I have a Canon 500 F4 IS and I have been looking for a good Gimbal head.
Everyone seems to have a Wimberley (I or II) but I heard about the Black Widow Heavy Duty mk II. Does anyone have experience with the Black Widow?
I am considering it as it seems to have decent specs and is also from Canada...(actually made in Asia but the design is from Canada...)
Looking to use it for birding and possibilily off a boat as well.
Picked a used Induro Carbon that will support 26LBs so I should be good.

Thanks

I have the Jobu BWG-Pro which is one step up of the Heavy Duty Gimbal. The BWG-Pro is a quality, solid built gimbal that is easy to use. The rubberized knobs is a nice touch for the cold days. If new MKII heavy duty model is anything like the BWG-Pro, you won't have any regrets.

I bought my gimbal directly from Jobu Designs and Ian, the sales mgr was a great guy to deal with. He was very patient and answered all my questions and I have no doubt they stand behind their products. Would not hesitate to buy from them again.

Both sound like good choices. I've used both versions of the Wimberley and they both work very well with the 500. If your on a budget try to find a nice used first gen Wimberley.

Wimberley II + 500/4 IS

I also have the BWG-Pro and it works as advertised. Its heavier duty than the BWHDII but I would imagine the quality is very much the same. I wouldnt hesitate going with Jobu. FYI - The lock feature on the Pro is a nice addition. Here's a BWG-Pro for a decent price http://tinyurl.com/BWG-PRO if your interested.

Wimberley has a 60-day trial program that you can use to see if you like their products. I'm not sure Jobu has a similar program.

Jim

I've owned both, the older BWG and currently own the Wimberly II. If you take both of them apart which I have done, the Wimberley has far supperior build quality. I had to overhaul the BWG to make it smooth, I'm not saying they are all this way but the Wimberley is built better either way.

Gene

Either way you can't go wrong

I have a long term objective to buy the 500L. Hence I was doing the same research sometime back. I read through various reviews and decided to get a Black Widow HD mk II. Though some reviews mention that finish or built quality of Jobu is not upto the mark, I found it to be excellent. I have borrowed and used a 500 with this gimbal and was glad that I saved a bit of $$$ over Wimberley.

I would suggest that you borrow and shoot with both and then pick one that "works" best. For me Jobu did a great job and Ian was a great guy to deal with.

Regards,
Kartik

Lars Johnsson wrote:
Wimberley II + 500/4 IS

I like Wimberley II gimbal, I got used one like new on FM for $100 cheaper than in strores It holds mine 500L + 2x or 1.4x superbly as well as 300L/F2.8L also with different extenders.
One thing I don't like is this bolt on my Gitzo for head connection, but that is Gitzo issue not gimbal.

Dear Lethal:

Like Lars and Breitling, I recommend the Wimberley II. It is a superb gimbal.

Best regards,

Roman

Thanks everyone!
Wimberley is the standard for sure but I checked the Black Widow and got some
great reviews as well (and is Canadian..(-: )
will post up a pic when I get the BW setup with my tripod and 500

Lethal

Here are the pics of the new Black Widow HD II and Enduro C4314 Carbon
Feels really solid and rigid
The height is perfect and if I dare use the center column I could shoot birds overhead!
The Black Widow is smooth and very easy to manipulate and the rubberiazed controls are very nice!

Looks like a keeper to me!

Thanks again to all that gave advice!

Lethal

Looks nice! Good luck with it!

Lethal,

For landscape or portrait photography Jobu Designs also make a "Wide Angle Adapter" for shorter lenses without a collar. It can be mounted in several different ways and works just fine.

Dave

The Wimberly seems designed for use with the gimbal on the left, the Jobu for use with the gimbal on the right (the photos above illustrate this).

I much prefer having it on the right side as it leaves the left side of the lens open for focussing and access to the switches. Without taking my hand off the shutter, I can adjust the pan or tilt tension, locking on a stationary subject if needed to increase stability, or when resting. I can then easily rest my left arm on the lens for stability, and still easily reach the horizontally mounted tilt knob if I need to. When I'm done shooting (being right-handed) I can grab and lift the gimbal with my right hand. For carrying though, this means lifting the lens up and over your head. With the Wimberly, you can reach under, grab the gimbal and just put the camera body over your head.

You'll see many people using both heads mounted out either side, so obviously it comes down to personal preference - in part depending on whether you are right or left handed, and how mobile your subjects are (i.e. how often you need to tweak the tension).

Jeff

I looked at both the Jobu and Wimberley prior to making my final decision to purchase the Wimberley. The main factor that influenced my decision to purchase the Wimberley was the quality of the Wimberley over the Jobu. When I thought about the cost of my D3X and 600 MM F4 VR being right at 20K I thought it made more sense to spend the extra dollars and get a product with a proven track record. The Wimberley has performed flawlessly in all kinds of conditions since its purchase a little over a year ago. The Wimberley makes using the 600 effortless and provides a stable camera platform for this combination of equipment and is great for panning with shorter focal length lenses for sporting events.

I really like the look of Jobu's wide angle adapter. Do you think it would work on the Wimberley? I know RRS makes the MH-01 that works with the Wimberley, but I really don't want to support RRS so if the Jobu wide angle adapter works with a Wimberley I would love it.

Just in case you're not aware, Wimberley also has their own method to mount a camera directly to their head, the M-8 plate as shown here:
http://www.tripodhead.com/products/p5-m8.cfm

I'm a weirdo that doesn't like ballheads and am considering this myself.