Markins Quick shoe detent pin?

[longisland.km]

From the description of the Quick release shoe, there is a safety detent pin that is spring loaded to prevent accidental sliding. How does this work exactly?

From the photos of the shoe, I do not see any mechanism for moving this pin up and down.

If I pick up the Markins ballhead, I'm just wondering how I can get my RRS L plate to slide into place.

[ed rader]

From the description of the Quick release shoe, there is a safety detent pin that is spring loaded to prevent accidental sliding. How does this work exactly?

From the photos of the shoe, I do not see any mechanism for moving this pin up and down.

If I pick up the Markins ballhead, I'm just wondering how I can get my RRS L plate to slide into place.


you'll have to top load your equipment, which is a PITA and why i use the RRS flip lever release, which is a true "quick" release :D.

the pin fits into a hole on the bottom of the plate (not all plates have holes) and it prevents the camera from sliding out of the QR.

ed rader

[tvphotog]

you'll have to top load your equipment, which is a PITA and why i use the RRS flip lever release, which is a true "quick" release :D.

the pin fits into a hole on the bottom of the plate (not all plates have holes) and it prevents the camera from sliding out of the QR.

ed rader


Prevents the plate from slipping out when the QR is loosened, but not completely open. There are three QR positions in the lever QR: closed, loosened and open. With the Markins screw QR's, the pin will hold the lens plate when the jaws are loosened for shifting the lens position on the QR.

[longisland.km]

you'll have to top load your equipment, which is a PITA and why i use the RRS flip lever release, which is a true "quick" release :D.

the pin fits into a hole on the bottom of the plate (not all plates have holes) and it prevents the camera from sliding out of the QR.

ed rader

hmm, that explains why I've seen a bunch of Markins heads combined with the RRS lever release.

Is that pin on the Markins shoe removable? Or is there some way to manually make it move out of the way (after all, the Markins web site says it is spring loaded.)

[tvphotog]

Just BTW, but why do you want to remove the pin? It is a safety feature that may save a $1000 lens some day.

[ed rader]

hmm, that explains why I've seen a bunch of Markins heads combined with the RRS lever release.

Is that pin on the Markins shoe removable? Or is there some way to manually make it move out of the way (after all, the Markins web site says it is spring loaded.)


one way or the other i'm sure it is but i didn't try to remove it :D.

all the knobs confused me and i found that on occasion i would inadvertantly loosen the QR while adjusting my ballhead so i think the pin is a good idea if you are using that type of QR.

you probably know that some lens and camera plates have removable screws that serve the same purpose in the event your QR doesn't have the safety pin.

ed rader

[longisland.km]

Just BTW, but why do you want to remove the pin? It is a safety feature that may save a $1000 lens some day.

Its not that I really want to remove the pin, its just that, based on Ed's description of how you need to get the plate onto the shoe, the pin sounds like a hindrance.

This is the impression I got from Ed's description, with a guess about what he does not say:

The pin is there and it sticks up, so you can not slide a RRS L plate through the dovetail because it will run into the pin. To get the plate onto the shoe, you need to open up the shoe fully and plop the plate down on the shoe and then tighten up the dovetail, so that the plate is held in place. It does not sound like there is any way to move the pin out of the way during the mounting procedure. If this is the way that you must mount it, I feel that this would give a higher probability that it would end up getting dropped at some point.

If there is a pin there, I would want a lever or switch somewhere that I could press so that the pin would move down in the shoe and not block a plate, allowing you to slide it in. If the plate has a cutout on the bottom, then the pin would simply pop up and prevent the plate from sliding off. To remove the plate, you would need to press this switch to move the pin out of the way so that you could slide the plate off.

So, the questions are:

1) is it possible to make the pin move out of the way so that I can slide a plate onto the shoe?

2) if (1) is not possible, is it possible to remove the pin?

[ed rader]

Its not that I really want to remove the pin, its just that, based on Ed's description of how you need to get the plate onto the shoe, the pin sounds like a hindrance.

This is the impression I got from Ed's description, with a guess about what he does not say:

The pin is there and it sticks up, so you can not slide a RRS L plate through the dovetail because it will run into the pin. To get the plate onto the shoe, you need to open up the shoe fully and plop the plate down on the shoe and then tighten up the dovetail, so that the plate is held in place. It does not sound like there is any way to move the pin out of the way during the mounting procedure. If this is the way that you must mount it, I feel that this would give a higher probability that it would end up getting dropped at some point.

If there is a pin there, I would want a lever or switch somewhere that I could press so that the pin would move down in the shoe and not block a plate, allowing you to slide it in. If the plate has a cutout on the bottom, then the pin would simply pop up and prevent the plate from sliding off. To remove the plate, you would need to press this switch to move the pin out of the way so that you could slide the plate off.

So, the questions are:

1) is it possible to make the pin move out of the way so that I can slide a plate onto the shoe?

2) if (1) is not possible, is it possible to remove the pin?

1) i wasn't able to find a way so i top loaded my gear which of course meant opening the QR almost all the way. a true PITA but a secure connection, which was not what i wanted.

2) if all else fails you could drill the pin out.

i think you should look at getting a different QR. i also had a QR made by kirk and as i recall it did not have the pin...you could add screws to your kirk camera plates if you wanted that feature (which makes more sense to me).

when i was where you are now i was really appreciating the cost and effectiveness of the manfrotto RC2 system and had to keep reminding myself why i upgraded to arca swiss.

eventually after almost dropping my 1ds mark III because i accidently loosened the QR and on another occasion having my monopod fall off because the QR was loose, i upgraded to the RRS flip lever release at further expense.

ed rader

[Lowner]

On my Markins QR-60 clamp there is a spring loaded pin. I removed it, reversed it and replaced it. Everything is still there, but the pin no longer projects.

Its a 2 minute job.

[longisland.km]

On my Markins QR-60 clamp there is a spring loaded pin. I removed it, reversed it and replaced it. Everything is still there, but the pin no longer projects.

Its a 2 minute job.

Thanks for the information - that is good to know. I wasn't feeling like spending another $100+ for a shoe.

[longisland.km]

1) i wasn't able to find a way so i top loaded my gear which of course meant opening the QR almost all the way. a true PITA but a secure connection, which was not what i wanted.

2) if all else fails you could drill the pin out.

i think you should look at getting a different QR. i also had a QR made by kirk and as i recall it did not have the pin...you could add screws to your kirk camera plates if you wanted that feature (which makes more sense to me).

when i was where you are now i was really appreciating the cost and effectiveness of the manfrotto RC2 system and had to keep reminding myself why i upgraded to arca swiss.

eventually after almost dropping my 1ds mark III because i accidently loosened the QR and on another occasion having my monopod fall off because the QR was loose, i upgraded to the RRS flip lever release at further expense.

ed rader

What are the reasons for preferring the RRS flip lever - because it is not a knob, so no confusion about loosening the wrong knob, and because it is not symmetrical, so no confusion about partially open vs. closed?

[ed rader]

What are the reasons for preferring the RRS flip lever - because it is not a knob, so no confusion about loosening the wrong knob, and because it is not symmetrical, so no confusion about partially open vs. closed?

1) it's much quicker. very similar to using the manfrotto RC2 system.

2) also like you said it's not a knob so you won't accidentally loosen it. it's basically on of off with a halfway point for making adjustments.

do you prefer the convenience of the manfrotto RC2 to the knob release? if so you'll love the flip lever which is better yet :D.

now, if i were slinging the tripod or monopod over the shoulder all day with camera attached i might prefer the traditional release with safety pin.

ed rader

[tvphotog]

If you consider the lever release, think of an L bracket by RRS or Kirk. It will greatly speed the transition from landscape to portrait mode, besides making the vertical position more stable.

[Lowner]

I use a Markins QR-60 screw clamp on a monopod and an RRS B2 LR 11 lever clamp on my tripod.

The screw clamp is totally secure, and I do mean bulletproof. But it is a little slow in operation.

The lever clamp is quick, either flick the lever fully open and drop the camera or lens in, or only flick it half open and slide the kit in from the side. When closed it grips like the devil itself. The downside is the worry that the lever will catch in a shrub or branch if moving the assemblage about, something I don't tend to do anyway. It is also fussier about the plates it can grip, only Wimberley and RRS are guaranteed to work. I have proved that a Markins PL-55 plate will not hold.

Either is a hundred times more secure than the Manfrotto RC2 in my view. Having switched I'd never go back.

[longisland.km]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

I think I have decided that the default Markins shoe will be sufficient for my purposes - a combination of needing to drop another $100+ on the RRS clamp and be forever tied to using only RRS or Wemberly plates is not appealing to my cheap side.

tvphotog, I've already picked up a RRS L plate. This summer, I came to the conclusion that hanging my camera off the side was sucky. The L plate makes much more sense.

[tvphotog]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

I think I have decided that the default Markins shoe will be sufficient for my purposes - a combination of needing to drop another $100+ on the RRS clamp and be forever tied to using only RRS or Wemberly plates is not appealing to my cheap side.

tvphotog, I've already picked up a RRS L plate. This summer, I came to the conclusion that hanging my camera off the side was sucky. The L plate makes much more sense.

My feelings, exactly.

[ed rader]

I use a Markins QR-60 screw clamp on a monopod and an RRS B2 LR 11 lever clamp on my tripod.

The screw clamp is totally secure, and I do mean bulletproof. But it is a little slow in operation.

The lever clamp is quick, either flick the lever fully open and drop the camera or lens in, or only flick it half open and slide the kit in from the side. When closed it grips like the devil itself. The downside is the worry that the lever will catch in a shrub or branch if moving the assemblage about, something I don't tend to do anyway. It is also fussier about the plates it can grip, only Wimberley and RRS are guaranteed to work. I have proved that a Markins PL-55 plate will not hold.

Either is a hundred times more secure than the Manfrotto RC2 in my view. Having switched I'd never go back.


in terms of holding strength and tighter tolerances sure you're right. but i did use the manfrotto system for years and never had any accidents or near accidents but with arca swiss and traditional QR i did drop my monopod once (almost into the ocean) and i almost dropped my camera once.

ed rader