Wimberley Sidekick

[mickeyw]

Hi,
Does anyone know of a supplies for this bit of kit - tried Warehouse Express - out of stock.
Cheers
m

[erding]

Have you tried Ian Kerso?

[markta]

Yep, I got mine from Ian and IIRC he's recently advertised them on Ebay.

Fantastic bit of kit :woot:

[mickeyw]

Thanks - i'll give it a go...

[dougdarter]

I saw these the other day:

http://www.thewildlifestudio.com/images/sidewinder2-sml.jpg

Looks to be a direct copy of the sidewinder, and less than £100!! Might be worth considering.

http://www.thewildlifestudio.com/catalog/benby-sidewinder-p-74.html

[Yv]

I was looking at these for the 120-300, and have a question. when using it, do you have all the various angles loose so you can follow the action whilst the tripod takes the weight of the lens and can they all be tightened for rigiditiy for slow shutter speed shots? I love my manfrotto trigger head, but am tempted by one of these if it makes doing wildlife easier.

edit: yes, I admit it, I have no idea how they work, need help! :lol:

[markta]

I was looking at these for the 120-300, and have a question. when using it, do you have all the various angles loose so you can follow the action whilst the tripod takes the weight of the lens and can they all be tightened for rigiditiy for slow shutter speed shots? I love my manfrotto trigger head, but am tempted by one of these if it makes doing wildlife easier.

edit: yes, I admit it, I have no idea how they work, need help! :lol:

Yep, you leave the pan knob loose on the ballhead and the circular knob as loose or tight as you want so that you have control over friction...it can be tightened completely etc. etc.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=49782&page=8&highlight=show+gear

The picture of my sidekick is on page 8 of this thread with the forest green camo covers...

It'll only work with an Arca type ballhead though, like Really Right Stuff, Kirk, Markins

[Yv]

Yep, you leave the pan knob loose on the ballhead and the circular knob as loose or tight as you want so that you have control over friction...it can be tightened completely etc. etc.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=49782&page=8&highlight=show+gear

The picture of my sidekick is on page 8 of this thread with the forest green camo covers...

:thumbs: excellent!! Thankyou! Will have to chat to the man with the purse strings, but I reckon there might be a trigger head up for sale here soon ;)

[fracster]

Manfrotto 393 head works well for me.......:thumbs:

As an aside, why is Wimberly stuff so expensive?

[markta]

Manfrotto 393 head works well for me.......:thumbs:

As an aside, why is Wimberly stuff so expensive?

It's good stuff. IIRC Wimberley were the pioneers of the sidekick and other similar designs so this may explain it :thinking::shrug: Plus the exchange rate and import taxes etc. as their stuff is imported from the US which of course is non EU.

I paid £169 for mine, they've gone up (even with Ian) but are around £235/250 at retail outlets...

[Holden Caulfield]

Bob Rigby photographic

http://www.bobrigby.com/

[Holden Caulfield]

Just got one of these for 57 Quid delivered including the plate
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tripod-Gimbal-Head-Sidekick-for-Large-Telephoto-lenses_W0QQitemZ140279449215QQihZ004QQcategoryZ332 5QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

[CT]

Just be aware that the Wimberley Sidekick needs a good quality ball head with the ability to accept Swiss Arca type plates before you can use it.