Tilt and pivot your camera in three-dimensional space with the Arca-Swiss d4 Geared Pan Classic Tripod Head, which combines the advantages of a spherical head and a 3D tilt head in one compact system.
Featuring a 66 lb load capacity (which accounts for the added stress of a heavy lens) and unobtrusive yet functional controls, the d4 can be used on a tripod like a normal spherical head. When both X- and Y-axes are open, one can move the camera freely. But, in contrast to a spherical head, X- and Y-axis movements can also be made separately, one at a time. And, if one of these axes is fixed, movements can be performed with even more precision.
The design of this head puts the center of rotation of X and Y- tilts in the same place, making the pivoting radius of these movements very small, thus allowing users to maintain perspectives during readjustment. Also, a self-locking shock absorption feature for the swivel function allows for near total compensation of the camera's weight.
In addition to manual operation, the d4 also offers the precision of separate gear-driven vertical/horizontal movements when the locking levers are fixed, with quick release clutches for fast large adjustments.
The head gives you the choice when using pan for an image, either gear driven or free movements. When the geared pan knob is pulled out, the pan movement is free for coarse and quick panning adjustments. When the geared pan knob is pushed in, the gears inside the panning device are re-engaged and will offer precision geared rotation of the camera. Using the new geared panning device, cameras and lenses can be moved micro-metrically in three axes. This movement makes the top pan movement especially useful to an Architectural photographer in finding perspective, especially one point perspective.
Two spirit levels, arranged at 90° angles underneath the upper panorama adjustment, are sufficiently visible to facilitate effective leveling, even from a low viewpoint. This head is compatible with either classic Arca-Swiss-type or newer Arca-Swiss MonoballFix-type camera plates.
