A peculiar problem with my Markins M10 ballhead

[hbtang]

Hi,

I purchased my M10 through the MO organized by Darren and have been using it for a few weeks. There is a very peculiar problem with it.
Do you see the difference between my M10 and the one shown in Markins official website?

M10 shown in Markins website:


My M10


Yes, they are mirror image to each other. This poses a problem when I need to tilt my lens up by a large angle.

In order to tilt my lens up by a large angle, I have to have the notch facing me, which would then bring the progressive friction control knob to my right-hand side:


With my right hand holding the camera, it is impossible to use my right hand to turn the control knob. What I have to do now is to hold the camera (or lens) with my left hand first, freeing my right hand to turn the progressive friction control knob. Only after locking the ball can I put my right hand back on the camera to shoot. It should make much more sense if the control knob is on my left-hand side so that I can use my left hand to turn the control knob and lock the ball, while my right hand is holding the camera, ready to press the shutter button. The M10 ballhead shown in Markins website has the control knob on the left-hand side when the notch is facing the photographer, and does not have this problem.

I wonder if other M10 owners have the same problem.

Cheers,
Tang

[Darren]

We didn't notice the difference. Will contact Markins for clarification.

[Dennis]

Mmm Just check mine. It was exectly the same as the one shown on Markins web site. Maybe they have got left and right hand models ??.

[AJ23]

Mine is the same as the thread starter. Yeah, it's a bit akward.

[ccplim]

Mine is also the same as the thread starter. What I do now is, use my right hand to hold the camera and use my left hand to turn the knob. It's abit hard at the beginning but once you get used to it, it should be fine.

[Darren]

Hi All,

First off, my sincere apologies to all those who got the M10 through the MO organised by us and are affected by this "peculiarity", and we trust that you believe us when we say that we really did not know there were two different versions of the Markins ballheads when we ordered.

We have since clarified this with Markins and found out that the L version was recently launched and will be the de-facto unit supplied to markets outside of Korea. Unfortunately, we are unable to exchange any of the ballheads (either sold to members or from our existing inventory) with Markins.

However, some additional clarification for members may shed some light as to the "peculiarity" as first mentioned by hbtang.

The slot is actually meant for vertical shooting, and not really (as experienced by hbtang) for extreme large-angle/near-vertical shooting although it can be used as such. The Markins (as well as the Arca Swiss on which the Markins is based) design is such that it prevents the mounted equipment from flopping backwards/forwards and impacting on the tripod legs (if you are using long telephotos). As such, the design of the ballhead restricts large-angle shooting and while the slot can be used, its really only a workaround.

As to why a L version is preferred (L version denotes the control knobs on the left side when the slot is in front; converse for the R version), the concept is more for vertical camera orientation shooting as shown in this image :-

where you can see that the control knobs are positioned at the back, and the shutter release buttons are positioned at the top.

Compared to the R version :-

where the controls are now positioned in front.
If you swap the position of the R version around where the control dials are at the back, the position of the slot means that the shutter release button of the camera in a vertical shooting position is now on the BOTTOM - not exactly an ideal position for the proper release of the shutter).

While the above explanation may not be 100% satisfactory to all members, we are unfortunately unable to fulfil any requests to exchange as the remaining units that we have are all of the same orientation (L versions).

[Darren]

For situations that require frequent large-angle or near-vertical positioning of the camera, a more suitable alternative may be the Acratech ballhead, which, due to its design, offers inherently more flexibility in positioning. More information at www.acratech.net. Acratech ballheads are available in Singapore from Cathay Photo and Eastgear.