I’ve been very satisfied with my Manfrotto 3039, three-way tripod head. This is the Manfrotto upgrade to the Bogan 3047 head that’s so well known. But, I’ve always had a yen for a tripod head that’s gear driven. Perusing EBay, I recently came across an Arca Swiss D4 tripod head that in fact is gear driven. Of course, I’ve seen these Ebay listings before. But, their high price tag ($1K+) has always acted as an effective repellant keeping me from taking a closer look. Until this last week. I mean, it doesn’t hurt to take a look. Right? Purchasing from B&H, an item can always be returned. Oh my gosh, they have one model that’s on sale for less than $1K. ($999.) And, B&H offers credit.
It arrived yesterday. I have to admit, this is one sweet tripod head. It has the characteristic degrees of freedom of a three-way head. (Just like my 3039.) It rotates on it’s horizontal base by loosening a small knob. But the front to back tilt and the side to side tilt are both gear driven. What’s neat, is that each of these gear driven tilts has its own release knob that disengages that particular gear. Release either, and the head can easily and rapidly tilt the full range of motion of the respective degree of freedom. This is what one would expect. But releasing both at the same time effectively converts this three-way head into a ball head! That’s very cool. I sometimes need a ball head, and this head would give me a three-way head, and a ball head, in the same package. It’s not quite as smooth as an actual ball head; but, it’s smooth enough.
The D4 head is shown in the four photos. The second, third, and fourth photos show close up views of the head; the first photo shows the head with my 4x5 mounted on it. The two light gray, round knobs drive the gears. The two knobs shaped like planetary orbits are the release knobs. Twist the small knob at the base, and the head freely rotates horizontally in either direction. The gears on the D4 head operate very smoothly, making it easy to level a camera in just about any conceivable way. Surprisingly for a gear driven head, the D4 has a maximum load capacity of 75lbs! Unlike my 3039 head, at 1.8 lbs, this head weighs less than my Feisol CF tripod, versus more. Another nice feature, when both gears are adjusted to neutral, the vertical axis of the tripod runs right up through the middle of the head. This is not the case with either of the Manfrotto geared heads.
The base model that I’m trying out normally stands 4.2 inches tall. But by removing the 3/8” thick clamp at the top, one can easily mount other quick release system adapters. The photos show the D4 head mounted with an adapter for Manfrotto hexagonal quick release plates that are used with 3039 heads. Or, one could mount the Linhof quick release system on this head. Etc. I’ve ordered an adapter that will accept and lock onto the bottom of my camera’s rail system without the use of any quick release plate.
I’ve saved the best feature until last. What really turns my head () with the D4 is that, one can twist the small knob at the top and rotate the adapter separately from the rest of the head. This means that I can horizontally pan the camera regardless of the orientation of the tripod. Very nice! With the 3039, if the tripod plate isn’t absolutely horizontal, rotating the base of the head even a little, makes it necessary to completely relevel the camera.
This one feature may push me over the edge towards keeping this head. It’s expensive. But frankly, I’d be willing to sell my rearely used 90mm SA XL lens to help make up the difference. And of course, I wouldn’t be needing my Manfrotto 3039 head any longer. Hmm. I wonder what else I can sell?
It’s worth mentioning that there are two other tripod heads currently available on EBay that offer roughly the same features as the D4. One sells for less than $5C. Another has only gear driven knobs with no release feature that sells for quite a bit less than that.
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