Initial thoughts on the P0 Hybrid
Some background on my situation: I currently use two tripod systems, a 3-series RRS TVC-34L w/ A-S Cube and a 2-series RRS TVC-24L w/ BH-40. The 34L is the default for everything, while the 24L is used for backpacking or mixed travel.
Weights of my options:
BH-40: 445g
P0: 365g
P0h: 590g*
D4g: 800g
Cube: 1040g
Here is the best site I found for A-S head comparison and weight info:
https://www.arca-shop.de/en/tripod-heads-compared
I had the geared D4 for a while, but never bonded with it. Although it is a great, full-featured head (geared and free-moving, dual panning above and below, etc.) there were a few things that kept me from using it much:
- The weight difference between the D4 and the Cube wasn’t as much as I liked
- The D4 is still fairly large in a pack. I like to remove the head from the tripod while strapped to a backpack on long hikes or multi-day trips.
- The free-moving feature is nice, but because you have to release each direction separately, I didn’t find it to be much quicker than simply cranking the geared knobs. I use L-Brackets, so someone flipping the D4 over for portrait orientation may find the free-moving knobs more useful.
If I only had one tripod system the D4 might be The Goldilocks. But, because of all the above I found myself using the BH-40 on the 24L instead. The BH-40 checks the size & weight boxes, but it is still a ballhead, with all the non-geared ballhead issues.
I’ve been intrigued by the original P0, but it too is still a ballhead. Enter the P0 Hybrid (P0h). My first impression came at the fedex pickup location. They handed me the box and I thought it might be empty! The P0h fixes two of the three D4 issues I had above. It’s half the weight of the Cube, and releasing it for free movement is as fast or faster than any ballhead. Grab and twist with your eyes closed. It really is the best of both worlds: Fast as a ballhead but without the frustrations, and as accurate as a geared head.
Because the ball release is orientation-agnostic, you can position this head different ways to fit your style, hand positions and equipment. For example, I position the drop notch forward. With L-brackets (or the H/V mounting points on the STC), there is no need for me to drop the head 90 degrees left or right. I can position the drop notch forward and still have all the release and geared controls in a convenient orientation. This is how I currently have it oriented:
There are some things that may or may not be a bother. There are heavy detents designed into the panning head every 90 degrees. I like this because I prefer to orient pitch and roll so I can adjust one without affecting the other. People who use the panning feature a lot may find these detents annoying. There are also detents on the zero angle positions for pitch and roll. This does bug me a bit. I don’t understand the need and it makes it more difficult to fine tune close to zero because it wants to drop into the detent. A minor nit-pick for sure.
There are a few other things I am not thrilled with:
- I have been using the RRS quick release system to easily remove or swap heads. The base of the P0h is slightly too large for the RRS DVTL-40. I either have to turn down the lip on the DVTL-40 in a lathe, or come up with another way to remove the head other than screwing and unscrewing every time. I’m curious if anyone else has tried this: “ARCA-SWISS Quiklink tripod head mount”. Could be an elegant answer to this problem.
- Although there are no reports of stability problems, I do wish the center post was shorter and/or had a larger diameter. It doesn’t appear to be a problem, but having a 1” long stem 1/2” in diameter is a little unnerving. By comparison, the BH-40 stem is thicker (9/16) and only 3/8” long. And the BH-40 is by no means a beefy ballhead. As Howard pointed out several posts above, we always say center columns are a no-no and this is no different than having a 1/2” center column permanently extended 1” off the base. Again, no one has complained about stability, and if it is good enough for Victor I am sure it will be good enough for me.
All in all, my first impressions are very positive. In fact, at ~500 grams lighter than the cube I better be careful: This might replace the cube as my standard on either tripod…
Dave