Toshiya Hagihara | Markins Ball Head
Theme
Dynamism of the landscape
Photographer
Toshiya Hagihara
Date
May 2017
Location
Gunma
Device
Markins
:
Nikon
:
D810, D500,
AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR
AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR
AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
Velbon
:
Pro-Geo V630
Review
Toshiya Hagihara
Nikon College Lecturer
Member of the Japan Landscape Photographers Association (JSPA)
I was born in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, in 1964. After joining an advertising agency, I worked on food-related advertising production, catalog creation, event planning, and more. After leaving the agency, I became a freelance photographer. Captivated by the vast landscapes at the northern foot of Mt. Asama, I relocated there in 2007 and moved to Tsumagoi Village full-time in 2008. I currently photograph natural landscapes and contribute to photography magazines. In addition, I appeared on Wonderful Photo Journey 2, which aired on BS11 in November 2014.
Camera Grand Prix Selection Committee MemberNikon College Lecturer
Member of the Japan Landscape Photographers Association (JSPA)
- Book -
- "Nikon D800 & D800E Professional Use" (Impress)
- "The World's Easiest Digital SLR Camera and Photography Textbook" (Impress)
- "Seasonal Landscape Photos 1-8" (Nippon Camera Company, co-author)
- "60 Golden Rules for Improving Natural Landscape Photography" (Genkosha, co-author)
About Markins Ballhead
I had heard from fellow landscape photographers that there was a "handy ball head." I had been thinking about using one someday, but I never had the chance. Until now, I had mainly used 3-way heads, and one of the reasons for this was that I thought it was difficult to frame with precision using a ball head. In particular, to get the horizon perfectly level, a 3-way head with a function that allows you to control only the left and right tilt is easy to use. On the other hand, I felt that a ball head was superior not only for quick shooting when confronted with a landscape, but also for a free approach to the subject when using an ultra-wide-angle lens or macro photography. However, it is true that after trying several ball heads, I could not find one that really suited me.
That's when I got the Markins ballhead. My main equipment is the Nikon D810, and I often shoot with large-diameter telephoto, standard, and wide-angle lenses. Therefore, the head needs to have a certain degree of strength and load capacity. Markins' Q10i-BK knob shoe ball head is for medium format cameras, but it is compact, with a base diameter of 62 mm, height of 98 mm, and weight of about 498 g. Even when combined with a full-size, high-pixel digital SLR camera, it is strong enough and has a good size for portability, so it doesn't feel overly large.
When you actually attach it, you can feel its smooth movement. No matter what angle or direction you point the camera at, it's really smooth without any jerkiness or sticking.
The outstanding feature of this Markins ballhead is that it is equipped with a limit dial. This dial limits the amount of rotation of the ball fixing knob, so that it does not loosen beyond a certain position. In other words, you can set it in advance so that the camera does not jerk due to being too loose.
In my case, when I attach a 24-70mm F2.8 or 70-200mm F2.8 to the D810, I adjust it so that when I loosen the ball fixing knob, I can move it with a little firmness. This allows me to fine-tune the composition, which was difficult when using a ballhead. It took me a while to get used to it, but once I got the hang of it, it was easy to improve the accuracy of the composition. In addition, the quick shooting ability unique to a ballhead means that I can quickly set it on the tripod even when I encounter fog or light that changes quickly. I was able to get a system that is good at capturing shutter opportunities even when shooting landscapes.
When I first got the Markins ballhead, I used the 3-way head I was used to using in combination with the Markins ballhead, but lately I've been using the Markins almost exclusively. I use it in combination with a carbon tripod, and it makes the whole tripod lighter and more portable.
That's when I got the Markins ballhead. My main equipment is the Nikon D810, and I often shoot with large-diameter telephoto, standard, and wide-angle lenses. Therefore, the head needs to have a certain degree of strength and load capacity. Markins' Q10i-BK knob shoe ball head is for medium format cameras, but it is compact, with a base diameter of 62 mm, height of 98 mm, and weight of about 498 g. Even when combined with a full-size, high-pixel digital SLR camera, it is strong enough and has a good size for portability, so it doesn't feel overly large.
When you actually attach it, you can feel its smooth movement. No matter what angle or direction you point the camera at, it's really smooth without any jerkiness or sticking.
The outstanding feature of this Markins ballhead is that it is equipped with a limit dial. This dial limits the amount of rotation of the ball fixing knob, so that it does not loosen beyond a certain position. In other words, you can set it in advance so that the camera does not jerk due to being too loose.
In my case, when I attach a 24-70mm F2.8 or 70-200mm F2.8 to the D810, I adjust it so that when I loosen the ball fixing knob, I can move it with a little firmness. This allows me to fine-tune the composition, which was difficult when using a ballhead. It took me a while to get used to it, but once I got the hang of it, it was easy to improve the accuracy of the composition. In addition, the quick shooting ability unique to a ballhead means that I can quickly set it on the tripod even when I encounter fog or light that changes quickly. I was able to get a system that is good at capturing shutter opportunities even when shooting landscapes.
When I first got the Markins ballhead, I used the 3-way head I was used to using in combination with the Markins ballhead, but lately I've been using the Markins almost exclusively. I use it in combination with a carbon tripod, and it makes the whole tripod lighter and more portable.

● Found it!
Nikon D500 / AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
F3.3 1/1250 s Auto(ISO800)
Nikon D500 / AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
F3.3 1/1250 s Auto(ISO800)

● At the Smoky Hills
Nikon D810 / AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR
F11 1/20 s ISO100
Nikon D810 / AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR
F11 1/20 s ISO100

About L-Plate & Lens Foot
Along with the Markins ballhead, I also got the following items: Markins L-plate LN-810 (for Nikon D810), camera plate PN-500 + subplate LN-500 (for Nikon D500), and lens foot LN-20 (for Nikon).
Anyone who takes landscape photos has probably experienced this, but when shooting with a wide-angle or standard lens that does not have a tripod mount, changing the composition from horizontal to vertical can cause the subject's position to shift. This is because a typical camera has a tripod mounting hole on the bottom, so when changing to a vertical position, you have no choice but to tilt the pan head sideways, which changes the camera position. Of course, this doesn't matter much when shooting a subject at a long distance, but it makes a big difference when placing a relatively close subject in the foreground. You are forced to change the camera position every time to correct this, which can be quite a hassle.
Markins' L-plate is an item that will free you from such hassle. As the name suggests, it is an L-shaped camera plate. When changing from horizontal to vertical position, you just remove the camera from the quick shoe and reattach it in the vertical position. Even if you take a picture in horizontal position and then change the camera to vertical position, the optical axis in the left and right direction will not shift significantly. Although there is a slight difference in the vertical direction, you can easily adjust the height using an elevator, so there is no need to change the location of the tripod itself. "The composition is slightly different in horizontal and vertical positions, but it's a hassle to change the position of the tripod every time... Well, this is fine!" Such evil thoughts come to mind, and you end up compromising on the composition... You can concentrate on shooting to the fullest. Markins' L-plate are available in both dedicated designs for each camera and general-purpose ones, and both are installed using a hex wrench. All of the items I obtained this time were specially designed, but they were sufficiently rigid and did not rattle when attached to the camera, and were easy to operate.

Another lens I often use is the large-aperture telephoto zoom lens AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR. When shooting handheld, the tripod mount of this lens can be removed, but the original dial is not very easy to operate. This is due to the size and shape of the dial, and it is difficult to apply force with your fingertips, so if you tighten it up to suppress tripod shaking, it is difficult to loosen it later. As a result, you will inevitably shoot handheld without removing the foot, which is not a very smart shooting style. On the other hand, the Markins LN-20 lens foot has a large dial and is wrapped with rubber, making it easy to apply force with your fingertips. It is easy to tighten and release. Another advantage is that the center of gravity is lower than the original tripod mount. It is expected to reduce even the slightest shake when shooting in the telephoto range.
A nice touch is that both the Markins L-plate and lens foot have screw holes on the bottom. Even if you want to use a small tripod or monopod, you don't have to remove the plate or replace the foot every time. Of course, it also goes great with the Markins Q10i ball head. Once you use them, you'll never want to let go of the Markins L-plate and Lens Foot because of their convenience.
Anyone who takes landscape photos has probably experienced this, but when shooting with a wide-angle or standard lens that does not have a tripod mount, changing the composition from horizontal to vertical can cause the subject's position to shift. This is because a typical camera has a tripod mounting hole on the bottom, so when changing to a vertical position, you have no choice but to tilt the pan head sideways, which changes the camera position. Of course, this doesn't matter much when shooting a subject at a long distance, but it makes a big difference when placing a relatively close subject in the foreground. You are forced to change the camera position every time to correct this, which can be quite a hassle.
Markins' L-plate is an item that will free you from such hassle. As the name suggests, it is an L-shaped camera plate. When changing from horizontal to vertical position, you just remove the camera from the quick shoe and reattach it in the vertical position. Even if you take a picture in horizontal position and then change the camera to vertical position, the optical axis in the left and right direction will not shift significantly. Although there is a slight difference in the vertical direction, you can easily adjust the height using an elevator, so there is no need to change the location of the tripod itself. "The composition is slightly different in horizontal and vertical positions, but it's a hassle to change the position of the tripod every time... Well, this is fine!" Such evil thoughts come to mind, and you end up compromising on the composition... You can concentrate on shooting to the fullest. Markins' L-plate are available in both dedicated designs for each camera and general-purpose ones, and both are installed using a hex wrench. All of the items I obtained this time were specially designed, but they were sufficiently rigid and did not rattle when attached to the camera, and were easy to operate.


A nice touch is that both the Markins L-plate and lens foot have screw holes on the bottom. Even if you want to use a small tripod or monopod, you don't have to remove the plate or replace the foot every time. Of course, it also goes great with the Markins Q10i ball head. Once you use them, you'll never want to let go of the Markins L-plate and Lens Foot because of their convenience.

● Green reflected
Nikon D810 / AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR
F11 1/1.6 s ISO100 PL Filter
Nikon D810 / AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR
F11 1/1.6 s ISO100 PL Filter

● Underwater Tree
Nikon D810 / AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR
F8 1/10 s ISO100 PL Filter
Nikon D810 / AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR
F8 1/10 s ISO100 PL Filter
