|
|
|
Generic Tripod/Gimbal Head for large telephoto lenses
|
|
|
|
Reviews
|
Views
|
Date of last review
|
|
1
|
1114
|
Sun October 21, 2007
|
|
 |
|
Recommended By
|
Average Price
|
Average Rating
|
|
100% of reviewers
|
£89.00
|
8.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description:
|
It is made in cast aluminium, powder coated and finished with CNC machine, the tripod head weighs in at only 4.3lb (1.958kg).
It is capable of adjusting to fit any telephoto lens with a rotation collar and an appropriate Arca-Swiss style lens plate.
It is ideally suited to lenses similar in size to a 600mm f4.
This is a gimbal-type device that incorporates an elevated tilt mechanism with an adjustable platform to perfectly align the centre-of-gravity of large lenses with the tilt-axis of your head. The result is a perfectly balanced lens everytime you reposition your camera.
With a ballhead, the lens / camera combination rests on a point — the ball. If the camera is tilted upwards or downwards, such as when following a bird in flight, or even when simply panning to reposition, the whole assembly will tilt forward or back under its own weight. This is inherently unstable and can lead to a big expensive lens ending face-down in the dirt. With a gimbal mount the entire weight is hung rather than balanced, and it consequently remains extremely stable.
A camera / lens combination can be panned and tilted with a single finger, and because the horizontal and vertical axis are separate they can be locked independently.
In order to use the head, your lens must be equipped with an Arca-Swiss style lens plate according to your lens size.
Quick release clamp is bolted on tripod head and needs lens plate and rotation collar to accomodate your lens. The clamp have a unique tongue-in-pocket design that protects internal parts from dust and grit.
|
|
Keywords:
|
Gimbal
|
|
|
|
|
Author
|
|
VinnyP
Forum Regular
Registered: February 2006
Location: Surbiton Surrey
Posts: 678
|
|
Review Date: Sun October 21, 2007
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £89.00
| Rating: 8
|
|
Pros:
|
Cheap sturdy effective and easy to use
|
|
Cons:
|
Finish could be better, knurled controls would be nice hefty.
|
|
I have had this for a couple of weeks now and have had a chance to test it at the London Wetlands centre on birds and at Santa Pod on cars. It is very similar in design to the original Wimberley MK1 which costs around £500. I think it will be helpful to compare it with the Wimberley and also say how well it performs.
Firstly it might help to explain how a gimbal works and how useful it is with long lenses. It fits onto your tripod legs in place of a more usual head and means that the lens and body are suspended instead of supported moving the centre of gravity below the attachment point. Friction controls for rotation and tilt mean that in theory it makes it feel near weightless and easy to control whilst holding it steady when you take your hands away. It is reassuringly substantial and a simple design that definitely works as expected. I tried it with the 300 and 600 with and without TCons. In all cases it was easy to use, well balanced and steady with much better vibration damping. It is a huge improvement on a ball or 3 way pan and tilt head and definitely better than a (Still much more expensive) Wimberley sidekick that I often use or a monopod. Even I am confused by that lot and I wrote it so I hope the video below makes it a little clearer. You can see how easy and quick it is to pan and tilt with very little effort even with the fairly hefty 600 F4 and yet when you stop, it stays held where you leave it.
(I have tried to embed it but it keeps stripping the code) please click HERE
Despite what it says in the details above you can easily remove the supplied QR adaptor (Which looks pretty good quality) and use your own QR system. Mine (Novoflex) bolted on easily and I am happy it's not going anywhere. Either way you will have to budget for some kind of attachment method just like the Wimberley. The company I bought it from will supply compatible plates for most lenses for a lot less than Arca Swiss or Wimberley (2 plates for my 2 long toms from Wimberley would cost more than this Gimbal!!!).
Obviously it is not as well finished as a Wimberley and up close you can see slight casting marks on unmachined sections and in one place there is a small paint chip already but nothing that causes me any concerns. It is free moving when released on nylon bushes and holds very well when tightened. The adjusting knobs are hard textured plastic and easy enough to grip and use. I think they would be better if knurled like those on the current Mk2 Wimberley are. They look a standard part as are the bushes so I should be able to replace them if they niggle me in the future but once set for the lens they don't need touching throughout the day so I can't see that being a problem.
I feel for the perfomance it delivers it represents excellent value for money especially when you consider the cost of the equivalent Wimberley.
Anyway I am sure it will get a fair bit of use and I can't see me breaking it so will have it for a good few years.
|
|
|
|
|
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:05.
;)
;)
