Introduction

After a the Linhof Profi II ballhead I'd been using caused a camera flop that nearly deposited my camera in a local river, I immediately replaced it with what, at the time, was widely considered the ballhead of choice - the Arca-Swiss B-1 Pro.

The B1 is a very popular head; I've seen it in use by photographers of all sorts, ranging from folks using little compact 35mm cameras all the way up to people shooting 5x7 large format field cameras.

Specifications

Arca-Swiss claim that the B-1 weighs 770 gm / 27.2 ounces, and is 114 mm/4.5" high.  My B1 weighs 741 gm / 26.2 ounces with the tripod clamp knob replaced with one from Really Right Stuff.

The Arca-Swiss B1 I bought came with a standard Arca-Swiss screw style quick release clamp; the B1 is now available with a lever style clamp as well.

Overview

The Arca-Swiss B1 is a more or less straightforward ballhead design, with a ball diameter of about 55mm.  The ball itself is not spherical, but slightly eccentric, so that as the platform tips further away from horizontal, the drag is increased.  This increased resistance is intended to reduce the likelyhood of a camera flop.

The B1 has a single drop slot; in normal use, this slot is oriented toward the subject, so that the camera can be pointed down directly toward the ground if needed.

There are three main controls to the B1: the main drag adjustment knob, the minimum drag adjustment knob, and the tripod pan collar locking knob.

The main drag adjustment knob is mounted on the right hand side of the ballhead.  The knob itself is 36mm/1.46" in diameter, as a gripping area that is 21mm/.85" wide, and has a textured rubber gripping surface that is only 10mm/.4" wide.  The inner 5mm/.2" of the knob is actually a freely rotating numbered ring, which can be set to zero at any drag setting, making it easier to return to that setting later (and easier to return it to any setting relative to that one, too). 

The minimum drag adjustment knob is a small (10mm/.4") diameter flat screwhead set into the surface of the main drag adjustment knob.  It has knurling so that the surface of the screw head can be gripped and turned by pushing a fingertip (or pencil eraser) on the surface, hard, and turning.

The pan collar lock knob is 15mm / .8" in diameter and has a knurled aluminum surface which is 8mm / .33" wide.  The knob is set frustratingly close to the surface of the ballhead housing (7mm / .3") and is also set quite close to the main drag adjustment knob.

Field Experience and Conclusions

By far the best feature of the B1 is the eccentric ball/progressive drag feature which prevents camera flop.  This feature, however, comes with a price - the ballhead is very hard to 'pan' by just setting the tension low and then letting the ball twist.  When this is attempted, the ball grabs, and a bit of up/down movement is needed to free it.

The worst feature is clearly the minimum drag adjustment, which is impossible to work with stiff fingers, often requires a tool, and has a widespread reputation of causing the ballhead to 'lock up' completely.  Various web sites have instructions for how to unfreeze a 'locked up' B1; I've experienced this lockup only once and had little trouble figuring out how to unlock it without instructions.

In general, people seem to set the minimum drag to where the ball just barely rotates freely, and then use the main tension knob to adjust tension always, relying on the progressive drag feature to prevent camera flop.  I've had zero camera flops in a decade of using the B1.

The second worst feature is the pan collar lock; the knob is just too small, and set too close the ballhead housing and the main drag knob to be worked easily.  To add insult to injury, the knob must be turned with great force to lock the pan collar securely.

With the 55mm ball, the B1 is very rigid when locked.  The main drag adjustment knob is reasonably large and easy to grip, even when wearing gloves or with stiff fingers.  Only modest effort is needed to lock the ballhead securely.

Despite the defects, the B1 is an excellent ballhead, and was my favorite ballhead for a period of about ten years, serving me will in some very adverse conditions (in salty mist, for instance, and on a beach with heavy wind-born drifting sand).