Well, it's expensive running Leofoto's R&D department for them.
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The great tripod & head thread!
- Thread starter danlindberg
- Start date
rdeloe
Well-known member
By coincidence, as I saw an ad for one of their heads, I was just thinking today, "At least they haven't ripped off the Cube yet." And here we are. How is this even allowed?
Arca Swiss is a relatively small company in a niche market. Chinese companies have little respect for intellectual rights. Lawyers cost money. And by the time a suit is filed and settled, Leofoto will just move on to making something else based on another expensive piece of gear. You will notice that the Leofoto G2 gear head (quite similar to Arca Swiss’ Core 60) is no longer available From them.
TechTalk
Well-known member
You can find similar heads from a variety of companies including Linhof. You can find reviews from several years ago here and here. The Linhof and Arca-Swiss versions are discussed in this thread from 2015. The Linhof heads are considerably more expensive than those from Arca-Swiss.
If you want to try to assemble something similar from stock components, you can find goniometric stages in a variety of configurations.
If you want to try to assemble something similar from stock components, you can find goniometric stages in a variety of configurations.
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Doppler9000
Active member
Yes -the Cube is among the least proprietary Arca items.
Our late friend Jeffrey used Melles Griot goniometers to build a mini cube several years ago…
DIY Mini Cube
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rdeloe
Well-known member
Stacking a couple goniometers is fair game. When I look at the Linhof one, they have not copied Arca-Swiss' trick for putting the camera on its side; you need to use a klunky add-on part to do that with the Linhof head. I'm OK with that. However, Leofoto built a straight copy of the Cube with what appear to be cosmetic changes.
I understand the world we live in, but this kind of thing does not sit well. The tilt-shift adapters sold today are all copies of the concept created by Mirex, which is now out of business.
rdeloe
Well-known member
If there was a gram to be saved, Jeffrey wanted it saved! If he could have drilled speed holes in that thing he would have.
Doppler9000
Active member
Good point about the full motion part.
I recall a full-on knock off Cube from several years ago, out of Korea - Photo Clam.
Doppler9000
Active member
400 grams is amazingly light - but I agree - if he could have seen an opportunity…
rdeloe
Well-known member
It's still for sale... for $1,500! Weird.
MGrayson
Subscriber and Workshop Member
My wife used to be a trial lawyer and did some litigation in this area. I showed her the Leofoto LH-30, LH-40, etc. and the RRS BH-30, BH-40, etc. She said that there was nothing actionable, as Leofoto was not pretending that they were actually selling RRS ballheads, and no reasonable purchaser would mistake one for the other. Her take surprised me, but I thought I would pass it along.
PeterA
Well-known member
Everything you see in any tripod head is just a (relatively) simple mechanical control movement and fixing / clamping device- whose features have all been in machines for a hundred years - repurposing basic mechanical engineering motions/movements and controls is not contestable.
The differentiator in the ,market is quality - if there is no quality differentiator - there is slick marketing, price and availability.
eg from an engineering perspective what Alpa make is 'trivial' they are a niche product marketing company same as a bunch of other tools for photography companies. Nothing wrong with that and only 'special' or 'interesting' to those who have a use for their offerings.
Required
Member
The Swedish reseller of Leo still offers that G2, G3 and G4 versions of Arcas Leveler and D4 series.
Not to mention all RRS heavily inspired versions.
P. Chong
Well-known member
I have one. When I bought it, Arca was out of stock everywhere I looked, and I needed a head for a trip. I paid almost the same as for a cube. But it has served me well for more than 15 years, and even holds the Sinar 4x5 well, though I bought a Sinar PT head for that.
The US site no longer lists the G2 or G20. I guess the main Leofoto site doesn't think Sweden is in Europe.
corvus
Active member
I'm not sure, but could it possibly be related to expired patent rights?... (20 years to my knowledge)
MGrayson
Subscriber and Workshop Member
I think it's more of a trademark issue. I don't know if RRS has any patents here - the ballhead, even with non-spherical ball - has been around for a long time. But it's Leofoto's astonishing copying of the design and naming that grates. It's just not enough to be actionable.
corvus
Active member
It's perhaps like in architecture: the things and shapes that look the simplest and most obvious have gone through a long process. When something is finished and turned out well, we often can't explain why it caused us so much headache beforehand.