A while back, maybe 3 months ago, I purchased a factory second jobu black widow off the buy/sell forum. Well I've been meaning to give a quick review of this for a while and since I'm doctor forced off my feet I figured I'd finally do it!!
I'll just right my quick impressions of the device and post some images for those that are interested in a gimbal head. As a preface, I have not used the king cobra, or sidekick and my only experience with the wimberley has been at B&H. Let me also say my largest lens is the canon 400 f5.6 so I do not really have resources that will strain the jobu's abilities.
This device is exquisitely made. The metal work is top notch, well it’s a bit below the build of the acratech but that thing is a work of art. In terms of stability, my tripod is the weak point not this device. I have tried to flex the head to see if there is any play but my impression is my bones will flex before head does. So I'd imagine if you really need to support a 600mm it would be up to the task. That said with the side mounting it's not optimal for heavy lenses.
The motion of the bottom joint is well dampened and very smooth and with a few knob twists locks completely. The joint connected to the camera is not as well dampened due to the lock feature but it’s more than sufficient. The last point to note, there is no play in the joints even when the clamps are fully loosened.
Finally, when I picked up this device the first time it was heavier that it appeared but at about 3 pounds it is very reasonable for one of these devices.
Below are a few images. I would have loved to have pics from the field but since I'm not currently mobile that is out of the question. So here is the next best thing
This shows the camera/lens balanced on the head. Once it’s balanced the camera can be swung around with 1 finger. It's very nice once setup. Take note, the top screw knob is completely loosened.
This is the bottom connector attached to a Bogen 3221 tripod. Take note of its diminutive size.
In the field:
This device is a vast improvement over a ball head for tracking animals. I have the acratech and it’s nearly useless for tracking any animal as the setup is way too jerky. This is very smooth and can be setup to any tension you like or desire. In my limited time in the field I've seen a clear improvement when the shutter speeds are low. I routinely use this at 1/250 shutter speeds and get very sharp results on the 400mm. Surely lower shutter speeds are possible if necessary.
The jobu is night and day better at tracking flying birds. I now can follow birds that I did not have a chance of following before unless I handheld
There are a few drawbacks:
1. If you are tall like me (6' 6") once you aim the camera toward the sky, you'll really have to crouch.
2. It's not all that high to begin with!
3. The vertical lens lock can cause problems. Often, the lock is in place, I mount the lens. Then the lens flops when I release the lock because it is not balanced. So pay attention to this!
My only other complaint is smaller lenses like the 400 f5.6 are not perfectly centered over the tripod. But this is minor and since the head is really designed with 300 f2.8+ in mind it’s a minor detail.
All in all, I really recommend this head. It’s really light and well built and compared to its competitors it is an excellent tradeoff between weight, strength and size.
If you'd like to see more pics of the head, here is a link:
I use the JOBU black Widow with my 1DM2 and Canon 500 f/4.0 and it's perfectly balanced...I need to upgrade the tripod but the Gimbal head works great..I would highly recomend the JOBU..I'll probably buy a second one for my wife to use..
Here's another Black widow user and I love using this head. I've actually used mine with my 500 f/4.0 attached to my 2.0x and 1.4x - this is one long combination.
It still balanced well, though I did use a cord, mirror up, and 10 second timer to make sure the camera was stable. I was pleasantly surprised at the usuablity of the images in the test. I'm not sure this combo would be practical to actually shoot birds or wildlife, but I won't be afraid to try it if I need a 1400mm lens and have plenty of light to shoot, or a stationary subject.
