E-Vener wrote:
I know I've seen a catalog listing for a different clamp for the p0 or you can buy it without a clamp and add your own.
yes you can get it with a scew base to attach whatever you wish to it. but it won't help in the issue that i brought up which is relevent to some but not to others.
sjms wrote:
quite true. but in review most really good ballheads when dropped into the slot are dead on parallel with the Z or vertical axis. being that they are also well supported by the ballhead housing itself the only reason to need to tighten the lock knob is for locking clamp for rotation in the slot. of course that again is nice and easy to adjust for vertical arc movement limits.
by putting it on in a way to sit on top with the clamp in its 0 deg Z axis location is harder to maintain while rotating and moving. initial adjustment for pan would be more challenging too....Show more →
still need to level the legs properly when using the slot. easier to level a ball head i find...
as i said initial adjustment for pan would be more challenging.
i have a leveling base on my tripod. i'm much too lazy to resort to leveling via the leg sections individually unless the setup is out of the limits of the leveling base. and even then its still easier with the leveling base/legs working together.
I've just found an interesting clamp from Sunway that looks almost perfectly designed for the P0 -- except that it's got an unthreaded socket. In looking at the pics of the P0's stud here and elsewhere, it looks like it's removable/reversible. Any chance there's a way to make this work?
I know there are plenty of other options, but the Sunway clamp would be a very nice match, if it can be made to work. I've decided that the Slidefix clamp is really a non-starter for me, given the range of things I would want to be able to use with it.
has anyone got one and willing to unthread the 1/4-20 thread on stud?. it looks like its just a 1/4" drive thinwall socket spin away to see whats on the other side. see how that stud is setup.
sjms wrote:
has anyone got one and willing to unthread the 1/4-20 thread on stud?. it looks like its just a 1/4" drive thinwall socket spin away to see whats on the other side. see how that stud is setup.
That's what I was thinking, too. The stock pics of the slidefix version suggests it might be possible -- the clamp appears to be attached with a bolt from above:
"Compatible with the New Slidefix Quick Release System. Can also be used on all Arca MonoBalls with the Double Dovetail Device"
Does that make sense? I don't see how a slidefix plate couple also fit a standard Arca-style clamp. If so, that would help retain some flexibility, but I can't get my head around how it would work.
Based on Smiert's post about the Sunway clamp, i pulled out a Sunway DDH-01B and the Arca-Swiss p0, and detached the SlideFix clamp from the ( you need a thin walled 11mm socket) and headed down to my local Ace hardware store to get a longer bolt . The p0 is threaded for an M6 thread bolt and given the thickness of the DDH-01B I needed a 35mm long bolt.
The combination works very well. I essentially now have two panning mechanisms on top of each other, but plan on locking the A-S and using the Sunway panning mechanism. The Sunway DDH-01B is similar but smaller in diameter to other panning clamps like the Novoflex, Really Right Stuff , etc.: a screw tightening older width Arca-Swiss based QR clamp combined with a panning base. As opposed to the panning mechanism on the p0 where there is no angular scale, there is a degree scale marked in 5 degree increments on the DDH-01B. I'll post pics later.
I found someone on photo.net who had done something similar -- he took off the slidefix platform, and found an M6 female thread.
I haven't yet heard from anyone who's confirmed it, but it seems almost certain that the non-slidefix version is identical underneath -- a female M6 thread.
I might just get one and try it.
One more wrinkle -- an Arca dealer on the Luminous Landscape forums just posted this:
"P0 was originally set to use only slide fix plates(smaller). At photokina they will show the new P0 with a combo classic or flip lok QR which will take either normal Arca style plates or Quik slide plates. Still very light."
First field impressions: for a simple set up, Nikon D3s with 16-35mm f/4G lens and or an RRS L plate, the Arca-Swiss p0 and Sunway DDH-01B combination works perfectly. Obviously the head isnt as heavy-weight as an RRS BH-55 or Arca-Swiss B1/Z1 Monoball or my favorite pan/double tilt head the Foba ASMIA. The head locks up as tight at all angles of tilt as we have come to expect from other A-S heads with an aspheric shaped ball. If you are looking for avery high quality, high strength to weight/size ratio lightweight compact ballhead this is definitely the one of the very best.
To use a warship analogy: the Arca-Swiss p0 offers cruiser performance in a destroyer size package, even with the sunway panning clamp added.If you are looking for a head in in the battleship weight and size class, the Arca-Swiss Monoballs (B1, Z1, and if you can find one, a bi-axial B2) and the RRS BH-55 are the way to go.
Panning clamps:
The Sunway DDH-01B looks like a smaller diameter version of the RRS PCL-1 but there are some differences. I have not taken either the DDH-01B or PCL-1 apart so cannot comment on the internal build similarities or differences. Functionally they do the same job. But the PCL-1 is not only larger but smoother in operation. Novoflex makes 3 similar panning head with Arca-Swiss based clamp: http://www.novoflex.com/en/products/panorama-photography/panorama-plates/
but I haven't worked with any of them.
I don't consider the PCL-1 perfect for my uses and hope RRS updates it with a heavier duy version soon, however for the time being it's as good as it gets for a simple Arca-Swiss QR clamp with panning function. If your budget doesnt have room for the PCL-1, the Sunway DDH-01B does a good enough job.
if I were looking for a really good head for backpacking or general, non assignment travel, yes I think it is a good head. Back in July I shot a two row skyline at sunset of Austin, TX using a p0 head and SlideFix QR system using a D3s and a 70-200mm f/2.8G ED IF VR II Nikkor. The lens had a SlideFix plate on it and the camera was oriented in "portrait' (long side of format vertically oriented and the results satisfied both me and my stock agent.
Would I rather of been using a heavier head and panoramic system? Yes, but I was on vacation wit hmy family and was keeping my my photo baggage (beyond camera and a couple of lenses to a minimum.
Can somebody direct me toward article what exactly is Slide Fix system ..what is a different between V grove on RRS Kirk Markins and new Slide Fix . Looking at the pictures it looks the same
( it may have variation in angle size etc). I was asked to make same Slide Fix Camera Plates
