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D4 vs Cube

GMB

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.

I went for the D4m (i.e., the one without the gear movements), as figured I did not need the extra precision. So far I am very happy, except that seeing the leves with the camera mounted is not allways easy.
 

jotloob

Subscriber Member
My geared D4 with fliplock has arrived today . Finally after a 3 month waiting time .
I find that head very handy and I will use it with my smaller GITZO when hiking .
 

Jeffg53

Member
Thanks Jürgen. That gives me hope that mine may turn up some day. It amazes me that we all sit back patiently and wait for Arca. If they ever had any serious competition I wonder if they would go broke.

As an aside, recently, when I was a long way from anywhere, I needed to adjust the clamp tension. Arca still doesn't have a retaining system on these things. I was lucky to catch all the bits and get it back together after it ended up in my hand.
 
I'm a B1 guy. Love what the cube can do and how it is made but it is not particularly fast to get set up for me. That said, I've used the b1 since before water was invented...

Robb.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Robb,

It's only a matter of time before you succumb. You might as well admit defeat now and have Dave send you a Cube --- once you use it, you can never go back. And I was using B1's for years before the Cube, while you were still in diapers!

:ROTFL:
 

Jeffg53

Member
The B1 let's you unscrew the clamp tensioner too. The D4 is a good compromise. I will have one of each if Arca ever delivers.
 

jotloob

Subscriber Member
As an aside, recently, when I was a long way from anywhere, I needed to adjust the clamp tension. Arca still doesn't have a retaining system on these things. I was lucky to catch all the bits and get it back together after it ended up in my hand.
I only use ARCA plates with all my gear now .
You adjust the clamp tension once (at home , not in the outback :)) and thats it .
No need to touch that screw anymore .
 

Jeffg53

Member
That's the theory but I can tell you that the reality is that a few days of bouncing around in Iceland loosened it to the point that it needed to be adjusted.
 

jotloob

Subscriber Member
That's the theory but I can tell you that the reality is that a few days of bouncing around in Iceland loosened it to the point that it needed to be adjusted.
Ok. Jeff
I can imagine that situation quite well .
What I did to help myself , I marked that nut on top with a waterproof marker and check for correct position always before usage .
 

Jeffg53

Member
Thanks Jürgen. That sounds eminently sensible. I'll do it immediately. The other problem is that I was standing in an area that was full of moss so that I would never have found the bits.
 

Woody Campbell

Workshop Member
The key advantage of the Cube is that if your first step setting up is leveling (as it often is with MF landscape - you level and then figure out what to do from there) it is very fast and precise to level.
 

Lars

Active member
Robb,

It's only a matter of time before you succumb. You might as well admit defeat now and have Dave send you a Cube --- once you use it, you can never go back. And I was using B1's for years before the Cube, while you were still in diapers!

:ROTFL:
I think one advantage with the Cube design that posters above have missed is the curved rail design, which keeps the mass center of the camera close to stationary. This affects the resonance frequency of the whole system.

A conventional head with a pivot point in the head shifts the mass to the side of the central axis, which causes a lower resonance frequency and thus potentially more oscillation from vibrations.

This is partly why the Cube is more suitable for a very heavy camera.
 
I'm a big arca fan. May need to have one of each of their products moving forward. Everybody needs more than one tripod / head...

I sense a shoot off coming at your next workshop. Grab your chaps...
:D

Robb


Robb,

It's only a matter of time before you succumb. You might as well admit defeat now and have Dave send you a Cube --- once you use it, you can never go back. And I was using B1's for years before the Cube, while you were still in diapers!

:ROTFL:
 

kuau

Workshop Member
Now the question is when are they going to ship I ordered mine from Rod K back in June, now it's almost the end of October
 
J

jeffacme

Guest
That's the theory but I can tell you that the reality is that a few days of bouncing around in Iceland loosened it to the point that it needed to be adjusted.
I travel with the cube quite a bit and have found that an extra plate clamped into the head prevents the adjustment from moving.
 

Jeffg53

Member
Thanks for that tip. I'll dig out an old plate and use it. My original question has been helpful in unexpected ways. Now if only Arca would deliver the D4 that I have on order.
 

Jeffg53

Member
Well here it is almost Christmas and the fourth month since I ordered my D4 is almost here with no D4 in sight. My loyalty to Arca is slipping away very quickly. I may just cancel the D4 and order the Korean Cube knockoff.

I still can't believe that a thread got started a while back on good service nominating Arca as an example.
 

kuau

Workshop Member
Jeff,
Same here,I ordered mine at a trade show in SLC from ROD K direct his summer and have yet to receive mine either.
oh well, I guess Rod found out that I was using a Sinar arTec and not a RM3di,so I guess I was placed at the bottom of the waiting list.
Still using my RRS ball head which is working for me. I guess its like anything else in photography, hoping that if I spend more and more money, it will actually make me a better photographer but of course it doesnt.
 
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