![]() Two months of using it, and I still don't know what some of the Cube's controls do, or if I'm using an optimal workflow. Downgraded one star for poor documentation. The flip-lock is secure enough that I carry the tripod with camera attached, without worry (hint: the flip-lock has an obscure release lock). I'm using it for 99% of my work, even portraiture and landscapes. ![]() The Cube handles a heavy camera (5 pounds with lens) quite well if the center of gravity is centered on the tripod. One limitation: the range of adjustment is limited and you can't shoot straight down, so I still use my ball head for that. Minimal documentation that left me with multiple questions, and it took me a while to figure out the features I need. Limited range and tricky adjustment for plate/bracket width, so it works best to stick with one supplier of L-brackets across all my cameras. With the Cube it's easy to tell if the camera is flat and vertical without even being able to see the back of the camera. Especially useful for architecture, because you need those verticals vertical and sometimes when shooting interiors you cannot stand behind the camera. A real time-saver if you're used to fiddling with a ball head figure 15 seconds of aggravation saved per shot and the confidence that even the first shot will be perfectly composed before you release the shutter. Very pricey, but once you have one you'll wonder how you lived without it. This remarkably difficult engineering feat was chosen to minimize movements of the optical system's entrance pupil during composing, making for speedier field work free of perpetual height and focus adjustments. It is almost as if the x/y axes meet at a point upon the image plane itself, with all the camera rotating around a stationary image plane. The C1 Cube, however, places the camera inside of a sphere. You see, all other geared heads ( and all other 3-way pan/tilt heads for that matter) execute movements upon circular axes which are centered far below the actual camera-your gear moves along the outside of a sphere. The C1's ultimate advantage lies in the world of macro shooting, where its design allows far fewer focusing readjustments while creating images. Given all that's going on here, the weight's astonishingly low just 2.03 lbs ( 925g), as light as could be imagined and considerably more compact than other geared heads. On top of the C1 you'll find 2 sensitive bubble levels and an Arca-Swiss flip-lock quick release clamp which has its own advantages in compactness and security. On the bottom of it all, there's a third ( ungeared) hinge which allows 62° of tilt so that any camera can reach the 90° vertical position. The gears' knobs have a little scrap of rubber running around them, to give pinpoint control while wearing gloves without being broad enough to obstruct the head's movements. Why two panoramic axes? So that you can first center the Cube's controls to your position with the bottom axis, then readjust the camera to point dead ahead with the upper axis. The C1 Cube has finely calibrated ungeared panning adjustments under and above ☒8° x-y geared axes with adjustable tension. There are still plenty of shooters around wishing to actually travel with their best stuff, and no geared head seemed practical to endure on one's person before the C1 arrived. The head allows users to place their heavy cameras with a degree of accuracy they could never have had before except in exchange for a large increase in weight. Designed for a realm where functionality trumps all concerns, the Arca-Swiss C1 Cube simultaneously achieves mastery of control with an appearance approaching the status of jewelry.
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