Designed for a realm where functionality trumps all concerns, the Arca-Swiss C1 Cube simultaneously achieves mastery of control with an appearance approaching the status of jewelry. The head allows users to place their heavy cameras with a degree of accuracy they could never have had before except in exchange for a large increase in weight. There are still plenty of shooters around wishing to actually travel with their best stuff, and no geared head seemed practical to endure on one's person before the C1 arrived.
The C1 Cube has finely calibrated ungeared panning adjustments under and above ±28° x-y geared axes with adjustable tension. Why two panoramic axes? So that you can first center the Cube's controls to your position with the bottom axis, then readjust the camera to point dead ahead with the upper axis. The gears' knobs have a little scrap of rubber running around them, to give pinpoint control while wearing gloves without being broad enough to obstruct the head's movements. On the bottom of it all, there's a third (ungeared) hinge which allows 62° of tilt so that any camera can reach the 90° vertical position.
On top of the C1 you'll find 2 sensitive bubble levels and an Arca-Swiss flip-lock quick release clamp which has its own advantages in compactness and security. Given all that's going on here, the weight's astonishingly low; just 2.03 lbs (925g), as light as could be imagined and considerably more compact than other geared heads.
The C1's ultimate advantage lies in the world of macro shooting, where its design allows far fewer focusing readjustments while creating images. You see, all other geared heads (and all other 3-way pan/tilt heads for that matter) execute movements upon circular axes which are centered far below the actual camera-your gear moves along the outside of a sphere. The C1 Cube, however, places the camera inside of a sphere. It is almost as if the x/y axes meet at a point upon the image plane itself, with all the camera rotating around a stationary image plane. This remarkably difficult engineering feat was chosen to minimize movements of the optical system's entrance pupil during composing, making for speedier field work free of perpetual height and focus adjustments.
This version of the C1 Cube is delivered with a gorgeous, handcrafted leather case with permanently-attached shoulder strap.
The Arca-Swiss C1 Cube with Arca FlipLock Release is a three-axis panoramic head with an 88 lb load capacity, making it ideal for use with the heaviest cameras while maintaining a high degree of accuracy. The C1 Cube allows for smooth and stable gearless panning adjustments. The two panoramic axes permit you to first center the Cube's controls to your position with the bottom axis and then readjust the camera to point straight ahead with the upper axis. The gears' rubberized knobs give pinpoint control even when wearing gloves and don't obstruct the head's movements. The Cube's bottom features a hinge allowing a 62° tilt so that most cameras can reach the 90° vertical position, while the top features two bubble levels and Arca-Swiss FlipLock style quick release clamp.
Although universal, the Cube's main use is in architectural and studio work, where precise movements and adjustments are required. Its design is also suitable for macro photography, allowing for fewer focusing readjustments while creating images. It essentially places the camera inside a sphere, as if the axes met at a point upon the image plane itself, with the camera rotating around a stationary image plane. This engineering feat was achieved to minimize movements to the optical system's entrance pupil during composing, making for speedier fieldwork free of perpetual height and focus adjustments. The top of the Cube C1 has a standard panning platform with a range of 360° and a numbered scale for precise and repeatable results.
This Arca-Swiss Leather Case is an example of classic leather styling being used for a very modern device; the futuristic C1 Cube head. Like many other Arca-Swiss cameras and components, materials used are of the highest quality and match the design of other Arca-Swiss components like the Misura camera and its own custom leather case (not included).