I am completely sold on the Markins, because of the tension control, weight capacity and overall weight of the item. However, I haven't even bought it yet. I'm piecemealing my setup because of money, but my choice, given my lenses, the largest being the Tamron 200-500mm, is a Markins M10 (maybe the M20), with an RRS lever clamp. I have the RRS lever clamp attached to my Manfrotto 488, temporarily. Great quality clamp on a mediocre ball. I'm packing away money right now for the Markins. I know I'll be spending a bit more, but I just didn't see much advantage to a Markins clamp. All this is set up on the Manfrotto 3001, but I'm not going to upgrade that just yet. It's a money thang. check out http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/non-nikon_articles/markins/index.html

I'm relatively new to DSLR photography, and the learning/equipment curve is huge. But, I'm having fun, learning an amazing amount, and looking forward to Spring. I know winter is good for shooting, but I hate the cold, and right now I have the flu, so shooting will just have to wait. My latest shoot resulted in only a pic of a European Starling, the bird we all love to hate. http://www.pbase.com/di/image/73824869/original

The M10 is a very good ball head. I have mine on a Feisol CF 3401. Holds my D70s and 70-300. Expect it can manage your 200-500 as well.
www.alldigital.fotopic.net

My next ballhead will be a "Really Right Stuff" ballhead. It gets RAVE reviews by ANYONE who buys them....even the pros. I have a feeling it will be the last ballhead I will ever need.....spendy....yes...but how spendy is the ballhead you would buy and eventually replace?

Roman

Roman I did not know you shot the 100-300. I have one that I've only used to test. I did not like it wide open so I put in my safe and never have gotten it out again. It's brand new, but not up to what I consider quality for shooting sports action and wildlife at F/4.

I even had it sent it (when it was brand new) because I did not like the image quality and I noticed a color shift as compared to my nikon glass. It's got a great build, but I found the image quality to be lacking. Sigma also told me NOT to use a filter on it - wow, that's not going to work for me. so, there it sits.

Yea, your image looks good. I'll have to pull it out and give it a try. I've got the 120-300 2.8 so I use that more often. It's okay too, but not the greatest. . .

Thanks for the reply...