A remarkable value.

When I documented Carmel’s gorgeous Christmas windows with the monster Nikon D3x body and the exceptional resolving power of the 35mm f/1.4 Sigma Art lens in 2014 I uses a Sirui ball and socket head on my ancient but sturdy Linhof tripod. On completion of that project I sold the Sirui as I do not do landscape photography and in the studio strobes permit the camera to be hand held rather than mounted on a clunky tripod.

Recently I have again developed a hankering for some more night time photography and needed a competent ball and socket head to mount on my old Bogen/Manfrotto 3016 monopod. While old it has only three sections, meaning just two levers to undo and tighten, and is made of light alloy. Even 1/15 second exposures with the monopod are sharp for the device removes any possibility of vertical motion, the bugbear of sharp images. The 3016 is readily found on eBay for $30 or so and is recommended without reservations. If the locking levers loosen with age they are easily adjusted and a monopod is a great deal easier to use than a tripod. It’s also a handy weapon when on the wrong side of the tracks ….

My tool of choice for nighttime street snaps is the Leica M10. Not a fast to use camera by modern standards, no AF or IBIS, but it’s a small package, inconspicuous and comes with fast lenses, my street favorites being Canon’s 35/2 and 50/1.4 offerings.

The Artcise NB36 ball head comes with two Arca Swiss QR plates to attach to the base of your camera(s). The female socket is 3/8″ so a small adapter is required if your tripod or monopod uses a 1/4″ size screw.

The head has no fewer than three spirit levels if that’s your thing, two in the top plate and one in the knob which fastens the QR plate. Good luck seeing these at night.

But the real appeal of the Artcise head is the price, which is under $20! It’s a remarkable value for a device which is nicely made, all operations are smooth and the weight capacity is a claimed hefty 33lbs. Not as much as the Sirui’s but hardly a limitation with modern 35mm and digital cameras. None of the three knobs can be fully unscrewed/removed/lost, a nice piece of engineering design. And at $18.70 it’s a keeper as the resale value is precisely zero.

Highly recommended, and some nighttime pictures from the Leica M10 should be available soon.

As delivered. The Arca plate has anti-slip rubber on the side which abuts the camera’s baseplate.

Attached to the M10. Because of Leica’s slavish devotion to a dated removable baseplate, the Arca Swiss style plate must be removed to swap the battery or storage card. The plate may clear the battery door on the M11 if mounted transversely – I don’t know. not having an M11 (I wish!)

Mounted on the Bogen/Manfrotto 3016 monopod.