edouard
Member
I've just come from a 405 and don't get me wrong it is a great head. I have always thought (probably trace my comments on here) that nothing could get better than the 405 and the Cube just seemed a but funny and overpriced.
Shooting more and more interiors and exteriors I soon became dissatisfied with the 405. In the studio it was ok but out on location the sheer bulk and off centre weight started to bother me. Using it on a carbon Gitzo with anything less than the series 5 was not pleasant especially when moving between shots. It seems more at home on a heavy stand (studio) or one of the big aluminium Manfrotto tripods.
The older the heads get, the more stiff the gearing becomes and they are almost impossible and expensive to service yourself. I've had the pan control totally seize up on me and the head had to be sent away for a service for replacement gears and adjustment arm costing about £120 to fix.
I also noticed as the design is very open more like an pan/tilt head than a geared head there was always some play. Firing the camera with the shutter button (Canon) was enough to induce this play and if doing multiple exposures to marry up in post, sometimes they would not match 100%. Cable release or self timer was the only way to ensure no movement.
Levels were totally and utterly off and using with a levelling base was preferable or making sure the tripod legs are level is a must as slight pans can sent the levels off again. The double pan on the Cube eradicates all this.
Not to put an damper on your Birthday present as it is a great head but its defiantly not a Cube.
EDIT: And I forgot, the Arca QR is worlds better than the Manfrotto RC4 QR and 410PL plates.
ok, so when my 405 broke/need servicing: I'll buy a cube! ;-)
(the cube is half the weight of my 405!)