Yoshiteru Takahashi | Markins BV-HEAD

The subjects I photograph are mainly natural landscapes and animals. Naturally, I use different equipment and lenses when photographing natural landscapes and animals; for natural landscapes, I use a combination of wide-angle lenses to telephoto lenses, and for animals, I use a combination of telephoto lenses to super telephoto lenses.

The problem here is choosing a tripod head. There are many different types of tripod heads available from each company, including video heads, gear heads, gimbal heads, 3-way, 2-way, and ball heads. I have purchased 38 heads from 15 companies so far, but I have not found one that is both portable and easy to use. However, this time I tried using the Markins BV-HEAD set (BV-22 and Q20iQ-BK) and was surprised at how well it achieved both of these goals, so I would like to report on the BV-HEAD set.

The BV-22 is a revolutionary adapter that allows you to use a ball head in two ways. Naturally, I'm using a super telephoto lens. Normally I'd use a gimbal head, but it's very bulky and heavy. It's fine if I can park it next to my car, but it's too heavy to walk around and shoot.

However, this BV-HEAD set weighs about 780g, which is 650g lighter than the gimbal head I use, so I'm very happy for someone with a bad back.

The quick shoe is Arca-Swiss style, and the BV-HEAD can also use plates from RRS, KIRK, Wimberley, etc. The ball head is a lever type, so adjustment is necessary for plates other than Markins, but the fixing knob of the BV-HEAD is a rotating type, so there is no need to adjust it, and you can feel a secure lock when you tighten it.

One thing worth mentioning is that there is no anti-drop pin on the quick shoe, which is about 7.5 cm long. Many people may feel uneasy about this, but this is a Markins's commitment to quickly achieve the best balance depending on the equipment placed on the tripod head.

The most important thing when using the BV-HEAD set is to adjust the friction when the main knob is loosened. By making this adjustment, you can hold it in any position even when the main knob is loosened. In addition, you can get a moderate sense of torque by adjusting it, which is a very helpful function when chasing flying objects or fast-moving subjects.

This time, I tried using a Canon 1Dx with an EF500 f/4L and an EF300 f/2.8 lens to photograph Hokkaido squirrels. The location was in the mountains of Hokkaido. My style is to set the camera and lens on the tripod head and move around so that I can respond immediately to any animals that appear suddenly.

I was surprised at how well the ball stopped here. I think a lot of force was being applied to the ball, but it didn't budge. I was simply surprised because with the ball heads I had used up until now, they rarely stayed exactly where I had initially fixed it after walking along the mountain path.

When I arrived at the site and put down my equipment, I was immediately greeted by a Hokkaido squirrel.
It was a little far away, so I attached the 1.4x! The balance had shifted a little to the rear, so I loosened the tightening knob on the BV-HEAD and adjusted it immediately. This also went smoothly because there was no anti-drop pin. All that was left was to shoot.

The Hokkaido squirrels running around between the trees were surprisingly agile, but because I had adjusted the friction beforehand, I was able to follow the subject comfortably just by loosening the main knob.

Now, the heavy and large gimbal head is in the warehouse. The Q20iQ and BV-HEAD SET are always attached to the main tripod. Now that most of the stress I felt has been relieved, the Markins have become an essential piece of equipment for my photography.

If you are dissatisfied with the size and weight of video heads and gimbal heads, this head is worth trying.