arca swiss Z1 - first experience - comments and query

[sanjay_chaudary]

<p>Hi,<br />I just tried out Arca Swiss Z-1 in the field for bird photography. Here are my impressions :<br />1) The panning is very smooth. Handheld is still better for bird in flight. I am using the canon 400 mm f5.6 lens .<br />2) The indexed numbering on the ball lock is very convenient for quickly going to the appropriate friction setting for a particular lens. As a result, there is no separate friction knob ( Is my observation on friction knob being absent correct ?)<br />3) In the portrait position , one needs to use a slightly higher number than when used in the landscape orientation. Setting the level and keeping the picture frame parallel to horizon is easier. <br />4) This is the single pan model with the 1/4 inch screw. The material surrounding the screw is very smooth and I am getting slight play after attaching my Kirk quick release clamp. Any suggestions on how to address this ?<br />5) Having two notches on Manfrotto ballhead seems more convenient for vertical shots. <br />6) For vertically oriented image, I moved the head into the notch. I found it difficult to adjust the height of the lens. When I viewed the image through the view finder, the top part of the frame was at a level below what I wanted to use for the shot . How do I adjust the height for vertical orientation? Do I need to use the center column ? <br>

<br />Thanks in advance.</p>

[robertbody]

<p>For vertical shots, L bracket on the camera is best, so you can remount it and shoot vertically. It is much better to keep the camera above the head than to the side. For occasional shots, maybe you can do without the L bracket, but otherwise it's a great tool to have. Really Right Stuff and Kirk make them, slightly different, I like Really Right Stuff more.</p>

[ljwest]

<p>Do you have the tripod collar for the Canon 400mm f/5.6L? If you have that, it is the preferred method for mounting the lens/camera combination and rotating the camera between horizontal and vertical. Just loosen the collar clamp until the lens can rotate, rotate to the vertical, then tighten the clamp. Using that mounting point also balances the camera and lens better.</p>

[sanjay_chaudary]

<p>Thank you very much for the responses. Larry, I do have a tripod collar. I missed trying that option in the field. I will check it out. Bob, thanks for the L plate suggestion. I will have to use universal L plate as I don't see the ones specific to Eos 3 and Elan 7E bodies in market anymore. I have kirk quick release knob system.</p>

[dcstep]

<p>Yeah, tripod collar is the way to go with the 400mm in portrait mode; otherwise, particularly with a wide angle lens, use an L-bracket.</p>

<p>I vote for handheld for BIF, even up to 600mm. I hand hold my 500mm 99% of the time. If you really want to try the tripod for BIF, get the Wimberley Sidekick to combine with your Z1. I've got that combination and it's super smooth, easily balanced and solid, with no slack when using a Wimberley plate attached to the bottom of the lens collar. (I don't know your Kirk, so I can't advise other than to say that I have now slack at all with the Wimberley/A-S combination.)</p>

<p>Are those film bodies? Shooting birds with film can get real costly, unless you're a very good bird photographer.</p>

[ljwest]

<blockquote>

<p>Larry, I do have a tripod collar. I missed trying that option in the field. I will check it out.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>When a tripod collar is used, it is the best and fastest way so switch orientations. Get a spare mounting plate for the lens so you won't have to swap those over in the field between camera and lens collar. I use Manfrotto tripod and monopod, both with heads that have their RC-2 QR system, and I've got one plate on the 100-400 lens collar, and another on the bottom of the battery grip, so I always have one available, whether I use the 100-400 or not.</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p><em>4) This is the single pan model with the 1/4 inch screw. The material surrounding the screw is very smooth and I am getting slight play after attaching my Kirk quick release clamp. Any suggestions on how to address this ?</em></p>

<p>If I understand this correctly, you have a Z1 with a 1/4" screw and platform, to which you have attached a Kirk clamp the same way you would a camera.</p>

<p>The screw and platform should be removed from the ball stem, and the Kirk clamp attached directly to the stem. If you can't do this with the Kirk clamp, Really Right Stuff makes clamps which will attach directly. There are at least two possible configurations of the Z1. Call RRS to see which clamp you need, including any additional hardware.</p>

<p>Unless you use plates from the same manufacturer as the clamp, get a screw clamp rather than a quick acting lever clamp. Arca lever clamps are adjustable, but it's too much trouble to make this adjustment on a regular basis.</p>

<p>L-plates are so useful, I order one at the same time as the camera. In addition to making it easy to shoot vertical pictures, it provides an attachment point for flash brackets and serves as a protective "roll cage" at other times.</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Two notches are handy, but with an L-plate you seldom use the notch (only for shooting straight down for copying). The RRS clamp has two notches.</p>

<p>For whatever virtues the Manfrotto head has (such as low price), it does not have Arca-type clamps and plates, nor can they be adapted to it. Arca-type QR is the most solid and safe method of attaching a camera. I would never have a ball head that did not have this feature. Fortunately, nearly all do, except Manfrotto.</p>

<p>The Z1 has an elongated ball, which causes the tension to increase the more it tilts. This is the only effective means of tension control in a ball head. Others have to be continually adjusted. Secondly, the Arca Z1 applies tension very gradually, which eliminates the need for a separate tension control. In practice, ignore the numbers and tighten the head until it holds the camera in position, but loose enough so you can make fine adjustments. The speed and ease with which you can use a ball head is why they are so popular. However an head that slips or chatters when you move it is maddening. That's why people are willing to pay for the Arca, and never regret it.</p>

[sanjay_chaudary]

<p>Larry, I do have separate plates for the body and the collar. They are custom plates <br />made for specific camera body and lens.<br>

The platform on the arca swiss has a smooth surface causing the plate. The manfrotto <br />ballhead has a rubber lining on the platform which holds better. I got one with screw and no<br />clamp, and attached the kirk screw type clamp to it.<br>

Edward, attaching the kirk clamp to the ballhead has let me use the arca type QR system of kirk.<br />I have kirk plates for my two bodies and one lens collar. The arca swiss ,as you correctly<br />said doesnt move while adjusting, once set firmly.<br>

Thanks all. Maybe, with a L bracket or using tripod collar, I wouldnt have to worry about the play.</p>

[sanjay_chaudary]

<p>David, I normally shoot 3-4 rolls of 36 exposures at the most in a day. I might get around 4-6 frames that make me happy. Depending on the location, I might get more frames. Dev costs me 90 cents per roll and courier 2.5 USD ( I send a batch together). E-41 is approx 6USD with cardboard mounting. Getting film rolls from fuji is slightly tricky.</p>

[dcstep]

<p>Sanjay, your keeper rate is higher than mine (I'm around 1 per 100 or 200 with birds). However, it might not be a fair comparison because I don't worry about film costs and often take 1,000 or more images in a two or three-hour outing. I take numerous shots of a static bird hoping for a slightly better head angle or slightly better light, trying different apertures, etc. I remember the film days and I'm glad that they're in my past now.</p>

[sanjay_chaudary]

<p>Thanks. I think the processing costs are lower locally than in U.S . I carry spare film rolls with me. I used more rolls using the high speed shooting capability of the camera. When I shoot more frames, I wasted more frames but din't necessarily improve the shots. I shoot less and for important pics, I shoot a few more frames. i am taking the pics in a sanctuary and it might also be the constraints of the sanctuary in terms of topography don't give too much room for experimenting. Maybe I should try other locations.</p>

[dcstep]

<p>Sanjay, my 7D will shoot 8-fps and I'll often shoot in burst of three or four. If the pose is good and I get an eyelight, I'll shoot a little burst. I've waited until the general pose is good and the head angle is acceptable and there's an eyelight, but the burst gives me several slightly different head angles and eyelights to chose from. I find that it yields superior shots compared to me trying to ration. However, shooting with film I'd have a different approach. I'd probably stop taking "safe shots" altogether. (Safe shots to me are, I see the bird, but the pose might not be ideal, the light might not be ideal, etc., but I still take a shot to document what I saw. I almost never show those shots to anyone else, so why do I take them? I do check the histogram, but that's about all they're good for).</p>

<p>In another thread we were talking about how substantial the cost of pro-sumer bodies has gotten and how the digital vs. film cost might not always be a plus. I've taken around 50,000 shots with my 7D which cost me $1800 and probably worth $800. That's 1.6-cents per shot and I'll probably take another 20,000 to 40,000 shots before I can trade up to the 7D MkII. That's pretty cheap, but looking at the new 5D MkIII, with a front end cost of $3,500 and unknown resale, the cost per shot has probably doubled, consistant with the price. Of course, many can't afford the front end cost, so they shoot what they have.</p>

[ruben leal]

Sanjay, regarding the L-plates for your cameras, I remember both sellers used to offer them for these cameras (I had a

7E at the time, but never got the L-plate), so they maybe stopped listing those in their websites, but I believe the plates

are made in small batches, so they may either have some old ones in stock or could make the ones you need at current

prices (as those should be programs that maybe still exist in their CNC machines).

 

Another option is to search in the auction sites for used plates, as most machined parts will outlive their original cameras.