Markins Q-Ball Q3 Emille Ballhead (Black) – Short Review

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Markins ballhead – A Korean company that has been the the reference of professional ballhead nowadays! Using Arca Swiss quick release system, it can hold load firmly and securely.

In Oct 2008, I have the chance of bringing a Markins Q-Ball Q3 Emille Ballhead (Black) for my photo trip to Angkorwat, Cambodia. A 6 days photo trip and tripod + ballhead is a must. I have the chance to use the Markins Q3 ballhead “extensively” during my trip.

Strength

Markins ballhead are made professionally with Teflon coating on the ball that gives ultra smooth turning and no grease appearing on the ball.  When lock down, it is really lock down. You can’t move the head at all! Some ballhead when lock down will still move a little, especially downwards. When using a long lens (which is the case where tripod is a often needed), even a 1mm movement cause the composition run off big. Markins Q3 has no such issue.

Weakness

One thing I found and dislike about the Markins Q3 is the pan base. It can’t be lock firmly, and will still rotate slightly when you turn it. This is especially obvious when I carry my camera and lens mounted on the tripod and ballhead, where I can see that it is not very secure.  I searched the web and found that many photographers have the same complaint on the pan base, where the lock is not secure and not strong/firm.

Summary

Pan base lock should not prevent you from buying Markins, unless if you really need the pan lock a lot. Markins ballhead is able to firmly and securely lock down your equipment at whatever angle / position.

Is there any other ballhead that is as good as Markins but better pan base? I heard of one…but let me test it out before I mentioned it here. 🙂