Arca CUBE Review

By: Jack Flesher

Overview
Choosing a tripod head is probably one of the most challenging purchases a photographer can make as it is usually an exercise in balancing tradeoffs. If you want very sturdy it is usually also going to be heavy; if you go for the silky-smooth to operate, that usually means it will be expensive; if you opt for a design that is fast to reposition, then it will often be difficult to make fine adjustments on it. So what do you choose, a pan-tilt, ball or geared head?
The traditional pan-tilt head is what most photographers start with. They are fairly simple affairs so usually not overly expensive and are intuitive to use and easy to adjust on their independent axes. However the average-quality options are not very smooth and often won't lock down tight enough to hold a heavier DSLR and lens securely. The better ones are certainly sturdy enough and lock down tightly, but they also get heavier and more expensive pretty quickly.
Most photographers serious about get...