I just got my new ballhead - Photo Clam PC-33NS from Kerry at Really Big Cameras.
BTW, a really nice guy responding quickly to my emails at 3AM, thanks Kerry!
Shipped my ballhead the next day early morning.
I bought it for my Gitzo 1541T to solve an issue I've head with Markins Q3 Traveler.
As you might know, it's designed to be used on a Traveler tripod but when the legs
are reversed, the spacing between the knobs is not large enough to accommodate one leg.
You can see it here:
So I asked Kerry if that was resolved with PC-33NS and he said yes. It was designed to
actually resolve that issue! Great, I asked him to send me one and I got it last night.
You can learn more about that ballhead here:
Photo Clam PC-33NS
First, Photo Clam is a Korean product, like Markins, produced by a company started
by a photo enthusiast. It's absolutely beautifully designed, the materials are top notch,
matching Markins. PC-33NS has one advantage - it's even slightly smaller than Markins Q3,
but can support 66lbs. Feels great and absolutely solid. The QR clam is great, has one
extra safety realease. The ball move is very smooth.
Here you can see PC-33NS side by side with Markins Q3 Traveler.
and here you see how it fits perfect in between the legs:
The only improvement they could make would be moving the side gap for lowering
the clam to the vertical shooting position so it fits in between another couple of legs.
But this is very minor, some people might actually prefer it the way it is because
it's more natural to use it that way. For transportation it would be better though.
I'm absolutely confident that Photo Clam is a very high quality product.
It's still unknown, but Markins also showed up one day from Korea
and people knew nothing about them then.
For the Gitzo Traveler owners this is the best solution on the market right now.
Andrew