With their P1 ball head, an innovation patented worldwide, ARCA-SWISS confirms that they still are the leader in tripod head design, as they have been for 40 years. The first noticeable feature of the new tripod head is the conspicuous absence of the locking knob. Wherever the user stands in front of the tripod, they can now just intuitively reach for the ball head and turn the knurled part to set the camera as they want, without fumbling for the locking knob. The tripod head bears three locking elements, arranged around the ball like planets and also dubbed planets. These are small gears surrounding the ball and synchronized to apply a uniform force around the ball, thus ensuring a smooth movement of the installed camera in all axes. Now that the camera is placed directly on the ball and not on its neck, the movements are stabilized just as efficiently as with a rubber ring. The aspherical ball creates a gravitational friction force and thus prevents any deviation of the camera.The panning system is unconventionally located just below the camera mount, and constantly ensures a panoramic rotation keeping in line with the vertical. The ARCA-SWISS P1 head is available in two versions. Version P1s (single) has a ball tilt range limited to 35° and 360° panning. Version P1d (double) also offers separate base tilt allowing angles up to 90°, while a second panning mechanism in the base provides a tilt around the tripod fixture axis.In addi