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Gimbal / Sidekick mounts on ebay (1 Viewer)

Although I'm not in the market for a gimbal head at the moment, I have no qualms about those Ebay Indian heads (in fact I rather enjoy the "Inverse Snobbery" thing - my current camera bag of choice is a Delsey GoPix 90 that cost £30!)

I'll probably buy a Feisol/Benro/Amvona CF Gitzo-alike tripod too.

And I am absolutely confident that they'll all do the job.

As Dave says, it's all simple stuff, and the loads we're asking these heads to bear aren't really pushing the boundaries of metallurgical and manufacturing science.

As Steve did, I'd probably improvise a safety tether - but I'd do that with a Wimberley too, because if I did have a disaster it'd be far more likely to be because I hadn't fitted or tightened something up properly, I reckon...
 
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Interesting thread this and today i was chatting to a young lad who had what i thought was a Manfrotto 393, however it turned out he made it himself as a school project! the quality was spot on and he had another guy in the hide fooled and he had a REAL one LoL. They are very basic idea ad i suppose anyone with an ounce of grey matter could make one with a basic metalwork/fabrication skills? (the lad bought his alloy bar on Ebay and cast the knobs on the screw adjusters using silicone rubber mould and polyester casting resin) the finishing touch was a powder coat (very tough finish) which he had done for free at a mountain bike makers. I suppose people who have bought the Indian Gimbals could get their's powder coated if the finish gets tatty?
Cheerio
Brian
Ps Nothing wrong with buying bargain gear! its what you do with it that counts! I have won quite a few competitions using cheap basic gear, it makes you try harder to get that great shot ?
My wife has often called be a Tight Bar Steward? funny because i have never worked in a Bar? LoL
 
Hi i would just like to know 6 months on if you are still happy with your purchases as i am on the look out for a gimball head and these look like a steal.
 
Mine is working A1 still. In fact, it is heading to Africa Wednesday as my only head. Both my bodies have L brackets and works grand.
 
hi cheers for that can anyone tell me the difference between the full head and the sidekick as there doesnt actually seem to be any reason to the extra arm accept maybe extra strength and another 50 quid?
 
hi cheers for that can anyone tell me the difference between the full head and the sidekick as there doesnt actually seem to be any reason to the extra arm accept maybe extra strength and another 50 quid?

Sorry I didn't see this thread back in the beginning, but, I have the SideKick look alike from the Indian company and it works just fine. It is smooth and easy to track, etc. I have had it for about 6 1/2 months and no problems.

The difference between the full head and the sidekick is that with the full head it mounts with the ring on lens facing down and sort of swings on that arm for the up and down motion of the lens. With the sidekick you move the ring so it mounts to the side and it just turns for that up and down motion. The real difference, I believe, is the weight bearing capabilities. You can put a much larger and heavier lens on the full head. I have the SideKick version and use it with a Sigma 50-500 lens and it works just fine. If you had a big prime lens like a 500 or 600 prime you would probably need the full head with the wieght bearing arm. Hope this helps.
 
Cheers for that im only using a 400 f5.6 prime so the weight shouldnt be to much of an issue, in all the pictures of the sidekick iv seen its mounted onto another head then onto the tripod, is it poss to just mount it straight to the tripod?
 
Elspedo,
The Sidekick needs to be attached to a suitable ball head, and you will need a special plate to attach the lens to the sidekick.The total cost (English) new ,will be in the order of about £450 pending on which ballhead you buy.Check out the Wimberley site at www.tripodhead.com for the various options and configurations.
regards I4ani.
 
Ok thanks for that think im going to take the plunge and buy the indian gimbal head as noone seems to have any bad reports on it and at a fifth of the price of the wimberly it is like a give away to someone on a tight budget, ill put some feedback up on here when i recieve it. thanks for all your help
 
One final question, how do you go about getting the gimbal head to horizontal on rough ground, as it only pans two ways? do you just adjust the tripod legs (bit of a faff) or has anyone tried it with a leveling base fitted underneath the head (which i know i have seen somewhere but dont seem to be able to find) thanks again

*EDIT* i mean something like this? http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=11057
 
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One final question, how do you go about getting the gimbal head to horizontal on rough ground, as it only pans two ways? do you just adjust the tripod legs (bit of a faff) or has anyone tried it with a leveling base fitted underneath the head (which i know i have seen somewhere but dont seem to be able to find) thanks again

*EDIT* i mean something like this? http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=11057


I use the old fashion method of moving the tripod legs, I wouldn't recommend another head under the gimbal, I would also recommend trying a tether to ensure that in the event of a failure your body / lens doesn't come crashing down.......I will post my modification hopefully tomorrow
I notice that you're on a tight budget as a student, that leveling head is close on £100 with postage, I think adjusting the legs is a tad cheaper ;)
 
One final question, how do you go about getting the gimbal head to horizontal on rough ground, as it only pans two ways? do you just adjust the tripod legs (bit of a faff) or has anyone tried it with a leveling base fitted underneath the head (which i know i have seen somewhere but dont seem to be able to find) thanks again

*EDIT* i mean something like this? http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=11057

I have a gimble head that I have mounted on a leveling head on my tripod. Works great for me. Set up is fast and accurate even on uneven ground. I happen to have a Wimberley head, a Gitzo leveling head, on a Gitzo tripod but I don't think the particular brands are important.

Don
 
Slight change to the topic but still on eBay, I see there are Benro heads from China that apear to be identical to a Wimberley head, is there any connection?
 
Slight change to the topic but still on eBay, I see there are Benro heads from China that apear to be identical to a Wimberley head, is there any connection?

Benro is a Chinese manufacturer that makes ball heads, tripods, and gimbal heads. There is no connection with Wimberly. But the Chinese are notorious for ignoring patents etc. I have heard mixed reviews.

I buy Benro QR plates as they are much cheaper than Markins etc. They are much better made than a European made QR plate that I have, though the finish is not quite on a par with Markins, Kirk etc. I would not hesitate to recommend them.

In an online review someone took apart one of the ball heads, and found some dodgy engineering which would have led to it becoming hard to use.

http://forum.zhanglei.net/viewthread.php?tid=64

Benro claim to have corrected the fault ... but I have no confirmation.

As I have never even seen the gimbal, I cannot comment. I have examined one of the tripods, and it *looked* well made, though I did not examine it in detail, and did not use it. So they might have cut corners. The only way to know is to buy one and use it, as some of this stuff is good, some not. The QR plates *are* well made with good milling, presumably computer controlled.

My view is that the Chinese labour costs are so low that there are some bargains to be had, but caveat emptor.
 
Just got one of the Indian gimbal heads delivered and have had a quick look at it. It had been opened for inspection by customs and excise, who hadn't put all the screws / allen keys etc back in the little bag, but doesn't appear anything was missing. First impressions (having previously owned a Wimberley) are that it's a cheap imitation (surprise!), but looks like it will do the job OK. The bearings aren't as silky smooth as the wimberley, and the finish is not as good (some pitting in the surface), but overall, at about 1/5 of the price of the Wimberley, it looks like good value for money. I think if I was a full time photographer I would probably splash out on the wimberley, but for weekends and holidays this will do. Having used my old Manfrotto 503 video head yesterday, I had forgotten what a pain it was having to mess about with all those knobs and levers, gimbal heads make things much simpler.
 
Further to previous post, I set up the Indian gimbal head last night with the lens and camera body on. It doesn't move around as effortlessly as my previous Wimberley with the 600 lens on...there is a bit of friction, but it's still not bad. It seems to support the thing OK, though I think it is pretty much at the limit with the 600...would be fine with a 500. It is also pretty heavy. It's definitely worth £100, but I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and get a Wimberley, otherwise I am always going to have the nagging doubt when I'm walking around with it over my shoulder that something is going to give.
 
I got my Indian Gimbal second-hand. It's definitely not as smooth as a proper Wimberley but I'm willing to put up with that to save several hundred pounds.

Besides, it's so heavy (as is the Wimberley) compared to my Acratech Long Lens Head that I only use it when I'm not going very far from the car.
 
Indian sidekick tripod head

Ive just got my Indian import sidekick tripod head and think it's superb. Not aware of any iffy finishing in the quality and if the paint does fall off in two weeks or two years im not worried the whole thing works excellent on my trusty old slik d3 really smooth in all directions and my 100-400mm IS lense balances superbly ,compared to the original Slik d3 head this is so smooth and no notchiness. Im quite sure it's not as well finished as the wimberley original but for those of us on a budget and let's face it who isn't i recommend it. I offered £50+p+p via E-bay and it turned up a week later very well packed and with two allen keys, all the fixings, specific mounting plate for your lense and two threaded collars for tripod top mounts. Im sure there aren't many of us out there who wouldn't want the best gear but i reckon for this price if you are on a budget you won't regret it and can't go wrong. One other thought if anyone is really worried about the bolt shearing off due to poor quality and your lense and camera falling off you could always tie your camera strap to the tripod/head ,the thing is always dangling where you don't want it anyway. If i do have one slight niggle with the item it's that i didn't get it for £40 !!All the best Darren:t:
 
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