[Leica] A plug for ACRATECH ... tripod ball heads.....

[Jayanand Govindaraj]

I have been using a lightweight Arcatech GPSS ball head for some time now
on the rare occasions I use a tripod, replacing my RRS BH55 as my kit got
lighter. The big advantage of the Arcatech GP series is that if you reverse
mount it, it functions as a gimbal head well enough to be useful. Did I
mention that the GPSS weighs less than one pound?

The Arcatech gets paired up with either my Gitzo 3 series, or more likely
the Sirui 2204 (I think) which can take a 26lbs load while weighing just
3lbs. If I were buying a heavyweight tripod today, I would never look at
Gitzo/RRS, Sirui is the brand I would buy - incredible bang for the buck
and robustly manufactured.

Cheers
Jayanand

On Wed, Dec 18, 2019 at 1:57 AM Frank Filippone via LUG <lug at leica-users.org>
wrote:

> I have the delight of living in Southern California.  While on the search
> for a new Ball Head for travel, I considered Markins and ARCA Swiss and
> ACRATECH.
>
> The driving specs were... Light weigh, stability, and cost.
>
>
>
> I have had a ARCA B1 for several years.  It is great, except that it weighs
> almost 2 pounds.  ( 800g).  It is rugged, stable, and can be pretty
> infinitely adjusted.  But it is heavy.
>
>
>
> When you consider that my tripod legs weigh 3-3 1/4 pounds, adding 2 pounds
> was a lot.  ( the fact that I own a travel tripod with a total weight of
> 3.2
> pounds with head, makes a 2 pound head seem pretty heavy.)
>
>
>
> Markins have a nice travel head, the Q3.  Unfortunately, I have never seen
> one. nor does my local store ( Samys ) have one to examine...
>
> The ARCA P0 is a nice, upside down head.  The panning function is right
> under the camera.  Level the camera then pan to wherever you want, it is
> still level.  You can not do this on a regular B1 or similar ball head,
> unless you level the legs.. Which is an additional and unnecessary step, if
> you have the panning just below the camera.  I trust ARCA. They are made in
> Switzerland ( or is it France?).
>
> I kept looking towards handling a ACRATECH.  They are pretty esoteric ,and
> therefore pretty hard to find one, no less trying out all their models to
> find the one I preferred...
>
>
>
> I finally called up ACRATECH, located 20 miles from the house.. I was
> invited over to try them out, side by side...
>
>
>
> Long story short, I was treated as visiting royalty. which is how you are
> supposed to be treated when purchasing anything...   I met the owner, Scott
> Dordick, his wife Patty, and several employees.
>
> I spent the better part of an hour with all their heads, asking all kinds
> of
> questions, trying out one then the other... I finally decided that I wanted
> one more feature, the ability to turn the head on its side, and use the
> head
> in a gimballed method. I selected the model they call the GPSS.  Weight,
> just under 15oz  ( a bit less than 380g).  35mm Ball diameter.  The top
> quick release comes off, and can be bolted back onto the bottom to give you
> an upside down ball head..
>
>
>
> Then they gave me a great tour of their factory.. Ever been in a machine
> shop?  It is a dirty place.  Lots of people. Lots of noise, lots of oil...
> Not this place.  A few employees, CNC machines everyplace, and the nicest
> attitude I have seen in a long time.
>
>
>
> Now for the Secrets..
>
> They make EVERYTHING in house.  Bushings, aluminum CNC parts, plastic
> coated
> knobs ( both the metal part as well as the plastic overlays)..amazing. all
> MADE IN USA.
>
> They have a cabinet full of cosmetic seconds... and they sell them at a
> nice
> discount...  REAL NICE DISCOUNT!
>
>
>
> They look strange, they work pretty normally, with an ease of changing the
> tension on the ball that is amazing and sensible.
>
>
>
> They also make ARCA compatible lens and body plates.
>
>
>
> If you are looking for a ball head, consider ACRATECH..
>
>
>
> Frank Filippone
>
>
>
> Red735i at verizon.net
>
>
>
>
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