Archive 2012 · $99 or $500 Gimbal
p.10 #1$99 or $500 Gimbal
Received this Gimbal head several weeks ago (less than $100 shipped to USA from China - to my door in NYC), and just had a chance to work with some big lenses. It works fine with both the Canon 500 F4 as well as the CANON 800mm F5.6 lens. I think there was some question about whether this gimbal head would work with the largest lenses - it does. Camera used = 5D3. So to say again:
Canon 800mm F5.6 IS - works fine with this gimbal head
Canon 800mm F5.6 IS - works fine with this gimbal head
Jun 12, 2012 at 05:26 AM
p.10 #2$99 or $500 Gimbal
upon reading this thread I ordered one and am happy that I did. Saved me a ton of moolah.Can anyone reccomend a feasible Flash Bracket for this. $ 195 for a Wimberley bracket is way too much for me 
Jun 20, 2012 at 09:13 AM
p.10 #3$99 or $500 Gimbal
Great; as for you request, look for the bracket used...will save some money on that. Perhaps someone here will know if there is a similar "knock-off" version available.
Jun 21, 2012 at 10:08 AM
p.10 #4$99 or $500 Gimbal
I hate to sound like McGiver or something but for flash brackets I think the hardware store is the place to go. Thin cork pads or anti-slip rubber sheets are easy to cut and glue on with just a little rubber cement. The metal precut brackets with the holes or slots already in them are between 50¢ and $5 and can be bent into shape just using your hands and a tabletop. The winged stub-bolts which fit a standard tripod socket are like $1 for 5pcs. And the tiny flash-shoe ballheads are available for about $1 or less when you get more than one at a time. To attache it between the camera and arca-swiss plate there are extra long lock-bolts you can buy for less than $1 a piece. If you want clip-on instead of being trapped between the camera and the plate there are ultra-cheap arca-swiss ball heads for around $3 which will allow you to clip the whole thing onto a double-sided plate - which are pretty common I think.
If you hate silver metal or suck at erector-set like assembly then just search ebay... There's pages and pages and pages of options under $25 !
Examples of double-sided plates:
http://www.hejnarphoto.com/ebay/pictures/A3-80/0003_A3-80.jpg
http://www.hejnarphoto.com/ebay/pictures/E50/0003_E50.jpg
If you hate silver metal or suck at erector-set like assembly then just search ebay... There's pages and pages and pages of options under $25 !
Examples of double-sided plates:
http://www.hejnarphoto.com/ebay/pictures/A3-80/0003_A3-80.jpg
http://www.hejnarphoto.com/ebay/pictures/E50/0003_E50.jpg
Jun 21, 2012 at 11:08 AM
p.10 #5$99 or $500 Gimbal
Bif,
If you recall, I had some trouble with the stiffness of the gimbal's pitching action. Well, the stiffness did not go away with use, so I finally followed your suggestion of spreading some graphite powder (some HB pencil graphite to be exact) in the rotating parts. After a minute of working in the graphite and rotating the parts, the stiffness gradually went away, and the gimbal is now as it should have been from the beginning: it rotates very smoothly and with ease.
Edit: I should also mention that the tightening knob for the pitching action is now much more progressive: originally even a small twist would pretty much lock the movement completely, but now the knob has a much larger working range and the stiffness can be controlled with much more precision.
Thanks a lot for the excellent tip! Very much appreciated.
Jaakko
If you recall, I had some trouble with the stiffness of the gimbal's pitching action. Well, the stiffness did not go away with use, so I finally followed your suggestion of spreading some graphite powder (some HB pencil graphite to be exact) in the rotating parts. After a minute of working in the graphite and rotating the parts, the stiffness gradually went away, and the gimbal is now as it should have been from the beginning: it rotates very smoothly and with ease.
Edit: I should also mention that the tightening knob for the pitching action is now much more progressive: originally even a small twist would pretty much lock the movement completely, but now the knob has a much larger working range and the stiffness can be controlled with much more precision.
Thanks a lot for the excellent tip! Very much appreciated.
Jaakko
Jun 22, 2012 at 02:32 AM
p.10 #6$99 or $500 Gimbal
Forgot to mention these tips to anyone thinking of using the gimbal as a no-parallax panoramic head:
The supplied arca-type plate has two holes for the screw: the long parallel one and the short non-parallel one. The non-parallel hole allows centering the lens in the middle of the point of rotation (it's really very obvious... and I nearly drilled another hole into my macro rail).
The camera can be centered easily by rotating it lens down and popping off the Beike badge (held on by some glue) and adjusting the vertical post and plate screw so that the middle of the hex screw below the badge is in the center AF box when looking through the viewfinder.
Jaakko
The supplied arca-type plate has two holes for the screw: the long parallel one and the short non-parallel one. The non-parallel hole allows centering the lens in the middle of the point of rotation (it's really very obvious... and I nearly drilled another hole into my macro rail).
The camera can be centered easily by rotating it lens down and popping off the Beike badge (held on by some glue) and adjusting the vertical post and plate screw so that the middle of the hex screw below the badge is in the center AF box when looking through the viewfinder.
Jaakko
Jun 22, 2012 at 02:51 AM
p.10 #7$99 or $500 Gimbal
Bifurcator wrote:
I hate to sound like McGiver or something but for flash brackets I think the hardware store is the place to go. Thin cork pads or anti-slip rubber sheets are easy to cut and glue on with just a little rubber cement. The metal precut brackets with the holes or slots already in them are between 50¢ and $5 and can be bent into shape just using your hands and a tabletop. The winged stub-bolts which fit a standard tripod socket are like $1 for 5pcs. And the tiny flash-shoe ballheads are available for about $1 or less when you...Show more →
Thanks Bifurcator. I will try to DIY with your suggestions
I hate to sound like McGiver or something but for flash brackets I think the hardware store is the place to go. Thin cork pads or anti-slip rubber sheets are easy to cut and glue on with just a little rubber cement. The metal precut brackets with the holes or slots already in them are between 50¢ and $5 and can be bent into shape just using your hands and a tabletop. The winged stub-bolts which fit a standard tripod socket are like $1 for 5pcs. And the tiny flash-shoe ballheads are available for about $1 or less when you...Show more →
Thanks Bifurcator. I will try to DIY with your suggestions
Jun 22, 2012 at 05:27 AM
p.10 #8$99 or $500 Gimbal
Hey Jaakko,
Glad that worked out for ya! What are you talking about in your second post there? I didn't fully follow what you were trying to do.
yorkerinn,
Sure, NP man.
Glad that worked out for ya! What are you talking about in your second post there? I didn't fully follow what you were trying to do.
yorkerinn,
Sure, NP man.
Jun 25, 2012 at 01:34 AM
p.10 #9$99 or $500 Gimbal
Hey Bif,
Thanks for spreading the word on this...it came in Monday.
I like mine too, although I will still leave the heavy lifting to the +500.00 Jobu
Regards,
Edd
Edited on Aug 11, 2012 at 05:59 PM · View previous versions
Thanks for spreading the word on this...it came in Monday.
I like mine too, although I will still leave the heavy lifting to the +500.00 Jobu
Regards,
Edd
Edited on Aug 11, 2012 at 05:59 PM · View previous versions
Jun 26, 2012 at 06:49 PM
p.10 #11$99 or $500 Gimbal
Well I finally broke down and bought one from Ebay just now. I've had my Minolta 600mm just sitting in its wooden case for a while now, and I've got a hankering to hook it back up to the NEX5N for some birding on the cheap...which is virtually impossible with my ball head.
We'll see how it goes.
We'll see how it goes.
Jun 29, 2012 at 05:07 PM
p.10 #12$99 or $500 Gimbal
what about the Induro GHB2 Gimbal Head ? how does it compare to the rest?
Jul 07, 2012 at 09:38 AM
p.10 #13$99 or $500 Gimbal
If that's the same Induro I looked at (not long ago) it's slightly bigger, with a finish much more akin to the Wimberley, and it's heavier. At first glance it looks and feels "high quality". In use It's about the same as the Wimberley or the Bieke IMO.
Jul 13, 2012 at 06:42 AM
p.10 #14$99 or $500 Gimbal
Wow
I finaly read this whole thread.
Got my Bk ordered and will not ever loose a moments sleep.
Sorry Mr. Wimberly but I guess I need my cash just as much as you do.
I finaly read this whole thread.
Got my Bk ordered and will not ever loose a moments sleep.
Sorry Mr. Wimberly but I guess I need my cash just as much as you do.
Nov 03, 2012 at 09:26 PM
p.10 #15$99 or $500 Gimbal
Ok
Just recieved my cheap knock-off gimbal (beike-45). and is it ever sweet.
works perfect and i have no problem hanging a Canon 1Ds Mark III and a Canon 300mm f2.8L IS from its swing arm. With complete confidence I might add......
Thanks for the heads up.
Bifurcator
Just recieved my cheap knock-off gimbal (beike-45). and is it ever sweet.
works perfect and i have no problem hanging a Canon 1Ds Mark III and a Canon 300mm f2.8L IS from its swing arm. With complete confidence I might add......
Thanks for the heads up.
Bifurcator
Nov 14, 2012 at 12:38 PM
p.10 #16$99 or $500 Gimbal
Sure, NP. Glad you're enjoying the gimbalisms! Gim-bal-istic!!!
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BTW,
Since we've previously discussed it in this thread a few pages back I've tried it on a monopod and it works very nicely! The curved L shape of the main arm fits nicely when leaned over my shoulder, it doesn't seem to add any noticeable weight to larger lenses and the mechanics work nicely. With the lens properly balanced, aiming the camera too high or low requires a monopod height adjustment (tho I can't imagine a head that wouldn't) but other than that all things were groovy!
- - - - - - - - - - - - -- -
BTW,
Since we've previously discussed it in this thread a few pages back I've tried it on a monopod and it works very nicely! The curved L shape of the main arm fits nicely when leaned over my shoulder, it doesn't seem to add any noticeable weight to larger lenses and the mechanics work nicely. With the lens properly balanced, aiming the camera too high or low requires a monopod height adjustment (tho I can't imagine a head that wouldn't) but other than that all things were groovy!
Nov 14, 2012 at 01:22 PM
p.10 #17$99 or $500 Gimbal
Ah, I forgot to clarify what I was talking about in my earlier post regarding panoramas.
The camera needs to be dead center in the rotational axis to prevent parallax errors. To confirm this, you need to pop off the plastic "Beike" badge (so that you can see the screw head) and follow the instructions on this video:
Jaakko
The camera needs to be dead center in the rotational axis to prevent parallax errors. To confirm this, you need to pop off the plastic "Beike" badge (so that you can see the screw head) and follow the instructions on this video:
Jaakko
Nov 14, 2012 at 03:28 PM
p.10 #18$99 or $500 Gimbal
Yeah, this is one reason it's important to have a tripod socket (on the camera) that's centered with the lens axis. There are plates which allow a centimeter or so of offset which should be enough to center up most cameras - not really sure about the OM-D tho which has a socket that's quite a ways over to one side. Maybe an OM-D owner could offer comment...
http://www.ephotozine.com/articles/custom-slr-launches-m---plate-mini-20428/images/mplate-mini.jpg
http://d1c86o3nm55du5.cloudfront.net/prodimg/large/255526.jpg
That said, this centering is only really important when there are subject elements close to the camera. If all the elements are more than about 8 or 10 meters away then a centimeter or two to the right or left plus the lens node alignment (see video) aren't very critical.
http://www.ephotozine.com/articles/custom-slr-launches-m---plate-mini-20428/images/mplate-mini.jpg
http://d1c86o3nm55du5.cloudfront.net/prodimg/large/255526.jpg
That said, this centering is only really important when there are subject elements close to the camera. If all the elements are more than about 8 or 10 meters away then a centimeter or two to the right or left plus the lens node alignment (see video) aren't very critical.
Nov 15, 2012 at 04:55 PM
p.10 #19$99 or $500 Gimbal
Hi. I bought the BK-45 and tried it with a Canon 7D and a Canon 500 mm F4 IS II. The first thing I noticed is that the supplied lens plate has squishy rubber on it and no matter how hard I tighten it, there is still flex movement. The next thing I noticed is that the bevel tightener for attaching the mounting plate has play in it and even when fully tightened there is vertical movement. In fact there is enough play that the side of the lens almost hits the upper column. The distance between the side of the lens and the column has about 7 mm of horizontal play just from the slack in the bevel clamp. The next issue is when you tighten or loosen the top knob, there is enough slop in the bearing surface that the vertical arm swings in and out about 6mm off vertical. My conclusion is this product may work for small lenses but is not designed for anything serious. I disposed of it and ordered the Jobu Pro 2. The same rule seems to always hold true that the cheapest tool is the most expensive one. My gimbal head ended up costing $700 instead of $600 because I wasted $100 buying a BK-45
Feb 02, 2013 at 10:51 PM
p.10 #20$99 or $500 Gimbal
gordone,
Not only you. I have also wasted $100 too. After 2 weeks of usage, lower knob got jammed and cannot rotate the head anymore. 'cheap' and 'good' never go together.
Not only you. I have also wasted $100 too. After 2 weeks of usage, lower knob got jammed and cannot rotate the head anymore. 'cheap' and 'good' never go together.
Feb 02, 2013 at 11:22 PM