I'm looking for a good Gimbal and have narrowed my choices down to a Wimberley (either Sidekick or full) or an Acratech GV2. What appeals to me about the Acratech is it's weight, size, and versatility. My concern is their ability to handle the heavier lenses. The Acratech website states that they can be used with lenses up to 400mm f/4. I'm not sure how much heavier a 600mm f/5.6 would be.
What appeals about the Wimberley ( especially the WH-200 models) is that they are tried and true. Downside is they are heavy, bulky, and can only be used as a Gimbal.
My longest lens right now is an ancient Nikon 200-600 f/9.5 which needs all the support it can get. I may upgrade to a Nikon 600mm f/5.6 manual focus, and I would want a head that could support the heavier lens in case I ever do acquire it.
I am interested in hearing from members who ideally have used both, or from those that have the Acratech and use it as a Gimbal for longer, heavier lenses.
Graham, I used my original acratech ultimate with D2X and 300 2.8, it performed well. I understand theGV2 is a little more stable still. I have my eye on one as well since it doubles as a pano head.
its a reasonable offset gimble. since it drops to the side it has no central nodal point where the XYZ axis meets on the lens. not important to some though. not my cup of tea.
Interesting question...however I never used the GV2. But I have used full Wimberely heads, the Sidekick, and the Acratech Long Lens Head. The Acratech long lens head works with a 400 2.8 IS but was not as smooth or easy to track fast moving subjects as the Wimberley in either flavor. But is does work as advertised and has the distinct advantage of being small and therefore easily portable. The GV2 looks intesting and should work for smaller sized long lenses. I wonder about the balance when tilted on its side. For your needs, a Sidekick is a good possible alternative. Not as expensive and smaller. If you get a GV2, let us know how you like it for this purpose...it could be a nice compromise. Will also be interested to hear from others that have used it.
I have the GV2 and a Jobu Black Widow Heavy Duty which is a lot like the Wimberly.
The GV2 itself will support the heavier lenses (I have a 500 f4 AFS I) and is a very well built ballhead. The problem is in the balance as the lens is shifted to the side when in the gimbal slot. This makes your tripod a little unsteady unless you are very careful about leg position as all the weight is located to the side of the tripod instead of over the center point. (One tripod leg needs to extend directly below the lens)
I keep the GV2 on my travel tripod as it will work in a pinch or if I want to travel light but if I plan on doing serious wildlife photography the Jobu gets the nod all the time. It is smoother and easier to balance.
The GV2 works great on my lighter setup (300 f4 with a 1.4TC) but I think in the end if you buy the GV2 eventually you will be purchasing a full gimbal
That is very helpful information, and will help me a lot in making my decision.
No Problem glad I had somthing to share
I noticed in your profile you have the Sigma 120-300 2.8 listed, how do you like that lens? Im toying with the idea of selling my 300 f4 and picking one of those up for shooting sports
The Sigma 120-300 is one of my favorite lenses, and is one that I plan on keeping for a long time. Mine has the HSM motor which provides quick AF (certainly as fast as your 300 f4 unless you have the AFS model). I also use this with a Sigma 1.4TC and it still works really well. Most of the pictures taken Here were shot using the Sigma 120-300
Jul 30, 2010 at 06:06 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
The GV2 is great head for backpacking and will hold the weight. I am loading it with Oly E3+300mm-f2.8 lens and when it is locked down it will not shift. It is need a Snap Collar just to be save, any line or input on this?
