Akio Torikoshi | Markins Ball Head

In order to maintain my stamina when climbing mountains, I have been using a lightweight and compact ball head compared to the Pan head.

I have used products from various manufacturers, but this time I ordered a Markins product and used it during my interview in Oze.

When I opened the product, the matte black color gave it a calm and luxurious appearance. It is also very compact and fits comfortably in the palm of your hand.

It weighs about 380g, which is half the weight of the Pan head compared to this one, which is very appreciated.

When attaching it to a backpack, the rod of the Pan head gets in the way, but the Markins ball head, which has few protrusions, does not get in the way.

It is also helpful that it comes with a quick shoe as standard equipment.

When shooting while climbing mountains, in order to respond to sudden changes in weather such as morning fog, I remove the camera from the tripod + head and hang it from my neck so that I can shoot immediately.

And when a situation arises where a tripod is needed, it must also be quickly attached and ready to shoot.

For this, a quick shoe is essential, as it is hassle-free, rather than a screw-on.

With conventional ball heads, the quick shoe was screwed separately to the cork surface, which caused some bending and caused the shooting accuracy to be affected.

In contrast, with Markins' ball heads, the quick shoe is attached directly to the ball, so there is no room for shaking.

The knob-type quick shoe ensures that the plate is securely fixed, and it also fits all Markins products such as the VR-Holder, ensuring the consistency of the system.

Because it is lightweight and compact, it may seem less reliable than a pan head, but its fixing power is outstanding.

Even with a telephoto lens, the image reflected in the viewfinder is fixed securely by simply turning the dial lightly, so the rhythm of shooting is not hindered and it feels very pleasant.

Even with an unstable angle such as looking up at a large tree in the forest as in the example photo, this ball head can capture sharp images without blurring.

This is probably because it uses a large ball and achieves high machining precision.

The movement of the ball is very smooth, and the friction can be adjusted by how much the dial is turned, so it supports light lenses to heavy telephoto lenses with reliable operability and fixing power.

The panning dial is independent from the main dial, which is effective when taking panoramic shots.

In addition, the base of the head has an angle scale engraved on it, which is useful for accurate panoramic shooting. I'm also happy that the base of the quick shoe has a level.

When taking panoramic shots or when taking videos, which has become more common recently, you need to set the camera horizontally in advance, so this is very useful.

Markins' ball heads are not only lightweight and compact, which is one of the advantages of ball heads, but also achieve a high level of performance in terms of strength and operability, making them a tool that I am very satisfied with.

I tested the effectiveness of the Markins Q3 in actual shooting, and I will introduce it with example photos below.