Arca Swiss Z1

I ordered an Arca Swiss Z1 from B&H last November. I have been using it regularly since then, and I am extremely impressed with the way it handles. I always thought it was a bit odd that the safety stops on my Wimberley plates were useless because of a second lower dovetail groove below the main one. I remember reading a post by a user with a similar issue, so I decided it wasn't worth worrying about.

I've just been looking over photos of the Z1 to advise a friend on which head to buy for his own tripod, and noticed that none of the product photos of the Z1 show the double groove. Even the-digital-picture shows two versions (one with level pan lock and one with knob), and both have the same QR head. I don't get it. I seem to recall someone mentioning that the lower groove is used for large format plates, but I have no use for that. It just makes the head less functional for me. It's also substantially different from what I expected to receive. Is this a universal change in the AS line, or is B&H just selling the wrong product?

Product photo:

When I did a Google search, every Arca Swiss clamp I saw, including the older models, had clamps that look like the one in first image you posted. If that clamp in the 2nd image is an Arca Swiss clamp (I didn't find a single picture that looked like that ), I'm wondering if it's a specialized clamp.

From Arca Swiss:

So, the lower dovetail is for large format users mounting rails directly to the head, and all Z1s shipped since the end of 2007 have this quick release design. I'm not all that happy that they never sent new product photos to any of their resellers. This update makes the head better for large format users, but somewhat clunkier and less functional for everyone else.

My view on the Arca-Swiss Z1....

I came real close to getting the Z1. There were a lot of nice write ups on it. Actually it came down to the it and a Markins M-10/20 on the basis of tension control and smoothness (the RRS heads, while well built are not as good in this area IMO).

However, I got turned of by the poor information and informatioal sources for Arca-Swiss.

First, the internet information is poor. The only info I could find was by the USA distributor....and it was dated...and questionable. It had info on the B1, but you had to (yourself) extrapolate it to the Z1.

There was also info that if the head got wet, you needed to send it to them for cleaning and repair, with the warning of corrosion. I sent a note to them and finally got a response that said it should have talked about "salt water". They say that no fluids should be used to clean....whereas markins says that it is good to use WD-40, as look as you wipe of the head....which is good as WD-40 will displace moisture, thus limiting any possible corrosion due to these type of contaminants.

I also dis not want their lever clamp, as I thought the RRS clamp was better. I called the distributor, but the woman who answered refused to talk about any thing but A-S parts....both Markins and RRS are glad to provide guidance on how to and/or what to avoid when connecting their heads/clamps with other mkg.

The worst was that, if something was really wrong, there did not appear to be anyway to contact Arca-Swiss itself. While they may make a great product, the company itself seems to be hidden....or at least needs to come into today's information environment.

So....while the Z1 seemed to be a good head (again, I didn't like the lever clamp), I decided that the M-10 was best for me and my current needs (actually so would, I am sure, the Q3 or M-20)

YMMV.....