Ballhead, Plate, Tripod questions

I am looking at a new setup. Will be using a 7D and lenses in signature. The tripod I am looking at is the Feisol 3441T with the Markins Q3T (with lever) and RRS L plate and lens plate for the 100-400.

Is all this stuff compatible? Looked a lot of threads(making me crazy)!
Is the combination enough for the 7D & 100-400 combo?
Looks like a little over $900 so want to get it right. This is pushing the budget.

Last summer I carried a Manfrotto 3021 PRO with Manfroto 322RC2 on my Glacier park hikes. TOO HEAVY!!!

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!!

After two weeks with a 055proB and 488 ballhead in Utah, my wife declared that combo as too heavy. So we are going with GT 3531S tripods and RRS BH-55 ballheads. That combo weighs 1/3 less and is MUCH stronger. For a lighter ballhead you could do the RRS BH-40 or Arcatech GV2 or Markins Q10 or Q20.

Everything 'Arca-Swiss' should be compatible - plates and clamps.

Markins Q3 always gets top reviews, but be careful with the lever quick-release clamps. You have to adjust the clamping to fit individual plates and sometimes the fractional differences between brands (we're talking a few thou) can make them too tight or too loose so you have to adjust the screw each time - which is hardly quick!

But they are not.

If you read the product pages on RRS...they will warn you about incompatibilites with some other brands of plates. I dare say there are several plates in the ArcaSwiss style that will not fit on all of the clamps made by Kirk, Markins, RRS, ArcaSwiss, Arcatech...not to mention the clones made in China.

It's only RRS' lever-action clamps that aren't universally compatible, because they're designed for a specific (zero-tolerance) dimension of plate. The screw-type clamps, from any manufacturer, and the lever-type from Markins will work with a wider range of tolerances (although the Markins lever clamps will need to be adjusted for specific plates).

I thought if I bought the 2 plates from RRS, I could adjust to the Markins and they would be the same? Using only RRS plates. Hope this is the right thinking??

D.C. wrote in post #11514123
I thought if I bought the 2 plates from RRS, I could adjust to the Markins and they would be the same? Using only RRS plates. Hope this is the right thinking??

Yes. It is only the combination of a lever-locking QR clamp with plates of different brands that might cause problems.

The solution is to use plates of only one brand, any brand. Or skip the lever-lock and opt for the standard screw-lock which is of course automatically self adjusting. Some people prefer screw-lock anyway, I know I do.

I also prefer the screw-lock and use Markins clamps which are excellent. I have camera plates from six different manufacturers (including two from RRS) and they all work with my Markins clamps.