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D4 vs Cube

Jeffg53

Member
I was wondering if anyone has made a comparison between the D4 and the Cube. I love the Cube but have another tripod with an old B1 on it. The lack of precision drives me mad after using the Cube.

If the D4 is close to the Cube, it would be a lot cheaper replacement for the B1 as I only use the other tripod occasionally.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I think it is a good -- make that excellent -- second. But it is not a Cube.
 

Jeffg53

Member
What can a Cube do that the D4 can't? I'd really love to know the differences. Even I am wrestling with owning two Cubes.
 

RodK

Active member
The C1 Cube is a totally gear driven head that has a higher weight capacity than the D4. The D4 is lighter and overall more compact, but both can easily support 8X10 format cameras. The D4 may be quicker to setup, as it has 2 manual clutches allowing faster, larger movements. Additionally, two gear driven knobs can then fine tune your desired position.

Both the C1 Cube and D4 have built in levels for precise positioning/leveling. Both the D4 and the C1 Cube have top and bottom pan movements

The D4 has more choices in quick release (QR) mounts - Monoball fix, Classic QR FlipLok, and Quick Set Classic (with the knob lock). C1 Cube has Monoball Fix, and Classic QR FlipLok choices only.
 

Jeffg53

Member
Thanks Rod. That sounds to me like the D4 is actually more flexible than the Cube, particularly in being able to make gross movements and then fine tune with geared movements.
I wouldn't dwell on the levels. My Cube isn't level when they say it is. I posted a question about that a while back and there was general agreement that they weren't very accurate. I shoot a lot of seascapes, so I get lots of chances to see wobbly horizons. I must say that I was seriously disappointed that they weren't more accurate.

What is it that makes the Cube better than the D4, other than load capacity?
 

rupho

New member
How about the P and the P1 series they see to be perfectly fine for leveled tech cam shooting where most of the time the camera stays leveled or am I missing something since they are rarely discussed on this forum?


The C1 Cube is a totally gear driven head that has a higher weight capacity than the D4. The D4 is lighter and overall more compact, but both can easily support 8X10 format cameras. The D4 may be quicker to setup, as it has 2 manual clutches allowing faster, larger movements. Additionally, two gear driven knobs can then fine tune your desired position.

Both the C1 Cube and D4 have built in levels for precise positioning/leveling. Both the D4 and the C1 Cube have top and bottom pan movements

The D4 has more choices in quick release (QR) mounts - Monoball fix, Classic QR FlipLok, and Quick Set Classic (with the knob lock). C1 Cube has Monoball Fix, and Classic QR FlipLok choices only.
 

archivue

Active member
The centre of gravity of the camera and the nodal point stays more fixed with the cube.
+1 but that's more important for studio photography than architecture and landscape !

Po and P1 are not metric... not so easy to have the camera perfectly levelled...
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
CG makes a BIG difference in total system stability, especially with longish exposures in wind or other vibrations like traffic... Cube is lower CG and more rigid, D4 is higher and less rigid than the Cube, but the D4 has some nice added features. As always, there are tradeoffs...
 

stephengilbert

Active member
Of course, the RRS leveling bases are even lower and lighter in weight than either, but that's a whole different religious sect.
 

ccroft

New member
Just wondering how you guys know the Center of Gravity is lower for Cube than D4, or that it's any more rigid.
 

f8orbust

Active member
CoG is lower for the Cube, simply because the Cube isn't as tall as the D4 - and the displacement of the camera remains closer to its CoG due to the use of a pair of goniometers at right angles. Rigidity - no, they're both superbly engineered and equally rigid. I was saving up for the Cube, but having tried both side-by-side it's a no brainer (for me). The D4 is heading my way. It's lighter, more compact, has the ability to set coarse movements easily by disengaging the gears, and can tilt 90 deg without having to resort to a secondary 'sliding' setting. But, at the end of the day, they are both superb pieces of equipment, pretty much as good as it gets. If I owned a Cube I wouldn't rush to the D4, but if I was in the market for a Cube I would seriously recommend looking at the D4 first. Just my 2c.
 

ccroft

New member
How much taller is the D4? I thought they were virtually the same height.

I was eyeing the cube but blindly went with D4. I say blindly since I couldn't see either of them let alone both of them side by side. I chose it for the reasons you mention as well as the the lighter hit to the wallet. I've been using it for 3 months now and I'm very happy with it.

Something Cube does have is a long and proven track record. D4 is about as new as it gets.
 
S

Shelby Lewis

Guest
The D4 is a whopping great 5mm taller by the looks of it.
This picture seems to me to speak less about CoG than it does about bending moment... the Cube has the camera mounted to, well, a larger cube that has integrated movement... whereas the D4 mounts the camera to a lever arm above the major movement apparatus.

Both are surely stable, but the Cube is like mounting your camera on a bulky romanesque structure whereas the D4 has it perched on a more slender gothic tower. :D

Same height above the ground... different means to get there.
 

rhsu

New member
...If I owned a Cube I wouldn't rush to the D4, but if I was in the market for a Cube I would seriously recommend looking at the D4 first. Just my 2c.
Pretty much spot on with the said 2cents of common sense! :0

I have pondered over the two heads and played with both of them for awhile and moreover due to my situation subjecting to a lot of harsh outdoor elements, I prefer to stick with an enclosed system.
 

Jeffg53

Member
I just ordered my D4 from Robert White so I will now have one of each, and a B1 on Ebay soon unless someone makes me a good offer.
 

jotloob

Subscriber Member
I just ordered my D4 from Robert White so I will now have one of each, and a B1 on Ebay soon unless someone makes me a good offer.
My D4 was ordered at the beginning of August .
August is a month of almost general Holiday in France . I suspect delivery not before the end of September . Clocks run somehow slower in France .
I will use my CUBE with my bigger and heavier GITZO while i want the D4 with my smaller one , when travelling .
Impatiently waiting .:deadhorse:
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
....I will use my CUBE with my bigger and heavier GITZO while i want the D4 with my smaller one , when travelling .
....
Exactly what I'm looking to do. I bought a RRS TVC-24 tripod for a smaller lighter option to my 5 series Gitzo. The Cube profile seems just a little big for the TVC-24, and the D4 maybe just right. Fantastic new tripods from RRS, btw...

ken
 
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