Is a gimbal head required?

ozanan

ozanan

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I'm looking to get more into wildlife photography so I decided to order, and have just taken delivery of, a Sigma 150-500 DG OS HSM. Currently I've got a Redsnapper tripod and a ball head, both of which are more than capable of holding the weight of the camera and lens.

What benefits does a gimbal head offer over a standard ball head and what sort of price would I be looking at to get one?

The wildlife will most likely be birds, in and around the North East, possibly the occasional small furries should I notice them.

Budget would be whatever needs to be saved up.

Cheers for any info.
 
i bought a cheap gimbal to see how i liked it, its fantastic to use compared to a ball head etc. only problem is the price of a good one!
 
In short yes. I have the Sigma 800 Prime and definately needs a gimbal:thumbs:
 
I've not tried it but i'd be very wary of using a gimble with a zoom lens.
Even with a prime the lens has to be balanced very carefully to make the most of the gimble. With a lens that extends and contracts that would be impossible unless you always kept it at 500mm say.
 
Werecow said:
I've not tried it but i'd be very wary of using a gimble with a zoom lens.
Even with a prime the lens has to be balanced very carefully to make the most of the gimble. With a lens that extends and contracts that would be impossible unless you always kept it at 500mm say.
Click to expand...

No problem at all balancing a zoom...

Gimbals are really much easier to use with a long lens, plus the biggest benefit for me is that when you let go it just hangs there in exactly the right position - perfect for wildlife when you can't realistically hang on to the camera for hours on end.

Benro make excellent copies of Wimberley gimbals - £150-250 depending on the model. A few peeps on here use them and rate them. There are even cheaper versions around that are probably quite good - they're not exactly hard to make afterall - but are a bit of an unknown quantity. This ebay seller has a very good rep for Benro - quick service and nothing extra to pay. I've bought a couple of things from them :) http://stores.ebay.com/DCs-Photogra...18QQ_sidZ896782438QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322
 
ozanan said:
What benefits does a gimbal head offer over a standard ball head?
Click to expand...

To answer this actual question for a Wimberley:

Rather than sit on top of the head, the lens hangs from it, ballanced. If you loosen the friction on a ball head, and let go, the camera flops down. If you loosen the head on gimball, nothing moved.

To go from landscape to portrait on a ball head, you loosen the ball and move the camera down to the side, OR you loosen the ring on the lend and rotate the lens. If you loosen boath at once, you are likely to lose control of the camera, because the arrangement is top heavy. With the gimbal, you have the lens ring loose all the time and simply rotate the lens.

Wimberley ++

Andrew
 
The problem you may bet with the Sigma, is that because the zoom isn't internal the length of the lens changes dramatically when zooming which will change the balance on the gimbal head.

If you're using it at 500mm all the time though (likely for wildlife) then you should be ok
 
Thanks for responding folks, much appreciated!

HoppyUK said:
Benro make excellent copies of Wimberley gimbals - £150-250 depending on the model.
...
This ebay seller has a very good rep for Benro - quick service and nothing extra to pay. I've bought a couple of things from them :) http://stores.ebay.com/DCs-Photogra...18QQ_sidZ896782438QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322
Click to expand...

Cheers for the link Hoppy, will be having a look at that

gaffer said:
To answer this actual question for a Wimberley:

Rather than sit on top of the head, the lens hangs from it, ballanced. If you loosen the friction on a ball head, and let go, the camera flops down. If you loosen the head on gimball, nothing moved.

To go from landscape to portrait on a ball head, you loosen the ball and move the camera down to the side, OR you loosen the ring on the lend and rotate the lens. If you loosen boath at once, you are likely to lose control of the camera, because the arrangement is top heavy. With the gimbal, you have the lens ring loose all the time and simply rotate the lens.

Wimberley ++

Andrew
Click to expand...

Thanks Andrew, I appreciate the description - I was curious as to how they worked, now I know!
 
Hairyduck said:
The problem you may bet with the Sigma, is that because the zoom isn't internal the length of the lens changes dramatically when zooming which will change the balance on the gimbal head.

If you're using it at 500mm all the time though (likely for wildlife) then you should be ok
Click to expand...

Cheers Hairyduck, I'm imagining I'll be using it at 500mm the majority, if not all of the time.
 
stan the man said:
how does the manfrotto 393 head fair?

i've been looking to get one of these,as it's about as far as my budget will stretch for the forseeable future.
Click to expand...

I absolutely love mine:D liked it that much I also bought my Son one:'(

I use mine with the sigma 50-500mm and although a zoom and constantly changing lens length/point of balance, it's simple to nip up the resistance screws a little and this holds the camera/lens perfectly.

Fantastic bit of kit and well worth the money.
 
I have the manfrotto 393 and I have used it with both a 300mm 2.8 as well as a Sigma 150-500.

I use the 150-500 mostly between 400 and 500 so no problem with balancing at all.

Love the accuracy and the effortless movement with the 393!
 
Excellent, I think I'll have to give the manfrotto 393 some serious consideration as well.
 
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