Arca Swiss Cube head?

[Tori Nelson]

I have a friend who is considering buying one of these for use in his studio. He wants to use it for a Plaubel view camera with a digital back. He said he's heard of a knock off for about half the price also.

So... Does anyone have any experience with the cube head; pros or cons you'd like to pass on? Any idea how much weight it will hold and still operate well?

Thanks for any advice I can pass on to my friend.

Tori

[Kirk Gittings]

see http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/magic-box.shtml. Oddly enough, no one, including the maker, states a load rating for this?

[Tori Nelson]

Thanks Kirk, I had read that review and will pass it on to my friend. I couldn't find anything with a load capacity either so I'm hoping someone here might know something about it.

[evan clarke]

I have been using my Cube since they have been available in the U.S. and in conjunction with my Gitzo 3540 XLS is my absolute favorite device. Had I bought this tripod combo as my first one, I would never have bought the other dozen or so I have stacked in the corner of my darkroom. I use it with all my cameras up to my 11x14 Chamonix....Evan Clarke

[Tori Nelson]

Evan, thanks so much for your recommendation, I will pass it on to my friend.

Tori

[Ken Lee]

The knobs look rather small. Can you adjust a heavy camera ?

[Tori Nelson]

Well, for studio work (product shots) I don't think it would be as much of an issue as it would be out in the field.

[D. Bryant]

Well, for studio work (product shots) I don't think it would be as much of an issue as it would be out in the field.
Tori,

There is a discussion thread about this product and the Korean knockoff on GetDPI.com. LFF member Jack Fleisher runs the forums there and it's a friendly place to lurk and ask questions. I would check there for your inquiry.

My though is while it is a very nice product I'm not convinced it's worth the expense. But if your friend is going to use it in a studio for commercial work then maybe it is.

Don Bryant

[Tori Nelson]

Thanks Don, I'm going to suggest that he do his own lurking, lol.
Thanks again all for for input, I appreciate the help.

Tori

[evan clarke]

The problem with 99% of what you will find about the Cube in forums is that it is based on no hands on experience. It's easily twice as good as any other head...EC

[D. Bryant]

The problem with 99% of what you will find about the Cube in forums is that it is based on no hands on experience. It's easily twice as good as any other head...EC

Evan the reason I recommended GetDPI.com is because it is composed of users who do actually use very high end equipment, in this case the Arca Cube. By and large they are not a group bumbling wanta bes.

I'm not sure how you conclude that it's twice as good as any other head, to me that's a little like saying platinum is twice as good as gold. I'm sure it is a great head, but the Korean knock off my be just as good for a lot less money.

Now I do recall that the Korean copy pissed some people off, perhaps even ARCA. Either way it's interesting to read the pros and cons there.

Don Bryant

[tbirke]

I own the cube and use it for my Sinar p2 8x10. It is OK up to the 300mm (I have a 3lbs APO-Symmar L 5.6/300) But I wouldn't recommend it for anything heavier than 25lbs. The problem are indeed the small knobs - if you have to move the camera counter to the direction of gravity, it can get hard if you are in an off balance position. I sometimes have to use the optical bank as a lever to make the knobs rotate. If the balance is off too much, the self locking mechanism doesn't work and the camera is moving the head to the lowest position automatically - which can be annoying.
If you are moving the head close to a balanced position or in the direction of gravity, it is a charm to use though. And frankly said - this is the case 80% of the time.

I also used a digital camera on it with a 200mm lens, weighing around 10lbs - none of the above problems with that weight.

The weight of the head itself is absolutely perfect at less than 2lbs.
Would I buy it again? Yes, because there is nothing like a geared head, and speaking of geared heads, the cube still is the toughest.

[evan clarke]

I own the cube and use it for my Sinar p2 8x10. It is OK up to the 300mm (I have a 3lbs APO-Symmar L 5.6/300) But I wouldn't recommend it for anything heavier than 25lbs. The problem are indeed the small knobs - if you have to move the camera counter to the direction of gravity, it can get hard if you are in an off balance position. I sometimes have to use the optical bank as a lever to make the knobs rotate. If the balance is off too much, the self locking mechanism doesn't work and the camera is moving the head to the lowest position automatically - which can be annoying.
If you are moving the head close to a balanced position or in the direction of gravity, it is a charm to use though. And frankly said - this is the case 80% of the time.

I also used a digital camera on it with a 200mm lens, weighing around 10lbs - none of the above problems with that weight.

The weight of the head itself is absolutely perfect at less than 2lbs.
Would I buy it again? Yes, because there is nothing like a geared head, and speaking of geared heads, the cube still is the toughest.

I have Arcas, Ebonies and a Chamonix 11x14, all lightweight cameras and have no problems with them, I use the Cube with my RZs up to 500mm. I was very interested in the Korean head but couldn't line up the purchase and when the first users reported lubricant issues I lost interest. At any rate it's a fabulous head..Evan Clarke

[RK_LFteacher]

I use a cube and so do several of my friends with 8x10 Arca Swiss cameras including up to 600mm Nikon tele lenses(Large). It is no problem with the small knobs and sooo..
convenient.
I love using it and so do we.
Email me if questions on using.
Rod

[evan clarke]

I use a cube and so do several of my friends with 8x10 Arca Swiss cameras including up to 600mm Nikon tele lenses(Large). It is no problem with the small knobs and sooo..
convenient.
I love using it and so do we.
Email me if questions on using.
Rod

When I picked up my new 4x5 from you I could have popped when you had the Cube on hand..a happy day..Evan Clarke

[peter ramm]

I use the cube with everything from DLSR to MF (H3D with heavy zoom lens), and tech/view cameras (Alpa Max, AS M line, even stuck a Linhof 679 on it). Mounted on a Gitzo 55 series it seems to have no problem holding the weight. However, the assembly is top heavy - especially if tilted to a down view. So, I hang a downrigger weight from the column hook of the Gitzo. All this works well in the studio.

No comment re price/value. That's subjective. I can say that I never (well, hardly ever) use my Q-ball any more.

[shadowleaves]

I have a friend who is considering buying one of these for use in his studio. He wants to use it for a Plaubel view camera with a digital back. He said he's heard of a knock off for about half the price also.

So... Does anyone have any experience with the cube head; pros or cons you'd like to pass on? Any idea how much weight it will hold and still operate well?

Thanks for any advice I can pass on to my friend.

Tori

the knockoff is called Photoclam Multiflex; I have one, and it's pretty good, with some nice features that are missing on the A-S cube (i.e., big knobs). However, it costs more than half price of the Cube now (around 60-70%).

[ljsegil]

I concur that the only major limitation of the cube is difficulty adjusting heavy cameras with long lenses against gravity, and also slippage of the head out of a set position despite using the maximum setting on the friction locks with high weight loads when the head cannot be near the center of gravity of the camera and lens rig (head used on Feisol 3442 legs). My rotation locks had to be adjusted immediately after purchase to prevent slippage as well (expertly and expeditiously handled by Bob Watkins at Precision Camera Works) but are now fine. I enjoy macro work (for which the motion of the head around its center of rotation makes life much easier than conventional geared heads) with longer lenses and this is the situation when I have found difficulty with adjustments against gravity and slippage of the head can become an issue due to the long bellows extension (Canham Woodfield 8x10) when I am using a heavy lens like the Heliar 30cm; I have found similar issues in the field with a 30" Artar. It does not handle a 8x10 Sinar P well at all. However, under any sort of reasonable use the head is a dream to use, very responsive to fine adjustments, and if not bizarrely loaded as described above the small knobs pose no problem at all. The 180 degree flip also is easy to use and provides a lot of flexibility for camera positioning. I have found the head to provide a very favorable level of performance for its weight, used in what I think most of us would consider reasonable loading conditions, and have no problem recommending it with the above caveats. Value of course is subjective and each purchaser must decide that for himself, it sure ain't cheap. For a very small additional investment I supplemented my cube with a user Bogen/Manfrotto 400 head on some monstrous Gitzo aluminum legs to do the heavy lifting when needed, and find the cube/Feisol combination quite delightful for well over 80% of my large format use.
Larry

[John Schneider]

I should mention that the components that Arca uses have been sold for decades for things like laser optical tables and other science applications. While buying from someone like Newport won't save you any money over buying The Cube, they may perhaps have larger components better able to handle longer lenses/heavier cameras.