The Thing You Want But Cannot Afford...

Okay, it's time to be honest with ourselves. There are things that we desire, but can neither justify nor afford. And I'm not just talking about the kick line in the Zeigfield Follies - I mean the stuff that raises the real lust; photographic equipment. There. I've said it. The cat is out of the bag and yowling to be let out the front door. In five minutes it'll be yowling to be let in. Anyone want a cat? They're cheaper than camera accessories. The heading image is the thing I want, but cannot afford. The desire is purely visceral - there is no actual need for the device. Yet... It's an Arca-Swiss D4M tripod head - technically a three-way tilt head, but that is a meagre description for a piece of sculpture. It is beautifully made and capable of extreme precision in the studio or out in the field...if you were crass enough to take it out in the dirty world. At the risk of sounding like Gollum, this is Precious... It can apparently support a stiff weight - the Arca-Swiss website seems to say that it will support 30 Kg. If I combined this with my Gitzo Studex 5 I could use a Maxim gun in the studio with ease... But the real features of this are concerned with precision rather than brute weight. Locks and the pivots are so well-made as to allow extremely fine adjustment and positive locking. Too often lesser tripod heads require excessive force to achieve a lock or never actually stay where you put them. The worst ones shift as you try to secure them and you find ourself applying Kentucky windage every time you line up for a shot - knowing you need to second-guess the controls. Bahh. Do what you want with this Arca-Swiss - a position it, level it or rotate the top turntable in a panoramic mode - and it will stay put. Of course, you need a good tripod for this - and I recommend the Gitzo - but the files you get back will show you that you've made a good decision. You'll be using it for decades - and at the price it costs, that is only fair - but you'll be saying goodbye to junk results.