Ball head for Gitzo GT1545T?

Looking for a ball head to go with a Gitzo GT1545T. I'm leaning towards a Markins Q3i traveler because a) it has adjustable tension, and b) I own an original Q3 that has given me flawless service for a decade, so I trust the design. I'm was looking at the RRS BH-30, but since it doesn't have adjustable tension I'd just as soon go with the Gitzo GH1382TQD. Another ball head that caught my eye was the FLM CB-32 F, but I haven't been able to find any reviews of how it performs with the GT1545T, and FLM seems to have dodgy reviews all around. Input appreciated.

Markins (M20) was my first "perfect" ball head, I got mine in 2005 after many just ok or out and out terrible heads before it. It's been a solid work horse, and I still have it to this day, and still use it often.
I like it so much that at one point when a used Q20 (essentially the same head as M20) came up for sale, I grabbed it and sold off another head it replaced.

Now that said, I also have an FLM,. and it's like a Mercedes,. I like the tilt only feature.
But, I baby this one, use it more for studio type work, where as the Markins has been my "take to the dessert and don't worry about it getting beat up by elephants or mongoose" head for years.

Much as I like the FLM;
- I am assuming you are looking for a traveling head,
- I can,t assume you will have it in as rough environments as I do, but you never know,
- You already know and trust the Markins,.

So what's your question?

I have it's older brother (the G1550T) and I use a Triopo RS3 with an Arca clamp attached - mainly because it is what I had handy.

I think this head may no longer be made but it is well worth searching one out as it is small, light, VERY smooth and holds anything that Canon/Nikon currently make - yes with my 800 F5.6 it makes my 4 series Gitzo look bendy! Oh yes they are dirt cheap as well

Assuming that you are not using stupidly heavy lenses for travel (like I do) then check out the Sirui K10x and K20x heads. I have the bigger brother (K40X) and rate it highly.

Happy hunting.

LostArk wrote in post #18859314
Another ball head that caught my eye was the FLM CB-32 F, but I haven't been able to find any reviews of how it performs with the GT1545T, and FLM seems to have dodgy reviews all around.

I've only used small Markins ballheads on travel tripods but found them fragile in the cold; they would lock up. I had three, all Q3T models and they were all the same - unreliable in really cold or wet weather. This was some years ago so maybe they're better now. I replaced them with Acratech GP-s heads which look weird but work well in bad conditions and have built-in leveling capability. I've not had any problems with the Acratechs.

I also use FLM heads and currently have CB-18, CB-24 and CB-48 models. All are excellent; very well made with high quality materials, they are a joy to use. The dodgy reviews may be from people who haven't thoroughly understood how to use them properly as good instructional material is very hard to find. They are sophisticated and as Jake mentions the tilt function is really, really useful. They also work well in the cold. I've gone through a lot of tripod heads and the FLM heads are the best I have used, better than Arca-Swiss or RRS ballheads and less expensive than both.

I recently bought a Markins Traveler Q3i and it fits well on my older Gitzo G1197, but that’s not where I typically use it. I also considered the Gitzo GH1382TQD previously, but found it was unnecessarily tall after I finally located one to examine. Excellent reviews nonetheless. Compared to my larger Sirui K30X, the Markins is noticeably smoother with less effort, so just a better instrument, even though I use the Sirui as my workhorse. I have not noticed any issues in wet or cold weather with the Markins. BTW, the Markins Traveler Q3i is not what I would call a small head in proportion to today’s compact travel tripods.

NDAPhoto wrote in post #18862479
I recently bought a Markins Traveler Q3i and it fits well on my older Gitzo G1197, but that’s not where I typically use it. I also considered the Gitzo GH1382TQD previously, but found it was unnecessarily tall after I finally located one to examine. Excellent reviews nonetheless. Compared to my larger Sirui K30X, the Markins is noticeably smoother with less effort, so just a better instrument, even though I use the Sirui as my workhorse. I have not noticed any issues in wet or cold weather with the Markins. BTW, the Markins Traveler Q3i is not what I would call a small head in proportion to today’s compact travel tripods.

I agree it is not what I would call small. As I said, I own the original version of the Markins Q3, which is essentially the same size as the Q3i with the exception of the base diameter. However, I refuse to mount any of my $$$$$ equipment to a ball head that doesn't have friction / tension adjustment. The Q3i and FLM CB-32F were the only ones small enough for the GT1545 I could find with tension adjustment, so I bought both to compare. The FLM's memory ring function is extremely unintuitive and difficult to make adjustments to even while giving it 100% of my attention. Seems like it would be a huge distraction if I had to make an adjustment in the field. It is an interesting and unique function that I'm sure many people could benefit from, but for me it's just too fiddly. Markins Q3i it is!

Lads, thanks for the recommendations. I've ordered recently a similar one to my postal code worldpostalcode.com in San Jose. I need it for my astrophotography. Hopefully, this ball head won't have backlashes.