ariot wrote:
For the owners of the VR version (the one that weighs 136.9 oz. (3,880 g)) not the new FL ED VR version, do you use a gimbal or can one get by for a while using a sidekick and a decent ball head?
I have the BH-55 from RRS, and I know I'll want a gimbal. But if I get a line on a 500 F4 VR via NPS or a rental give it a whirl without investing in a gimbal right off the bat. My other tele is just the 300 2.8 VRII . I read where a gimbal is night and day for some people, and I'm not sure if I can really get in a good few days of trying out the longer glass without one. Any opinions on that? Thanks. ...Show more →
I can use the Wimberey Sidekick with the Kirk BH-1 ballhead with no problems with the 500mm VR lens. When I tried the Kirk BH-3 ballhead it was not up to the task with the Sidekick placing a leveraged load on the ballhead. I would expect no problems with the RRS BH-55 ballhead and the Sidekick.
The 8 lb. 500mm VR lens is at the outer edge of where a top of the line ballhead will work. A medium level ballhead (and I have learned not to trust the manufacturers' ratings for these) is not going to work at all well and when it loosens up it is difficult to manage the lens and tripod without damage.
With the 11 lb. 600mm G lens the Sidekick was out of the question and I bought a Custom Brackets gimbal that is the best one made at this time.
elkhornsun wrote:
I can use the Wimberey Sidekick with the Kirk BH-1 ballhead with no problems with the 500mm VR lens. When I tried the Kirk BH-3 ballhead it was not up to the task with the Sidekick placing a leveraged load on the ballhead. I would expect no problems with the RRS BH-55 ballhead and the Sidekick.
The 8 lb. 500mm VR lens is at the outer edge of where a top of the line ballhead will work. A medium level ballhead (and I have learned not to trust the manufacturers' ratings for these) is not going to work at all well and when it loosens up it is difficult to manage the lens and tripod without damage.
With the 11 lb. 600mm G lens the Sidekick was out of the question and I bought a Custom Brackets gimbal that is the best one made at this time. ...Show more →
I have since picked up the 500 f4 VRII and the sidekick works well on my BH55, however I do not have comparative experience with a full on gimbal.
I doubt I'll ever be able to afford a 600 or 800, but yeah, I think that kind of investment needs enough tacked on to get a well made and balanced gimbal.
ariot wrote:
I have since picked up the 500 f4 VRII and the sidekick works well on my BH55, however I do not have comparative experience with a full on gimbal.
I doubt I'll ever be able to afford a 600 or 800, but yeah, I think that kind of investment needs enough tacked on to get a well made and balanced gimbal.
I prefer the Sidekick approach as I can take a single tripod and use it for standard shots and panos and with the Sidekick it becomes a gimbal support for a telephoto. The Sidekick fits inside the pocket of the tripod carry case when not in use.
The one possible drawback with the Sidekick is that it requires side mounting of the lens. NO problems with any Nikon lens I have but with the Sigma Sport 150-600mm it was a problem with greatly restricted access to the camera controls and I got rid of the Sigma and went with the 200-500mm instead.
I was a bit concerned that the somewhat-limited (longish) minimum focus distance would be a problem with small birds. It isn't ideal, but to get closer, the price is going to jump significantly.
Yesterday, I got in the portable blind with the 300 f2.8 VRII and found I was perhaps too close for most bird's comfort level. I went back in changed lenses and let the birds settle a bit.
On practicing with small birds, I think it will be fine for the rare chance I get close while hiding
The sidekick is now second nature. It was worth it.
With the hot weather the white-tailed deer have been holding off on the rut and are spending a lot of time in the woods. Winter coat's all grown in, but now it's too hot to move around much, I imagine. I did find a young buck browsing in a meadow a minute or two before sunrise.
I'll bump this thread with this photo. It is not interesting to most, (but so what)!
I keep trying to photo the International Space Station. Can't do it. It's visible as a fast moving dot, looks like a star zipping across the darkness. It is interesting to watch, most enjoy seeing it rip by.
This morning it was very bright @ -3.8 (I think -4.1 is it's brightest).
Solar panels on each side, craft between. several million stars in the background, please count and report.
Charles Loy wrote:
I'll bump this thread with this photo. It is not interesting to most, (but so what)!
I keep trying to photo the International Space Station. Can't do it. It's visible as a fast moving dot, looks like a star zipping across the darkness. It is interesting to watch, most enjoy seeing it rip by.
This morning it was very bright @ -3.8 (I think -4.1 is it's brightest).
Solar panels on each side, craft between. several million stars in the background, please count and report.
, ya think Thanks for the comment.
Edit; movement is too fast for the distance- and the subject is a tiny speck in the sky.
But, I keep trying, seldom get what you see in photo.
, ya think
Thanks for the comment.
