I feel the only way for the GH-2 to prove itself is by having more people using it and posting their experiences with it. That got me to the Manfrotto gimbal and eventually the WImberley. One french dude seems to be very happy with it.
But hey it's a $300 savings! You could buy a Canon 50mm f/1.4 or 32GB Sandisk Extreme Pro CF card for that.
As for the $15 Benro PU-80 camera plate it fits the Z1 and Wimberley clamps but the body twists making it suitable for point & shoots like the Canon A40, S80 or even the G9.
The Benro looks good, but, the bearings and inner workings are in are not. Very stiff as compared to Wimberley. Although its hard to see, the Benro swing arm is shorter and will not allow the lens (400mm f2.8 and 600mm f4) to be lowered enough to balance out properly. It's an OK cheap alternative if you want to trust "cheap" on lens that cost six thousand plus dollars.....yes I own both and I feel the the Benro was a total waste of money...
The Wimberley costs $600 in the US vs the Benro that costs $300 in the Philippines.
A lot of companies make arca-swiss type lens plates to the point that Arca-Swiss (the company) puts a label on there Z1 monoball that warranty will not be honored with 3rd party plates used with their products. So Benro making arca-swiss plates may be unfairly looked at as a sin they're solely guilty off.
Though the store didn't have it the Benro China website describes 5 different lens plates that corresponds to the Wimberley one. Though the lengths are not an exact copy the width and height were. Adorama carries 4 of the 5 lens plates at nearly half the cost of Wimberley, RRS, Kirk, and other brands....Show more →
sometimes buying by price alone costs you considerably more downline.
You could buy a Canon 50mm f/1.4 or 32GB Sandisk Extreme Pro CF card for that.