Arcbody Inverter Mount

How to Hang

One of the drawbacks of theArcBody’sdesign is that the rear standardonlyfalls. This is, of course, equivalent to a rising front standard which is useful for shooting tall buildings, trees etc. But, the camera can not be used as-is for perspective control where a front fall (or rear rise) is needed, such as when looking downward.

The clever engineers atHasselbladdid come up with a solution, though it’s a bit of a kluge and expensive to boot.

What you’re seeing in the photograph above is an ArcBody hanging upside-down from anArcBody Camera Inverter Mount(47033). TheRMfxreflex viewfinder has been turned upside-down so that framing and focusing is straightforward, but since all of the lens’ controls are now upside-down as well operation is awkward at best.

There’s another issue too. The ArcBody’s mounting base features a Hasselblad quick release plate. Since it also features standard tripod mounting screws I had no problem attaching anArca-Swissmounting plate so that in normal use it would attach to myB1ball head.

But, with the inverter mount comes a problem. It’s designed toonlyaccept a Hasselblad quick release plate. Since removing the Arca-Swiss plate every time I wanted to use the Inverter wasn’t an attractive option I was forced to also buy a Hasselblad quick-release mounting shoe (45144), another expensive accessory.

In the final analysis the whole thing is a not inexpensive, ungainly and an only marginally satisfactory solution. I wish that Hasselblad had allowed a greater range of movements in the body’s original design, but I suppose that such is the price for small size and low weight. I can live with the trade-off, though not happily.