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While the dollar is favourable, I thought it's time to invest in a ballhead/tripod combo. I read all the tripod related posts on the site and have listed my requirements.

1. Able to support a maximum of medium SLR + 70-200 2.8
2. support L type plates (preferably generic)
3. Clamp lock (As opposed to screw)
4. As lightweight as possible

I have narrowed it down to a few. [Please let me know if there are more reasonable choices]

1. Markins Q3 [http://www.markinsamerica.com/MA5/Q3E.php]
2. Really right stuff BH 40 [http://reallyrightstuff.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=BH-40-LR&type=3&eq=&desc=BH-40-LR%3a-Mid-sized-ballhead-with-LR&key=it]

Can I use the Markins with generic L plates? [Are there such things]. Would these be easy to use with one SLR and one point and shoot?

Are all L plates this expensive?

I would assume that these will all fit most tripods. [Which I am yet to buy]

Any comments or hints?

Can't offer any opinion, but it seems that anyone who is anyone uses the Really Right Stuff ball heads.

Thanks Adam.

Also I wonder whether you can use a Black rapid strap WHILE an L plate is fitted to the camera?

I use a Black Rapid strap straight to my quick release plates.
All you need is a loop the clip on the strap can go through, like the thumb screw on the QR plate.
I've never actually used the screw in bit that came with the strap.

Does the bracket you mentioned have something like that?

I'm clearly not someone who is anyone because I use an Arca-Swiss Z1 ballhead. That is another option. There is also Acratech, provided you do not want to use a huge lens (probably 400mm and over; a 300mm f2.8 might be pushing it). A newer South Korean option (Markins is also South Korean) is Photo Clam and I've seen favourable coments on them on Fred Miranda Fora and Denton images. Sunway Foto (Chinese) is another possibility (you'd have to ask to substitute one of their lever clamps). I've never seen a review for one of their ballheads but they make a comprehensive range of panorama and support packages and I've seen favourable reviews of other items. I've got one of their clamps and it's fine. Likely to be OK I think but perhaps unproven.

Arca-Swiss, RRS, Acratech, Kirk, Markins and Sunway Foto make L-brackets. Most are camera-specific, some are generic. I have an Arca-Swiss universal L-Bracket, the most expensive and probably the slickest design (not the one with the rounded clamp in the link, that's for a different mount). The cheapest I have seen is the Sunway Foto one. You need to be careful you can change batteries and cards on an L-bracket without removing the camera from the bracket.

Not all Arca-Swiss mounts are identical. Arca-Swiss was the original, Sunway Foto follow it and I think Acratech. RRS have a wider mount with a slightly different angle. Kirk, Markins and probably Photo Clam are similar. The gotcha is that if you have an RRS lever clamp, you have to use it on all RRS products because it is not adjustable. This is not a problem with screw clamps and does not apply to othe lever clamps. If you have lever clamps it is better to use all one system because you don't want to have to keep adjusting them. However FWIW I have found I can use my Arca-Swiss lever clamp on a Hejnar rail (RRS standard) as well as say my Arca-Swiss L-bracket because although the Hejnar rail is tighter I can adjust the clamp so they're both within tolerance.

One place you may be able to save if you're looking for that is plates because (apart from caveats in the previous paragraph) I doubt there's much difference between a cheap plate and an expensive one. However, first consider whether the claps you get have a registration system and how the plates go with that.

I have the RRS 40 and 55.
Probably the 40 is all you would need. Though according to their info you are near the end of the range.
The 55 is MASSIVE.

Having used both, I would never use the screw clamp type. The lever clamp is just so much better.

Both are excellent, but because, as Murray points out the design is slightly different from the others, I would be reluctant to use a generic LPlate with them. Get one of the other brands if that is important to you. RRS sell a system rather than a ballhead.

Because lever clamps have a single locking point, you cannot mix brands of brackets. RRS is not adjustable, so you are basically forced to use their brand for brackets (Not quite true - RRS lists the suitable brands on their www), but even the adjustable lever clamps (non RRS) have a fiddly adjustment. It is not something to do while using them. More of a set and forget adjustment. So you are still effectively locked into one brand. It just doesn't have to be the same brand as the BH.

Not sure why you would want to use a generic bracket though. Using one designed for the camera makes all the controls and doors very easy to get to. This will not necessarily be true for an adjustable one. Also an adjustment point = a point of failure in my experience. Just accept that a new bracket will be an expense for buying a new body, just as a UV filter is an expense for buying a new lens, assuming that you use these on all your lenses.

I never take my brackets off the camera. The RRS ones (Can't speak for the others) mould so well to the body, you don't even notice it's there until you want to use it. And I can get to all the doors easily. It simply never comes off.

I use a Sun Sniper strap, very similar to the Black Rapid. I simply screw it to the bracket. I did think about making up a loop similar to what Adam describes. On the RRS plate, there is an attachment point for one. But in the end decided it was easy enough to simply unscrew the strap when needed. The rubber pad gave enough security while making it easy to unscrew. The sniper strap is more for paparazzi style shooting when you won't be using a tripod anyway. Also I can't think why you would want the strap on the camera while it is on the tripod. The mind boggles.

One last point. If you are using a 70-200 2.8, you will want a separate plate for it. That way you support the lens rather than the body. This will put much less stress on the lens mount that having the camera support the weight of the lens.

I've the Markins Q3, but with the screw lock for the Plates (I'm assuming this is what you mean by your 'Clamp Lock' requirement) I did notice they now offer a clamp.

I also have one each of plates from Markins, Kirk, and Benro. They all fit with no problems. The Markins plate has a pin registration system that helps locate it on the ballhead as well as possibly reducing the chance of a slip while attaching/detaching the camera.

I don't use anything as long as 200, so I cannot comment on stability with 70-200. It is very stable though.

HTH

Michael

If you are around on the weekend, yiu can touch and feel both an RRS 55 (lever clamp) and the Markins (think its the M20 with screw clamp) plus L plate fitted to a camera.
Lever lock is definitely the way to go
Wasnt there a RRS 55 for sale here not long ago at a sensible price?

I think you said you may come to the Xmas Mexe meet today.
If you do,I can bring the BH40 with lever clamp.
Sadly the D200 will be busy taking photos at home. Today, being the Summer Solstice, I am taking an all day record of the house to record the shade patterns over time. It won't be finished until sunset by which time I will be in Glebe.

I will bring the LX5 though. I have a generic RRS plate on it so you can try it out on the BH40.

hi

if your really serious get a rrs bh-55 or the new one
it has amazing tilt stability and its thick so theres no weakpoints

but i get away with a benro kb-0 head which is half the size of the proper ballheads

i do get some shake but its a little compromise wit shutter speed

Mr Darcy wrote:Not sure why you would want to use a generic bracket though. Using one designed for the camera makes all the controls and doors very easy to get to. This will not necessarily be true for an adjustable one. Also an adjustment point = a point of failure in my experience.

Not true for the Arca-Swiss one though it's not cheap which seems to be an objective here. It has two Arca-Swiss plates, one of which the camera bolts to. They are both on rails and you can move a lever to unlock them and move them off. Thus adjustable, robust and accessible. I'll show you in due course.

All this talk of ballheads have me lusting again.....BH55 or Markins M20/Q20...or maybe i should just get the upcoming MF 054.....

If that helps, I am not too impressed by my BH55. I find it very hard to adjust the friction. Locking the rotation of the base ia also hard, I have to tighten up harder than normal. RRS offered me to send it back for a check, but I did not bother.