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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Gimbal / Sidekick mounts on ebay (1 Viewer)

just wanted to mention that I use a Canadian-made gimbal by a company called Jobu Design
I have been using the Black Widow gimbal since July and have found no fault with it, it's also quite light-weight and handles my 500mm f4, D300 and flash bracket no problem.
http://www.jobu-design.com/catalog/item/2588354/2040287.htm

I use the Black Widow gimbal too, and have been doing so for a couple of years now. I am very happy with it, it's rock solid, smooth moving and a good deal cheaper than a Kirk or a Wimberley. Good news for those of us in the UK they now have an official supplier making buying Jobu stuff over here much easier - http://www.tripods-heads-gimbals.com/ I recently ordered a second head and a ground pod from them, they're goo dpeople to deal with and the delivery was very fast.
 
Thought I'd update here as well.

Due to series of rather convoluted circumstances, I ended up buying the Digital Video (Indian made) full gimbal head, even though I already own a Wimberley and a Sidekick.

My impressions:

1/ Very sturdy. Anyone who is on about lack of quality is full of it. It doesnt take rocket science to machine some metal together, and this is quite well made. The TV85 + extension tubes + 20D sits very solidly on this and provides sharp images at ridiculously low shutter speeds (given the effective focal length).

2/ Very heavy. Significantly heavier than the Wimberley.

3/ Not as smooth as the Wimberley - true. Not a significant enough difference to really affect my image-taking process, however.

4/ Not as nice a fit'n'finish. Do I care one bit about that? Nope. After a few months in the field, nothing retains its fit and finish anyway.

5/ The Indian design also allows some vertical adjustment of the setup. It could be handy in some circumstances. Nice touch.

Overall - a very handy piece of gear. For the money, a very good price (although I have to confess - if I had to pick 1, I'd go with the Wimberley just for the weight savings, which is a big deal for me given how much I travel). But as far as heads go, this is a very robust piece of kit that does what it is supposed to do.

Vandit
 
I have just been out to-day and meet a fellow photographer, he had a 50-500 sigma on
a Olympus camera sitting on a Indian Gimbal. I was very impressed with it and think I am
going to get one for my Sherpa 450r tripod. He told me that the Indian fellow puts some
on offer on ebay and you can pick them up a bit cheaper than the £80 + postage on the
BIN, so will sit around and wait for the offer ones to come up.

Good thread thanks.
 
Just spotted this on Ebay for £120.00 just over an hour to go, bargain or what? Kirk KC-1 King Cobra Action Head includes plate etc
 
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