ralph

I constantly receive questions from folks whose Arca-Swiss B-1 Ballheads are not functioning properly. These questions fit into two categories. The first deals with complaints that the main locking knob s "stuck." The situation is almost always caused by folks who have turned the knob too hard when loosening the ball with the main locking knob! It is "stuck" open.... This problem occurs especially with folks who do not have great arm strength. If you take a large pair of pliers or get a really strong person
to turn the knob towards "tighten," you should be fine. Then just be sure to loosen the main knob lightly....

The second type of questions are from folks whose ballheads grab or stick and do not pan smoothly even when the main locking knob is loosened completely and the set screw is out fully so that the least possible tension is set. In these cases, the ball is simply dirty. The problem is exacerbated in cold or damp weather. I would swear on a stack of Sibley Field Guides that years ago that I never ever encountered such problems. I have had some success cleaning the ball with isopropyl alcohol and drying it by turning and turning it and working through the cut-out slot. Bryan Geyer recommends dunking the whole ballhead into 99% isopropyl alcohol and swishing it around. Arca-Swiss recommends against this.

In any case, I, personally, have totally given up on my Arca-Swiss B-1 ballheads. In recent years quality control has slipped, the ballhead sticks terribly (as above) whenever it gets slightly cold or dirty, and their repair "service" is ludicrously bad at best. (When the ball grabs, and you grasp the clamp and move it around, the main locking knob actually moves and exhibits almost 1/8 inch of play: this never happened with earlier general I now use the terribly expensive Linhoff Prophy II for my macro work and when working off a tripod or the Groofwin Pod in the car.

I would love to hear from folks with regards to either their favorite or most hated ballheads...