Gimbal Head

Gonetae

Gonetae

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Tommy
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Hi folks was wondering if anyone had first hand experience they could share of the cheap Gimbal Heads on Ebay from China or the Manfrotto 393?, I'm saving my pennies atm for a gimbal head but unfortunately the likes of the Wimberley and Benro ones are a bit out of my budget so I'm looking at one of these two cheaper options.
 
Hi Tommy, i believe loads of people are using the 393 and its fine. It should be ok on your 150-500 lens or is it a 50-500?. The Gimbal type head is easy to use and a great buy but get the best you can as i have heard a few reports of the cheaper ones having quality issues. I get my weight balanced on the head as i have the 500 ( non zoom ) but yours is a zoom so just wondering if the length change when zooming will unbalance the set up and thus do away of some of the benefits of this type of head. Others may want to discuss this point further.
 
Cheers Mark, aye it's the 50-500 I have and have read that it may need adjustments depending on the zoom. Oh you just missed the female Sparrowhawk the other day .. about 20mins after you left it flew right across the hide with some vole/mouse type thing in her claws.. didnt get a shot though as it was too fast for me.. but was good to see nonetheless.
 
My favourite is the Jobu Black Widow LW, excellent quality and allows the greatest up and down (elevation) with my 500 f4.

I have actually owned the following:-

Wimberley Sidekick - well made, works really well, however requires a ballhead, and was pushing it with my 500 f4.

Kirk King Cobra - Big, heavy, rock solid, however allowed the least up and down (elevation), ideal for a 600mm lens, but overkill for the 500mm.

Benro GH1 - poor build quality, extensive use of super glue, would not function out of the box, a waste of money (Jobu not much dearer, much better option).

Black Widow LW Mk2 Link £301
 
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Gonetae said:
Cheers Martyn, hadn't heard of the Jobu heads but from the link they certainly look like great bits of kit but sadly out of my price range.
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Shame they are really well made and adaptable, whilst mine is side mounting, I can buy the extra arm separately to make it horizontal mounting.

The 393 looks the best bet then.
 
I have the Jobu Black Widow HD mk II - basically the same as the LW but with a horizontal (full Gimbal) mount that Martyn talked about - in this case you can take off the horizontal mount and make it into a side mounting LW if you want. I prefer the full gimbal because I find it easier to mount the lens when in the field ( I am a weakling OAP :nuts: ).
A smaller (and cheaper) version, the Jobu Jr is available and recommended for lenses such as the 100-400 300/4 and 400/5.6 not sure if it is good for the Bigma though but worth checking.
 
If you already have a ballhead then look out for a used wimberley sidekick. Not a huge amount more than the 393 but IMO much more suited to the size of your lens.
 
I also own the Jobu Black Widow HD mk II (Roy was one of those who recommended it) and I have access to a full Wimberly MkII. I also used to own one of the cheap Indian gimbal heads. The Jobu really would be the best option. But, if it's too expensive, then the Indian Gimbal was not too bad. It was solid enough and the build quality was better than I expected but it was a little bit sticky. I sold mine on for what I paid for it - so I effectively get to play with it for a year for free.
 
I have A king cobra and love it and was thinking of getting another one but I might have a go at the Black Widow LW2.
 
Strange one that Martyn, I recently bought the Benro GH2 and it works superbly.Maybe you got a Friday afternoon one.......:shrug:

But it does not do anything the 393 wouldn`t, I believe the 393 to be excellent value for money. But it is a heavy b****r......:D
 
fracster said:
Strange one that Martyn, I recently bought the Benro GH2 and it works superbly.Maybe you got a Friday afternoon one.......:shrug:

But it does not do anything the 393 wouldn`t, I believe the 393 to be excellent value for money. But it is a heavy b****r......:D
Click to expand...

The best made part of it was the packaging :D ... and it was the GH1 not the GH2, that I bought.

Best value for money is the Jobu stuff, top quality and well thought out design.
 
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