Markins vs RRS Lever Quick Release

I'm adding to my collection of Markins ball heads with the Qi20 and the BV-22 gimbal attachment. Deciding on which lever QR to get.

I have an RRS lever QR on another ballhead, and a Markins lever QR on my travel tripod. I'm a fan of the RRS QR but have had no problems with the Markins QR which is a newer device on the market than the RRS. Neither QR has been a problem for me.

All my L brackets are made by RRS. Just wondering whether anyone has experienced any problems over time with the Markins lever QR. which would tilt me to staying with the RRS.

Not problems, per se, but I don't like that it's an "all-or-nothing" lever clamp whereas the RRS lever has a mid-point detent. It's also difficult to adjust if you do have several makes of A-S compatible plates to deal with. I swapped the Markins lever clamp onto my Flashpoint head which is about my 3rd tier head; I've got RRS lever clamps on the Q10, BH40 and BH55.

I have both and prefer the RRS. I agree with Jon regarding the mid-point detent. I also feel it takes me a little longer to take the camera off the Markins because of the two pop up stops.

tvphotog wrote in post #17290928
I'm adding to my collection of Markins ball heads with the Qi20 and the BV-22 gimbal attachment. Deciding on which lever QR to get.

I have an RRS lever QR on another ballhead, and a Markins lever QR on my travel tripod. I'm a fan of the RRS QR but have had no problems with the Markins QR which is a newer device on the market than the RRS. Neither QR has been a problem for me.

All my L brackets are made by RRS. Just wondering whether anyone has experienced any problems over time with the Markins lever QR. which would tilt me to staying with the RRS.

Good news and bad news.

Good news: your choice is actually simple.

Bad news: you have no choice if you want to use the BV22.

I have the RRS lever clamp on my BH-40.

I also recently got the Markins Q-20i + BV 22.

The RRS lever will NOT close on the BV 22. Yes, it is the newer B2 AS II. Yes, I know RRS says it will work on a wider variety of plates, and specifically mentions Markins. And yes, it actually works on the other Markin's lens plates that I have. But it will not close on the BV 22. It does not even make it to the halfway point. I applied a lot of pressure (i.e., well beyond normal), and could not get it to close: the BV 22 is simply too wide.

I ended up going with the (Markins) screw knob. The RRS lever release is nice, but a screw knob release is not that much more clumsier or slower and not at all less secure, and, in my mind, the ability to use any plate without any issues, either now or two decades from now, beats the minor disadvantage in convenience.

(Of course, given that the Markins lever release requires a screw to be adjusted to accommodate different sized plates, I would not pick that over the RRS lever or any screw-knob release under any circumstances.)

Now here is some great news: the Q20i + BV-22 make for a really, really, really, really, really, nice system! I do not know if you have used any other Markins, but the Q-20i is my first Markins, and wow! It is simply in another class than the BH-40. I know RRS gets a lot of cult-like love. And maybe I would sing a different tune if I had the BH-55 instead of the BH-40. But, in my estimation, while the BH-40 is a (very) good ballhead, the Q-20i is a functional work of art, with almost magical buttery, smoothness and rock-solid strength packaged in a gorgeous body that could easily sit on a pedestal of the Guggenheim.

i was going to get the markins QR plate to use on my travel tripod,but went with RRS and there screw release clamp as i all ready have there lever clamp on my BH-55,my thinking is i'll get finer adjustments with there screw clamp using all there plates! i like to keep it all in the same family regarding clamps/plates,its just hard on the pocket book !and markins isn't much cheaper ether .

I'm a huge fan of the Markins screw clamps but I also have to admit that their dovetail has a slightly different angle to all of the plates I have including Wimberley. I've never used Markins plates but I'm told by a support expert that their plates are also dimensionally unique, I think they're thinner than most.

I'm not a fan of the Acratech "double speed" screw clamps as I much prefer a fine thread on the knob shaft. I'm now using Acratech and RRS lever clamps with plates from 6 different manufacturers. The RRS clamps I have feature a self-adjust mechanism which works very well on all my plates, but then so do the Acratech clamps although they are not auto-adjusting designs.

I use the Q20 w/ Markins lever QR and haven't had any problems with it. If I'm using a 'standard' QA plate it is the Markins plate for that lens, but I mostly just use the Capture Clip plates on all my gear and it works great. Haven't used any of the RSS stuff, so I can't compare the two.

i have a question to ask, as i was shopping around for the makins Q-20 in the e-bay used dept. they don't have any ! and i noticed there's vary little price change regarding there Q-10 or Q-20 or even the Q-3 traveler ball heads,e-bay seems to have all the other one's up for sale like RRS kirk ent. even acratech,but no makin's!do the owners of these ball heads just keep them for life time ! i do see that some of there prices for a new Q-20 is though the roof,just saying "

Thanks for all the input. I decided after discussion with Steve at Markins and someone at RRS to buy the clamp with the Quick-turn knob. I watched a YT video where the Markins rep was comparing the lever to the Quick turn knob release. It took him exactly the same time to release them both.

Because I carry my tripod on my shoulder with the lens attached, I want all the security I can get and the knob wins over either lever.

Being that you already have both and experience with them I would have thought youd be able to answer your own questions better than any of us could have... But being that you ended up with a screw clamp I guess it was a neither in the end.

ben_r_ wrote in post #17292716
Being that you already have both and experience with them I would have thought youd be able to answer your own questions better than any of us could have... But being that you ended up with a screw clamp I guess it was a neither in the end.

Yes, true. But I was sure there were people out there that had had the Markins and the RRS QR's over a longer use period than I.

It's funny though that I ultimately decided on neither.

tvphotog wrote in post #17292730
Yes, true. But I was sure there were people out there that had had the Markins and the RRS QR's over a longer use period than I.

It's funny though that I ultimately decided on neither.

... but did go with the screw-knob which I suggested after going through the same experience as you!

jeetsukumaran wrote in post #17292733
... but did go with the screw-knob which I suggested after going through the same experience as you!

That's correct and your description was very helpful.

It is obviously too late to be useful for the OP, but I had a Kirk screw knob for years (older, slower, finer thread), which was great. It held things very tightly, never had an accident, nor any worries, even without safety stops (it pre-dated those designs). My gripe was that it was slow, and became annoying once I finally got an L-bracket.

So then I rented a Markins Q20i with lever release, and realized all my old Kirk plates had different widths. I'd have to buy all new plates to make the Markins work.

I tried the newer Kirk fast screw knob and didn't feel safe with it. I thought it was way too fast and too easy to release, returned it. It also pushed the plates out of level with respect to the clamp, making the bubble level useless.

I ended up with a RRS LRII clamp, which is self-adjusting. All of my old plates fit tightly. I have tried with all my strength to push the plates out once locked. Not a one budges. I think that's as good as it gets.

sawsedge wrote in post #17296829
I ended up with a RRS LRII clamp, which is self-adjusting. All of my old plates fit tightly. I have tried with all my strength to push the plates out once locked. Not a one budges. I think that's as good as it gets.

Same experience here with that RRS clamp.