Just found this... a D4 geared head clone.

[sk66]

It's priced at $399/£307, right between the Manfrotto 410jr/405, and it's rated for a lot more weight at 12kg/26lb. It's also about 1/3 the cost of the Arca Swiss D4. Granted, the D4 is rated for about 3x more weight and is probably a little more refined in build quality.
It's only geared in 2 axis (same as the D4) and not 3 like the Manfrottos, I'm not sure if I'll miss it or not. The dual panning feature is cool and will be a great addition to a geared head. I'll let you know what I think of it when it gets here in a month . Not sure if I'll get hit with import taxes or not... it's kind of hit/miss here, but it shouldn't be much anyway.

 

[HoppyUK]

That's been around, on and off, for a couple of years. Sunwayfoto first produced it, then Arca-Swiss blew up so they stopped, but then I'm told the drawings got leaked and it's now being made by someone else. If you search around, it seems to be available with and without Sunwayfoto branding.

I've used the A-S D4 and that is just fabulous. I nearly got my hands on one of these clones too, but in the end it got sent back home before I could try it. Don't know if it has the precision of the D4, but if Sunwayfoto's quality is anything to go by (and it may not be!) it could be good.

Be interesting to see what you make of it Steven

Edit: if money was no object, I'd have a D4 in the studio and a D4m for location. One of the cool features of the D4m is if you slacken off the locks, the whole thing moves freely pretty much like a ball-head I wonder if you can do that with is one...?

 

[sk66]

One of the cool features of the D4m is if you slacken off the locks, the whole thing moves freely pretty much like a ball-head I wonder if you can do that with is one...?

Yes. I got it from Sunwayfoto's Alibaba outlet. I know they produce pretty nice stuff so I went for it.
I'll update after I get some time with it.