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Thread: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

  1. #1

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    Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    Hi all,

    Does anyone here on the forum use the Arca Swiss B2 ball head?

    Any thoughts on it?

    Just thinking at the moment. :>0

    TIA

    Cheers
    Life in the fast lane!

  2. #2

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    Re: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    Do a search. I've posted on other threads. I don't think it's ideal for LF but i use one since i have a pentax 67II as well. It's overpriced, my flip lock jams up in the cold. Arca swiss doesn't service there own gear and their customer service was horrible when i asked for a replacement head after 2 weeks of use and one botched repair. I'd get a fluid head the like the bogen 503 instead.

  3. #3

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    Re: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    Hi Vinny,

    Thanks for the comments... sorry to hear that you've had issues with them such as what you've had. Was yours the B2 or the B1?

    And, why don't you think it's ideal for LF?

    Interesting! :>0

    Cheers
    Life in the fast lane!

  4. #4

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    Re: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    Vinny had a B1 (according to his previous postings and problems). The B2 is a completely different head.

    I've used a B2 for some years for all formats from 4x5 to 12x20 - I honestly don't think there's a better head out there for LF. Everyone thinks it's a "ballhead" - the reality is that it is actually a 3-way head (without handles) - it has two balls - one inside the other. Instead of the balls being able to move anywhere, each is on an axis - opposed to the other. One ball can only move forwards and backwards; the other can only move left and right. It an support pretty much anything and is as smooth as silk.

  5. #5

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    Re: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    I owned a B1 and used it for small and medium formats from 1994 to 2006. Since you're interested in the B2 I won't go into detail except to say that twice I had to send it in for repairs at a total cost of about $250 and three other times it froze up and couldn't be used until I could find the monkey wrench needed to fix it. So I wasn't overly impressed with it from a quality control standpoint considering its high initial cost. But contrary to Vinny's experience, I was very pleased with the authorized AS repair service (in Illinois, can't remember their name).

    The reason I don't like a ball head for LF work is that it's almost impossible to make fine adjustments in one direction without changing another direction when you have a 4 lb and up camera on the head. That may not matter too much for landscape work where fine adjustments often aren't critical but it's a killer for things like architecture.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  6. #6

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    Re: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Ellis View Post
    I owned a B1 and used it for small and medium formats from 1994 to 2006. Since you're interested in the B2 I won't go into detail except to say that twice I had to send it in for repairs at a total cost of about $250 and three other times it froze up and couldn't be used until I could find the monkey wrench needed to fix it. So I wasn't overly impressed with it from a quality control standpoint considering its high initial cost. But contrary to Vinny's experience, I was very pleased with the authorized AS repair service (in Illinois, can't remember their name).

    The reason I don't like a ball head for LF work is that it's almost impossible to make fine adjustments in one direction without changing another direction when you have a 4 lb and up camera on the head. That may not matter too much for landscape work where fine adjustments often aren't critical but it's a killer for things like architecture.
    Comparisons of the B1 to the B2 are pretty confusing for everyone - the B2 is not really a ballhead and in use is completely different to the B1 - with the B2, you can lock one movement axis, while you make critical fine adjustments to the other and vice versa.... It operates exactly like a 3 way (read pan tilt) head - it simply uses two balls on fixed axes to achieve the movements. Everyone who has never used one presumes it is similar in operation to a B1 - it is not!

  7. #7

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    Re: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    Quote Originally Posted by Don Hutton View Post
    ......I honestly don't think there's a better head out there for LF.......
    I have both the B1 and the B2. The B1 is better suited for small hand-holdable cameras, because it can rotate in all directions. The B2 is much better for LF because each movement axis has individual control. I use the B2 in formats from 4x5 to 7x17.

  8. #8

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    Re: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    Quote Originally Posted by Don Hutton View Post
    Comparisons of the B1 to the B2 are pretty confusing for everyone - the B2 is not really a ballhead and in use is completely different to the B1 - with the B2, you can lock one movement axis, while you make critical fine adjustments to the other and vice versa.... It operates exactly like a 3 way (read pan tilt) head - it simply uses two balls on fixed axes to achieve the movements. Everyone who has never used one presumes it is similar in operation to a B1 - it is not!
    My first paragraph was directed at Arca Swiss quality control and Arca Swiss service, two things I thought might be relevant to both the B1 and B2. My second paragraph was directed to the OP's question as to why Vinny (who had a B1) didn't think it was suited to LF. Sorry if you found it confusing.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  9. #9

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    Re: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Ellis View Post
    My first paragraph was directed at Arca Swiss quality control and Arca Swiss service, two things I thought might be relevant to both the B1 and B2. My second paragraph was directed to the OP's question as to why Vinny (who had a B1) didn't think it was suited to LF. Sorry if you found it confusing.
    Understood - my mistake...

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    Re: Arca Swiss B2 Ball Head

    Over the years have used a B1, a Gitzo 3 way panhead, a Bogen 2047 head. Have used a Foba Superball for the last 7-8 years. Worked pretty well but the ball froze up whenever it got wet or cold (lived in AK). Had looked at the AS B2 for a couple of years, read the pros/cons on this forum. Finally bought one from Badger in February. Expensive , but the best head I've ever used. Really like the 3-axis movement but with the compactness of a ball head. Hasn't frozen up on me yet (now in wet western WA). My 4x5 is a Sinar C with a P2 front standard that I haul around (yeah I've been told I'm nuts by a few folks over the years). The B2 axis adjustments stay put even with 11 lbs of camera at an odd angle. Couldn't be happier.
    Vance Gese

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