Masami Goto | Markins Ball Head
Theme
Fresh greenery in Akan
Photographer
Masami Goto
Date
June 2021
Location
Hokkaido
Device
Markins
Canon
EOS 5D MarkⅣ
EF16-35mm F4L IS USM
EF24-105mm F4L IS II USM
EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II USM
EF16-35mm F4L IS USM
EF24-105mm F4L IS II USM
EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Slik
E74
Review
Masami Goto
URL : www.mgphoto.jp
Born in Hokkaido in 1955. Landscape photographer. After working as a commercial photographer, went freelance in 1984 and began photographing nature in earnest. From 1989, began photographing Sakhalin, the Northern Territories, and Kamchatka in the Russian Far East. Since then, continued to pursue nature in various parts of Japan, mainly in Hokkaido.
Member of the Photographic Society of Japan (PSJ)
- Photo Collection -
"Iyomante" Shogakukan
"Late Snowfall" Kyoto Shoin
"Colors of the Seasons" Tankosha
"Shiretoko: The Land of the Gods" Shogakukan
"Sakhalin and the Northern Territories" Hokkaido Shimbun Press
"Kushiro Marsh" Jiji Press
"Kamchatka: Land of Wilderness and Fire" Toho Publishing
"IWOR Shiretoko, the Sanctuary of Life" Yama-to-Keikoku-sha
"Time of Forest and Water: Akan and Mashu" by Nippon Photo Planning Co., Ltd.
- Photo exhibitions -
"Time of Forest and Water: Akan and Mashu" Tokyo and Sapporo
"IWOR Shiretoko Sanctuary of Life" Tokyo, Niigata, and various locations in Hokkaido
"Kamchatka, the Land of Wilderness and Fire" Tokyo, Osaka, Niigata, and various parts of Hokkaido
"Kushiro Marsh" Various locations in Hokkaido
"Shiretoko: The Land of the Gods" Tokyo, Osaka, and various locations in Hokkaido
URL : www.mgphoto.jp
It's been a long time since I was a commercial photographer, but I wasn't satisfied with shooting in studios, so I would go to Daisetsuzan on my days off.
At that time, I was young and had a lot of stamina, so I used a 4x5 inch large camera, which was the mainstream for mountain photography, and I would go on mountain trips repeatedly, carrying a large tripod that could withstand it, a set of climbing equipment, and a total of about 30 kg of luggage.
After that, I went from using mid-range cameras to using the current 35mm digital cameras. Naturally, I started using smaller tripods and ball heads.
As I get older, my stamina declines to some extent, so it was essential to reduce the weight of my equipment when walking around the mountains and fields.
Well, 80% of the lenses I mainly use are standard zoom lenses, and although I do handheld shooting during the day, I often use slow shutter in the dark hours of the morning and evening, or in the forest, so even though the equipment configuration changes, a tripod is still a must-have.
Therefore, a tripod head is also a must-have piece of equipment, but the ball heads I have used until now have been difficult to quickly fix in the desired position, and there was a small loss of time when I had to release them once they were fixed and set them again, which often resulted in me missing opportunities.
When I was talking about this with a friend, he recommended Markins to me. For the ball head, I chose the lever-type black Q3iTRQ-BK from Markins' lightest Traveler series. I purchased the camera plate PC-542 and subplate LC-542 for my EOS 5D Mark IV, which I currently use as my main camera, and took some photos in the fresh greenery of Akan.
At that time, I was young and had a lot of stamina, so I used a 4x5 inch large camera, which was the mainstream for mountain photography, and I would go on mountain trips repeatedly, carrying a large tripod that could withstand it, a set of climbing equipment, and a total of about 30 kg of luggage.
After that, I went from using mid-range cameras to using the current 35mm digital cameras. Naturally, I started using smaller tripods and ball heads.
As I get older, my stamina declines to some extent, so it was essential to reduce the weight of my equipment when walking around the mountains and fields.
Well, 80% of the lenses I mainly use are standard zoom lenses, and although I do handheld shooting during the day, I often use slow shutter in the dark hours of the morning and evening, or in the forest, so even though the equipment configuration changes, a tripod is still a must-have.
Therefore, a tripod head is also a must-have piece of equipment, but the ball heads I have used until now have been difficult to quickly fix in the desired position, and there was a small loss of time when I had to release them once they were fixed and set them again, which often resulted in me missing opportunities.
When I was talking about this with a friend, he recommended Markins to me. For the ball head, I chose the lever-type black Q3iTRQ-BK from Markins' lightest Traveler series. I purchased the camera plate PC-542 and subplate LC-542 for my EOS 5D Mark IV, which I currently use as my main camera, and took some photos in the fresh greenery of Akan.
The Markins ball head rotates smoothly and allows you to fix the camera exactly where you want it with just a slight turn of the knob. Furthermore, when moving to the next composition, you can respond quickly with just a slight action, which reminded me of the friend who introduced it to me and made a lot of sense.
To put it in extreme terms, you can freely and quickly change the composition and take a picture as if you were shooting handheld. Moreover, it is firmly fixed with just a slight turn, and it is lightweight while having a satisfactory function, which is very different from the heads I have used until now.
To put it in extreme terms, you can freely and quickly change the composition and take a picture as if you were shooting handheld. Moreover, it is firmly fixed with just a slight turn, and it is lightweight while having a satisfactory function, which is very different from the heads I have used until now.
When shooting vertically, using the sub-plate (L-plate) centers the camera on the tripod just like it does horizontally, so vertical shooting, which was prone to shaking with the previous ball head, can now be done without any problems.
The EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens weighs about 1,570g excluding the tripod mount, so I was worried that it might be a little small for this head, but it was more stable than it looked and there were no problems.
Until now, I've been worried about shaking and have taken more shots as a precaution, but with this head there is less loss, and I purchased an additional red Q3iTRQ-RD while I was still testing it.
For the past 45 years, all my tripods have been black, but using a red head somehow gives me a sense of excitement, and although it doesn't have much of an impact on my photography, it has become one of my most important pieces of equipment.
The EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens weighs about 1,570g excluding the tripod mount, so I was worried that it might be a little small for this head, but it was more stable than it looked and there were no problems.
Until now, I've been worried about shaking and have taken more shots as a precaution, but with this head there is less loss, and I purchased an additional red Q3iTRQ-RD while I was still testing it.
For the past 45 years, all my tripods have been black, but using a red head somehow gives me a sense of excitement, and although it doesn't have much of an impact on my photography, it has become one of my most important pieces of equipment.
■ Misty pure forest of red spruce
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV / EF24-105mm F4L IS II USMF14 1/4 s ISO-400 -0.3 EA
■ Dawn
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV / EF24-105mm F4L IS II USMF9 30 s ISO-640 +0.3 EA
■ Morning by the lake
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV / EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS II USMF8 1/80 s ISO-200
■ Fresh green flow
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV / EF16-35mm F4L IS USMF16 0.8 s ISO-200 -0.3 EA
■ Primrose
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV / EF16-35mm F4L IS USMF10 1/60 s ISO-400 -0.7 EA
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