The Arca-Swiss P0 ballhead

When I bought a smaller travel/hiking tripod, I wanted a smaller lighter ballhead that would match it well.  I love FLM ballheads and nearly bought the CB-32F or CB-38F, but a friend convinced me to give the Arca-Swiss P0 a try.

The head is different from the average ballhead because the mechanism is inverted.  The stem mounts on the tripod and the mechanism sits on top.   This upside-down design prevents water and snow from getting inside.

The main locking control is a bit unusual too... instead of a knob or lever like most heads, it has a ring that wraps around the entire head.  This means you don't need to worry about the orientation of the head.  A quick twist tightens or loosens the head.  It's the same from any angle.

Mine didn't come with a quick release and I ended up using an FLM SRB-60 clamp, which is round and matches the size of the P0 perfectly. The knob is short and doesn't poke out too far either, which was important to me in keeping the overall package as small as possible. I had to modify the clamp to use an M6 screw flush in the clamp, and raised the clamp a bit using fender washers to keep the P0's pano knob from hitting the clamp's knob.

Removing the included screw took just a little force from an 11mm socket.

Be careful what you put on top. When I put a clamp directly on it, I hadn't realized the bottom of the clamp had a protrusion that would dig into the rotating platform.

A gripe I have about traditional ballhead controls is when I want to shoot the sky.  I need the drop notch to face me in that case.  Normally, I'd look down for macros, so I want the main knob to my left while the drop notch is opposite from me.  But when I want to aim up, a normal head has to be turned around, and suddenly using the knob is awkward.  The P0 solves this easily since the orientation doesn't matter.

Also, built in to the head is a rotating platform on top.  This makes panoramas easy... just level the head and rotate the top.  No need to spend more on a leveling base or a panning clamp.  The rotation is smooth and well-damped.

Opposite the pan lock lever is a drop notch that allows the head to be tilted up to 90 degrees if desired. Unlike the Arca-Swiss Z1 that I had for a few years, when I tilt the head into the drop-notch, I can feel the increased resistance from the aspherical ball as it tilts.  So the aspherical ball really seems to work.

I intended the P0 for smaller lenses and landscape use, but I found it plenty strong to hold a 100-400 mounted without slipping.

But here is the big surprise for me... the P0 doesn't shift as it is locked down, which is one of the big features I love about my FLM head.  It makes lining up shots very easy.  It makes precise compositions very easy, particularly for closeups where any shifting is very noticeable.  I haven't compared them directly but I think the P0 may be just as shift-free as my FLM CB-48F.

In a nutshell, I was surprised by how much I like the P0.