I mostly shoot Nikon these days however . . . when seeking advice on gimbal heads I can think of no better people to ask than a bunch of happy seasoned gentlemen who appreciate the finer things in life and like to play with big white lenses.
Therefore, I need advice on a new tripod and gimbal head and need some suggestions.
Wimberley or Jobu are two I have heard of. Any other brands worth looking at?
it's compact, lightweight and decent priced. i have used the canon 600mm, 500mm, 800mm, 500mm ii and 600mm ii on it.
i don't think a of people here have used it, but i have been for about 4 years. I also have a wimberly II head and just let one of my employees use it as i prefer the induro.
Those are the two, but if you haven't checked it out Markins just released a very cool thing - the BV20 that is a combination ballhead and gimbal. It's probably more an alternative to a ballhead = sidekick set up, but it's so much smaller that I fell in love with it. I can vouche for the fact it's great with a 500 f/4 size lens. I haven't worked it out with a 600 or 400 f/2.8 yet. But we did mount the Sigma 200-500 on it just to see - and it held it up fine.
RCicala wrote:
Those are the two, but if you haven't checked it out Markins just released a very cool thing - the BV20 that is a combination ballhead and gimbal. It's probably more an alternative to a ballhead = sidekick set up, but it's so much smaller that I fell in love with it. I can vouche for the fact it's great with a 500 f/4 size lens. I haven't worked it out with a 600 or 400 f/2.8 yet. But we did mount the Sigma 200-500 on it just to see - and it held it up fine.
It looks very cool and small/light. Could be good instead of a Sidekick.
Thanks for the link Roger. I will post it in the General forum where we talk a lot about gimbal heads.
I havent used a wimberly or jobu but I as surprised at the sturdiness of this unit (I paid $99). Fluid movement and had no problems using an old Minolta 600 5.6 (10 lb) and a Nex .
Grant, I currently use Wimberley II, and I like it a lot. Used 400 f/2.8 IS MkI on it, and now it's 800L mostly.
However, I must say Jobu Pro 2 is at least as good.
Those two gimbal heads are similarly heavy, similarly priced, and both solid and built to last practically for ever.
I am scared of ballheads, and sidewise lens mounts I find distracting. There is something to be said about heads that work with gravity, such as good gimbals do, as opposed to fighting it.
Well if you can find one I'll put in a plug for the Wimberly I. Great price used ( about $150-$200) and works as well as the Version II. I've used mine for years with a 600mm and 800mm. I tried the version II but can't justify the extra cost. Seems to me they just moved the knobs. The version II may be a little lighter, not sure.
I picked up a Benro GH2 recently based on some recommendations, and while I have not really put it to serious use yet it does seem quite well built. Used a Bogen/Manfrotto 393 before that is great bang for the buck though not as refined as the nicer heads.
I have both the Wimberley I and II. Both are very well made and if you can locate a I version you will save a little money and have just as good of a gimbal as the II. Never used any of the others mentioned.
