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WHY
MARKINS
From
any ball head, you want to have the peace of mind of
knowing
your gear will not vibrate nor move at all out of its own
volition. This saves from blurred images and potential
costly
repairs from nasty falls. It should stay put exactly where
you set it. That is why one should avoid as much as possible
any mini or midi-ball.
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| Markins
fine products lineup |
The
Arca Swiss Monoballs soon after introduction became the dream
of many amateurs and pros, at the forefront of quality and
performance. Even today, after some 30 years of its introduction
into the market, the unique ball shape (an ellipse rather
than a sphere) still distinguishes it from all others. The
heavier your gear, the more the advantages of the Arca Swiss
become evident. Endorsement has always been wide.
Also
under the light of endorsements, the next best option was
then the Kirk BH-1. The Kirk is the heaviest of those tested
and the separate friction knob isn't "as clean a design
as the integral tension dial that Arca and Markins use",
as Nikonian BJ Nicholls has pointed out. However, like the
Arca, the Kirk BH-1 got high praise from pro photographers.
And there is no doubt that the RRS looks sexy with its dual
open channels. As for a lever action clamp that some may prefer,
it can be installed on any ball head.
The
table below may shed some additional light into the why of
my change of mind and sudden urge to get a Markins
instead, despite prior recommendations:
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 |
 |
 |
| Arca
Swiss B1** |
Kirk
BH-1 |
RRS
BH-55 Pro |
Markins
M10 |
| Weight:
1.7 lbs |
2
lbs |
1.86
lbs |
1.1 lbs |
| 772
grams |
909
grams |
843
grams |
498
grams |
Load
capacity:
90 lbs* |
88
lbs* |
50
lbs |
88 lbs |
| 40.9
Kg* |
40
Kg* |
23
Kg |
40
Kg |
Load/Weight
ratio: 53:1
- |
44:1*
- |
27:1
- |
80:1
. |
| Height:
4.5 inches |
4.5
inches |
3.7
inches |
3.9 inches |
| 114mm |
114mm |
93mm |
98mm |
Street
Price USD:
$390
- |
$355 |
$415 |
$340 |
|
100% |
91% |
106% |
87%
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*
Assumed. Do not specify load capacity.
** Now discontinued
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The
four ball heads in the table above give you the peace
of mind
that your gear will stay put when fully locked.
The bigger the load the ball head can handle, the easier
it
is, and the bigger the ratio of load capacity to the weight
of the head itself, the more efficient. This means you don't
have to pay a weight toll for getting such peace of mind.
The
recommendation for professional ball heads is to have
at least
three times the load capacity for your heaviest camera-lens
combination in order to have smooth operation at the "sweet
spot". The sweet
spot is the friction setting where you can still
move your gear under pressure, but it will stay put,
won't creep
at any angle, without having to touch the controls at all,
yet retaining smoothness. You may want to try them
all yourself,
you will see that only half of the above heads can do it.
Is it that important? Most serious photographers
and especially
macro shooters will tell you that precise positioning with
no creep is critical.
The
Markins is
the lightest of all four, the smallest, capable of the same
loads of the other biggies -with room to spare to ensure smoothness-
and the price is most competitive (the lowest).
So
Markins has shattered the old logic: "The
larger the ball, the sturdier the head"
with
its patented unique bi-axial locking mechanism. When
adding that materials, manufacturing and finish are at least
as good as those on any other pro ball head, not to mention
easier handling, all these factors made it the clear winner
and the decision to purchase and recommend it really easy.
The
Markins heads are of high quality. The design is simple,
its operation even more and have proven to be reliable in
the field as attested by its users. So we then turned into
how to be able to share them with Nikonians around the world.
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