steel or even brass bolt? Plenty to hold just about any camera that one person can lift, I suspect, with room to spare for leverage with long lenses. It seems logical to think that we need a larger bolt for a bigger camera, and contemporary large format camera makers tend to follow that reasoning, but I suspect that there are more arbitrary factors (like regional norms) at play in the history of the standard thread sizes, considering that the larger thread really isn't necessary at all for anything short of a camera that could also pass as furniture.
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Another factor David is that many older plate camera's had their own detachable legs, and never had a tripod mount at all.
Ian
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Don't know, but I choose 3/8x16 for my pinhole camera, certainly don't want it flying off the tripod. Biggers better right.
Roger
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Originally Posted by rtbadman
Don't know, but I choose 3/8x16 for my pinhole camera, certainly don't want it flying off the tripod. Biggers better right.
Roger
Many tripods don't (& can't) use a 3/8" thread these days and adding an adaptor is adding a weaker link.
Ian
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