Gear Review: Induro C014 tripod/Markins Q3 ballhead

I haven't done a lot of gear reviews in the past and I've always been sort of a rebel in some aspects so this isn't going to be your typical review. I'm not concerned with specifications like the thickness of the wall of the leg tube or the maximum load capability. That kind of stuff relates to all sorts of gear ratings but the one that comes to mind is capacity of tents. A 4 person tent can only accomodate 4 persons if they're all really good friends or if all of them are pygmies. Same with load ratings of ballheads and tripods. If you look at the max load specs of the Markins ballhead you would believe this device can support up to 65 pounds. Good luck with that but more on that later. On with the review.

I was a bit skeptical about buying a tripod with twist leg locks. I kept remembering my first serious tripod, a Leitz Tiltall which had twist leg locks. It worked really well as long as the temperature was between 45 and 80. Much colder or hotter than that and the legs were a nightmare to open and close. Don't get me wrong, it was a good sturdy tripod but when I discovered that I couldn't remove the 3 way head and put a ballhead on it the Tiltall had to go. My next tripod was a Bogen 3221 with a Bogen ballhead. The quick release plates on that head didn't lend themselves to a secure platform and the lever release enabled me to drop a 500mm f4 lens on the concrete. 2 days later the Bogen head was gone, replaced by a Graf Studioball head. This rig served me well for over 10 years and I don't know it's actual weight but I think it was about 87 pounds so as I got older and my knees got stiffer it had to go, replaced by a Manfrotto 190XB with a Mini Studioball head. Much lighter and also much smaller. Then I started reading about carbon fiber tripods. Ultimately I came across a Manfrotto Carbon One 441 tripod for a decent price and sold the 190XB, using the proceeds to acquire the Markins Q3 ballhead. Well, that tripod is my main unit. It's a perfect height for me, very light, and very sturdy. But it doesn't fit in a medium sized suitcase! Arrrrrrggggghhhhh. Conclusion: Man can not live on 1 tripod alone. So I started shopping for a smaller tripod to travel with.

After a lot of research and reading reviews online I narrowed my choices down to the Induro C014 or the Velbon El Carmagne 640. Ideally I'd have opted for the El Carmagne but I'm not one of those guys for whom money is no object so in the end, price was a major determining factor. I found the C014 on Ebay at a screaming good price ($150) pushed the button, and 3 days later I had a new tripod. Here's the data. I said I don't care a lot about specifics so I'm not going to give you very many. Here's what I care about:

1. Will it fit in a medium sized suitcase?

2. How far do I have to bend over to use it?

3. How sturdy is it and how much does it weigh?

4. How quickly can I set it up and tear it down?

Other than that I don't really care what it looks like though this is a pretty snappy looking unit. So here goes.

The interior measurement of my medium suitcase is 24 1/2 inches. Folded length of the tripod with the ballhead mounted is 21 1/4 inches so no problems there. Diagonally it might even fit in a small suitcase that's appropriate for carry on but I'll check that some other time.

At 5'9" tall I'm what used to be called "average" size and this is the only gripe I have about the tripod so far. With the legs fully extended the top of the ballhead is 49 1/2 inches tall. I'd like it to be maybe 6 inches taller with legs extended. I NEVER extend the center column unless it's absolutely the only way I can get the shot because that effectively turns your tripod into a monopod and 80% of the inherent stability is gone. That being said, if you're 6' plus or have a stiff back then this is probably not the tripod for you. Of course, if it were 6 inches taller it probably wouldn't fit in the suitcase. The height is not ideal but it's a worthwhile trade off for me. You have to bring some to get some.

How sturdy is it? My field test this weekend was a bit abbreviated but I'm convinced this tripod/head combination will be more than adequate for the lenses I have. I probably won't use it much with the 100-400mm but it will handle the 17-40 and the 28-135 with no problems. I don't have a 70-200 (yet) but I suspect it would handle one of those pretty well too. As for weight, when the postman gave me the box my first thought was "Dang this is light. I hope they didn't forget to pack the tripod." With the Markins ballhead mounted the whole thing is just over 3 pounds which makes it a breeze to carry and it's remarkably sturdy for such a tiny thing.

I was concerned with the time it takes to set up a tripod with twist lock legs but there's something amazing about this little guy. My hands aren't inordinately large but I find that I can loosen all 3 twist locks on a leg at one time, pull the leg out to full extension, and lock them in place probably quicker than I can set up my 441 with lever locks. As for cold weather performance, one of the properties of carbon fiber is it's ability to resist contracting in extreme cold or expanding in extreme heat. Last weekend I was shooting in 20 degree weather and had no issues with the legs either extending or collapsing and the locks were good and solid without having to torque them down really hard. That's a plus.

Finally the Markins Q3 ballhead. In the past I've used ballheads by Arca Swiss, Foba, Bogen, Studioball, and now the Markins and I can say that the Q3 is by far the smoothest and easiest to adjust ballhead I've ever used. It's fit and finish is immaculate. In short, it's a purty little devil. The key there is "little." I've put it through a lot and finally was able to discover it's one shortcoming. In January I was photographing Sandhill Cranes at Bosque Del Apache with my 100-400mm lens and as long as I was photographing stationary objects the Q3 performed great. The issue was panning to try and photograph cranes as they take off in the morning. The little Q3 would get really sticky if I tried to pan more than 100 degrees. As an experiment I switched lenses and found I could pan with no issues using the 28-135. The big zoom was just too darn heavy for the Q3. Other than that I have no issues with the Q3 and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone with the proviso that you be aware of it's limitations.

All in all, I am convinced that this tripod/head combination is very close to my ideal travel/hiking/lightweight tripod. It weighs nearly nothing, it's very sturdy for it's size, and most importantly it fits in my medium suitcase. I think I'll keep it!