LensMaster Gimbal RH 1

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Neil
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Recently went on a bird photography course to Norfolk and was looking for a Gimbal head.
I am using a Canon 7d + 400mm 5.6L, have tried ball heads etc... but they are awkward for moving birds on branches let alone for BIF shots. I have seen various write ups for expensive Gimbal heads costing £400+ which seemed overkill for my set up.
I have also seen other write ups on here for Lensmaster Gimbal heads which were very positive. On the basis of this I ordered a RH1 unit (£117) it arrived promptly, build quality is good and it comes with all the necessary parts to mount the camera/lens.
The most important thing is that it works really well, so much easier to track the bird as it hops along the branches or in full flight. I compared the action of the RH1 unit to other more expensive alternatives used by others on the course and I was well chuffed. I think if I had a big 500mm F4 lens I would be tempted to get a more substantial head, but would look at the RH2 first before spending a lot more on an alternative.
Apologies if this sounds like a sales pitch it is not, I have no connection with lens master, but in a hobby where most bits of plastic cost £££'s it's nice to find a relative bargain.
Thought it was worth sharing the feedback, as I have benefited from others doing so before.

Regards Neil.
 
Ordered mine Thursday and been informed it should arrive today. Can't wait :)
 
I've got the RH-2 and can confirm it's a great bit of kit and does everything it should. I've no real experience of other brands but just can't see how any gimbel could be worth four times the price. It came with a Giottos lens plate which did fail when the thread stripped for the locking screw. Although that part was not made by Lensmaster all it took was one phone call and a replacement was in the post over night. So in short a good product with good honest customer support.
 
One question on this from the video which wasnt clear---how do you adjust the height of the plate to gain the proper balance..I know good balance is adjusted by sliding the camera/lens forward or back however to get it spot on with a Wimberley or Benro etc you should also adjust the plate height--so can this be done with the lensmaster?
 
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One question on this from the video which wasnt clear---how do you adjust the height of the plate to gain the proper balance..I know god balance is adjusted by sliding the camera/lens forward or back however to get it spot on with a Wimberley or Benro etc you should also adjust the plate height--so can this be done with the lensmaster?

Funnily enough I had one of these delivered yesterday and gave it a (very) mini review on another forum.
I got a bit of a hammering over just the issue you mention, they couldn't see how it functions properly without that facility.
However, it seems to very well!
 
I had one of these for a while.

It was an excellent and well made product, smooth and functioned as a gimbal very well. I compared it to a Wimberley Sidekick/Kirk BH3 combo which is one of the equivalent premium products. In actual use there was very little difference.

The sidekick was a little smoother on the vertical motion on account of using ball bearings and the Kirk was a little smoother on horizontal. But in reality the difference was not noticeable in use.

The only reason I didn't keep it was I wanted a head that I could totally lock down and the Lensmaster does not offer this facility.
 
Funnily enough I had one of these delivered yesterday and gave it a (very) mini review on another forum.
I got a bit of a hammering over just the issue you mention, they couldn't see how it functions properly without that facility.
However, it seems to very well!

Laurence, i can balance my own lens on the Benro to a good extent without moving the height however with the height adjustment it makes a big difference...Im sure there was someone who did a set up using the height function on the Benro and Wimberley with a video and to be honest it make sense to have this function...Where is the review you did?
 
I think I know why the height adjustment is considered vital. It is to ensure the lens centre is at the same height as the rotation point of the gimbal. Makes for better balance.

The lensmaster RH1 is a side mounted one so this negates the need for height adgustment.

Or has the discussion moved to the RH2 which doesn't have this?
 
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