Gear Guide: Arca-Swiss Monoball Classic Z2+ Double Panorama
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2024
- If you have questions about Arca-Swiss products, please reach out to, and help support Rod Klukas, the Arca Swiss USA Rep. Please buy direct from him rather than buying online. He did a great job answering my questions, and steered me in the right direction. You can find him on Instagram @arcaswissusa and also through his website www.rodklukas.com
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one tip, the small knob on the friction knob is a stopper, it prevents the knob going LOOSER than desired tension, so you go from locked down to tension, without the risk of going full lose with a load on the ball head. I have a sirui which has the same knob design.
Just found this old video Ben. Extremely helpful review as I am currently looking for a new tripod and head. This could be exactly what I am looking for. Many thanks
Thanks Ash! I believe this head has been discontinued, but Arca-Swiss has a wide variety of heads on the market. This head saved my butt on my winter of 2021 visit to Zion when my other tripod head broke. Otherwise I would have been out of luck.
@@BenHorne Hi Ben, many thanks for the feedback. I did a search after I watched your video and, like you said, it has been unfortunately discontinued! Don't know why Arca discontinued it as it seemed to have been a great design unless there were reliability issues or they want people to go for the Cube!!
I'm a japanese ARCASWISS user.
I usually use Z1+.
Fantastic review! Thank you.
Interesting, Thanks!
Excellent review again Ben.👍
The Z2 is an amazing ballhead but I’ve just seen the price................I really need a big lottery win now don’t I!!!😲
I hope you’re keeping well, take care.🍀👌
Arca-Swiss gear definitely isn't inexpensive, but you know you're getting the very best, and that it will last a very long time. Next week I'll do a video where I compare the Z2+ and the Cube that I already own. Thanks for watching Andy!
Ben, thanks for posting this video, interesting to see the Z2+ in action.
I have used a Burzynski ball head with my Toyo 8x10 monorail for the last 12 years, which has actually been quite sufficient. The Burzynski is interesting in a few ways. It sits recessed in the 3-5 series systematic tripod like a bowl, so center of rotation is quite low. Locking power and strength is ridiculous - my old B1 feels like a toy in comparison. The way it presses the ball for friction is on each side, which lets you lock down sideways tilt while still adjusting pitch. The construction is extremely simple, allowing for complete cleaning in a few minutes. I hope someone will develop the concept in the future.
That sounds like a really beefy design!
That is a wonderful looking head. I saw my first Arca Swiss video today. Is there an upper lever arm plate available for quick rotation of a 1D Mark ii?
I currently use a Sinar F and I've been trying to find a good head for this camera. I'm currently using it in studio on a Manfrotto Fluid Head because it works well, although once I get my field view camera, I'll need something appropriate for field shooting. I respect your experience and skill with shooting in the field and appreciate your opinions on equipment like this. Great video!
John Wilkinson This is the strongest head I've used that has a QR. The Gitzo low profile pan tilt head is still a bit sturdier because of the design, but I'm done with the heads w/o a QR. This head is also lighter than the Gitzo, and packs much smaller.
Hi, ben thanks again you like this one more than the P0+ or the P1+ ?
Hi Pratch! I don’t have any experience with the P1, but I do own the P0 head. I recently purchased it as a very lightweight head for my backpacking trips. It’s a very impressive head, and faster to use than the Z2+ because of the single control to loosen the ball. The Z2+ is more like a pan tilt head with separate controls for each axis. I’d say the Z2+ is better suited for bulky and heavy cameras, and the P0 (or P1) is well suited for situations where time is of the essence or you are looking to save some weight.
I should not have watched this! That’s so much better than the BH-55 ball head I use now. You’re right Ben, any lack of tension on the BH55 and it flops around at all angles, definitely a challenge to work with on my 4x5. This looks like a nice alternative. Wonder how much I can get for my BH55 on EBay....maybe I better check to see how much this Arca Swiss costs first ;-)
The Arca Swiss definitely isn't cheap, but it's very solid to work with. Let me know if you ever want to try it out in person compared to your existing head. If you do go in that direction, definitely reach out to Rod Klukas the Arca Swiss Rep. He is a wealth of knowledge. Also worth mentioning, I've found that the Kessler Kwik Stand XL is a very ideal Arca-Swiss type plate. It has "wings" that provide more lateral support than a traditional plate. I'm using the Kessler Plate on my Ebony 8x10.
Thanks for this review Ben, I've been searching everywhere to get a more detailled view of the head before purchasing. Could you also do a review of the D4 geared double pan?
I would love to get my hands on a D4 at some point to do a video. Maybe it'll happen. :-)
If you do then could you get a D4 geared fliplock gear panning? I'm interested in how smooth the gear panning (top mount) is for large format as well as how firm it is when it moves/locks. Thanks Ben, great vid again as usual. Adrian.
@@adrianscott7817 - I'm not aware of any geared panning in the D4. I may have one in my hands soon so I could update then. I'm was thinking the d4 has just the two tilting axis geared with the bottom and top pan in standard manual friction similar to the cube which I do have.
The top geared panning is an option, as is the fliplock, as is the monoball fix etc. I'm mainly interested in how firmly the 3 axis' lock combined with smoothness of the top geared panning. I have Manfrotto 405 and 410's. They're ok, but jerky - the the 410 never locks properly - which is really really frustrating, especially when using large format. If you get one and could trial it, then I'd be interested of any feedback/opinion. Thanks for reply.@@jwestpro
Arca D4 does not have the load capacity to handle an 8”x10”. I have a D4 and shakes under my Lotus 8”x10”.
I’ve had the arca Swiss monoball Z1 for a few years now. The metal piece that has the numbers on it is wobbly on mine now. I am not sure how to fix it and get it to stay tight. Maybe I can ask the company what I can do. Basically when I adjust the tension with the wheel, the part with the numbers is separated and wobbles and is loose. So frustrating. Thanks for the video. The z2 looks really nice.
Hi Gary! You might want to reach out to Rod Klukas, the Arca Swiss USA rep. He'll be able to take care of that for you. You can find his contact info here: rodklukas.com/arca-swiss/
too bad it is discontinued, i'm really looking for a lightweight Y axis/pan ballhead for panoramas... but not something heavy like that :(
Damn you, Ben Horne! Though it could have been worse. I could have fallen for the Cube. Hmmm...perhaps I just saved some money...Thanks Ben Horne!
Haha!! I certainly love working with the Arca Swiss equipment. It's top quality stuff!
@@BenHorne and Doll. I worked 20 years with the ubiquitous manfrotto/bogen 410 and 405 which are so fast to rough-in then set but there is not the same solid tightness. I still have those and for a commissioned location shoot where time matters, they rock but my little sexy baby the Cube is pure precision and allows no flex in the system. Sometimes a used cube comes along which is a very good value IMO. Good luck resisting ;)
How easy is it to clean out the vertical axis ball? I see that there is a gap where dirt can get in.
What you're seeing is a groove cut into the surface of the ball that stops it from moving side to side. It's essentially a track. Though it looks quite dark in the video and looks like it goes all the way through, it's just a recessed part of the ball and is solid.
Hi, does either Z1 have the awesome individual axis control that this one does?
Hi Darryl. That's something I am not familiar with.
@@BenHorne Thank you. Rod helped me.
What Gitzo tripod are you using for the 8x10?
The tripod in this video is a GT5541LS. I also have a GT3532LS for backpacking or times when I don't want to carry quite as much weight.
This ball head in no longer available? Any known reason for its withdrawal?
Yeah, it unfortunately looks like it was discontinued. I don't know the reasoning behind that though.
Where the kitties at?
Geoff Walker haha! I have a few other projects to work on today, and I figured it might be a bit too much work to wrangle them. They'll be back on my next video.