Just purchased Indian Gimbal (1 Viewer)

[David Smith]

Having recently purchased a 500f4 I realised I needed an upgrade on my tripod head.
For various reasons I couldn't justify a Wimberley or similar so decided to go for an ebay/Indian copy........Having no experience of a Wimberely or Jobu my findings are.......

1. Service was amazing-I think it took just 3 days from payment to arrive.
2. Quality seems fine-all the previous comments re' slightly rough finish
are true-however it seems fine and I have no qualms about using it.
3. I can't compare but it works smoothly and the balance is good.
4. Weight is OKish at 3.7 Lbs. I know the wimberely is slightly less but either
one will add substantially to my Giottos tripod.

One interesting thing.......I was following the progress of a 2nd hand one on ebay. It had no plate and was advertised as well used. As it stood at approx' £50 I kept track and would have gone for it-however on the last day the bidding went mad and was sold for £118.00 plus £6 postage. (A plate would cost an additional £28.00 plus £7.00 postage)....total £159.00
Bearing in mind mine cost £157.00 INCLUDING POSTAGE this seems a little strange.
Of course the buyer may have already had a plate etc. but don't you think that some ebay items go for crazy prices-I know someone who sold a 2nd- hand camera and got more than a new one would have cost the buyer!

I stress that I am not trying to compare-I'm sure a Wimberley will be noticeably better/smoother....I'm really just advising that for anyone on a budget I see nothing to worry about.........yet||

 

[Claymore]

Having recently purchased a 500f4 I realised I needed an upgrade on my tripod head.
For various reasons I couldn't justify a Wimberley or similar so decided to go for an ebay/Indian copy........Having no experience of a Wimberely or Jobu my findings are.......

1. Service was amazing-I think it took just 3 days from payment to arrive.
2. Quality seems fine-all the previous comments re' slightly rough finish
are true-however it seems fine and I have no qualms about using it.
3. I can't compare but it works smoothly and the balance is good.
4. Weight is OKish at 3.7 Lbs. I know the wimberely is slightly less but either
one will add substantially to my Giottos tripod.

One interesting thing.......I was following the progress of a 2nd hand one on ebay. It had no plate and was advertised as well used. As it stood at approx' £50 I kept track and would have gone for it-however on the last day the bidding went mad and was sold for £118.00 plus £6 postage. (A plate would cost an additional £28.00 plus £7.00 postage)....total £159.00
Bearing in mind mine cost £157.00 INCLUDING POSTAGE this seems a little strange.
Of course the buyer may have already had a plate etc. but don't you think that some ebay items go for crazy prices-I know someone who sold a 2nd- hand camera and got more than a new one would have cost the buyer!

I stress that I am not trying to compare-I'm sure a Wimberley will be noticeably better/smoother....I'm really just advising that for anyone on a budget I see nothing to worry about.........yet||

Good on ya David, I have the Wimberley version and have also tried one of the Indian one's and although the Wimberley is top quality ie finish etc they both do the same job and for the money you can't go wrong with the indian jobbie.
Really i should have save my money and gone for the Indian but as I was going to mounta new 500mm I was advised not to risk the cheaper model however having seen the indian one I think there's nothing to worry about. Redsnapper are currently developing a Gimbal head and if its anything like their other gear it should be excellent value/quality and no doubt it will be under £100 so worth looking out for.
As far a paint finish on the Indian just wrap it with camo tape to protect the paint from wear.
Cheerio and have fun with the new head
Brian
Ps heard somewhere that someone with the Indian had stripped it down and lubricated all parts with graphite spray and they said its even smoother when panning etc

 

[tdong]

http://thstudios.ca/nikon600ais/index.html

I have been using the indian for 1 year and it is really good can't complaint. it doesn't seem to be really smooth when it is by itself but when I put my 600 on it it is just silky smooth movements.

I may try to open it up one day to lubricate . But so far there is no need

 

[David Smith]

Ps heard somewhere that someone with the Indian had stripped it down and lubricated all parts with graphite spray and they said its even smoother when panning etc

Some years ago (after an unfortunate d.i.y. incident) I became known a Mr Bean.............I don't think I should try this.:eek!:

 

[Claymore]

Ps heard somewhere that someone with the Indian had stripped it down and lubricated all parts with graphite spray and they said its even smoother when panning etc

Some years ago (after an unfortunate d.i.y. incident) I became known a Mr Bean.............I don't think I should try this.:eek!:

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooopppppppppppppppppppssssssssss! LoL
I'm known as Village Idiot and Frank Spencer for similar reasons
Cheers
Brian

 

[Claymore]

Having recently purchased a 500f4 I realised I needed an upgrade on my tripod head.
For various reasons I couldn't justify a Wimberley or similar so decided to go for an ebay/Indian copy........Having no experience of a Wimberely or Jobu my findings are.......

1. Service was amazing-I think it took just 3 days from payment to arrive.
2. Quality seems fine-all the previous comments re' slightly rough finish
are true-however it seems fine and I have no qualms about using it.
3. I can't compare but it works smoothly and the balance is good.
4. Weight is OKish at 3.7 Lbs. I know the wimberely is slightly less but either
one will add substantially to my Giottos tripod.

One interesting thing.......I was following the progress of a 2nd hand one on ebay. It had no plate and was advertised as well used. As it stood at approx' £50 I kept track and would have gone for it-however on the last day the bidding went mad and was sold for £118.00 plus £6 postage. (A plate would cost an additional £28.00 plus £7.00 postage)....total £159.00
Bearing in mind mine cost £157.00 INCLUDING POSTAGE this seems a little strange.
Of course the buyer may have already had a plate etc. but don't you think that some ebay items go for crazy prices-I know someone who sold a 2nd- hand camera and got more than a new one would have cost the buyer!

I stress that I am not trying to compare-I'm sure a Wimberley will be noticeably better/smoother....I'm really just advising that for anyone on a budget I see nothing to worry about.........yet||

Hi David,
My wife has jumped on the Indian Gimbal bandwagon, she bought one of their mini gimbal heads to use with her Bigma its a bit smaller than yours (more of a sidekick style) but should be fine for the bigma. I will let you know what i think of it when it arrives.
Cheers
Brian
Ps has anyone else here on the forum bought the Mini Gimbal head? if so what's your verdict?

 

[postcardcv]

Having recently purchased a 500f4 I realised I needed an upgrade on my tripod head.

4. Weight is OKish at 3.7 Lbs. I know the wimberely is slightly less but either
one will add substantially to my Giottos tripod.

I've tested a few of the Giottos tripods and have been impressed with them, cheaper and lighter than the Manfrottos and offering a similar level of stability. For use with a scope they are an excellent option, but I wouldn't trust my 500 f4 on top of one. When I upgraded from a Manfrotto 055 to a Gitzo I was amazed at just how much better the Gitzo was - it's rock solid. Sure the Gitzos are expensive but they really are worth the money, having spent all that money on a lens it's worth giving it the best suport you can.

 

[Adrian D]

Hi David,

Thanks for the heads-up on the Indian Gimbal. I am considering getting a Canon 500mm f4 and have also been looking at gimbal mounts, but a saving of over £300 on a mount is considerable if the mount is perfectly safe to fix such a lens to, and it would appear from comments here that that is the case.

Any comments (good or bad) from other users of the Indian version could be very useful to others considering a purchase.

One question though, are the mounting plates the same as those for the genuine gimbal and readily available or can they only be sourced from the indian supplier?

 

[Duke Leto]

yep their mounting plates are the same as others and will fit other heads such as the wimberly

 

[szekiat]

i'm using a 300-800 on one. Enough said. My preferred head is actually still the manfrotto 393 funnily enough. Unfortunately the bolts are not of hte best quality on those and its a rather horrid design for storing away. The plates on by the same ppl are of much lower quality and i'm not sure if one should risk it. They seem to chip quite easily unlike my arcatech ones

 

[Claymore]

My Indian Mini Gimbal head arrived today and its excellent value for the money, the painted finish isn't as good as Brian's Wimberley but what do you expect its a quarter of the price. I have tried it with my Bigma and its great! no more aching arms LoL
There were lots of spare screws etc in with it and not sure where they go?
I can recomend it to anyone after a cheap gimbal (probably better for lenses upto Bigma weight)
Bye
Ruth (Mrs Claymore)

 

[seaspirit]

A few weeks ago I ordered one of the Indian gimbal sidekick heads from ebay .
As other folks already wrote shipping time (less than a week to arrive, faster than shipping something within Canada) and shipping costs are top notch, finish and look of the beast are more early bronze age. BUT it works for a, compared to other gimbal heads, very reasonable price, and in its working environment it doesn't have to look pretty. Good bang for the buck, even more so if you look at the grams per $ ratio.

I used it now for a while with a 300mm 2.8 + 1.4x TC and I couldn't be happier with its performance. It handles way better than the Manfrotto video head (normally used with the spotting scope) and ball head I used before switching to the gimbal.

I never had the chance to compare some of the more "original" designs. Guess one can't miss what one doesn't know, but the Indian Gimbal functions as I anticipated it and is a good value for the money.

Ulli

 

[Claymore]

A few weeks ago I ordered one of the Indian gimbal sidekick heads from ebay .
As other folks already wrote shipping time (less than a week to arrive, faster than shipping something within Canada) and shipping costs are top notch, finish and look of the beast are more early bronze age. BUT it works for a, compared to other gimbal heads, very reasonable price, and in its working environment it doesn't have to look pretty. Good bang for the buck, even more so if you look at the grams per $ ratio.

I used it now for a while with a 300mm 2.8 + 1.4x TC and I couldn't be happier with its performance. It handles way better than the Manfrotto video head (normally used with the spotting scope) and ball head I used before switching to the gimbal.

I never had the chance to compare some of the more "original" designs. Guess one can't miss what one doesn't know, but the Indian Gimbal functions as I anticipated it and is a good value for the money.

Ulli

Glad your happy with the Indian Gimbal, my wife is very pleased with hers and having seen how solid they are wish I hadn't spent loads on the Wimberley. Ok the finish is a bit iffy but it does the job perfectly and they are excellent value for the money (and better than some more expensive ones too) I hear Redsnapper are developing a Gimbal head and will soon be available? if its anything like their tripods then it will be very good quality and not overpriced.
Cheers
Brian
Ps I agree regarding the postage from India miles faster than items bought in UK

 

[Bananafishbones]

Glad your happy with the Indian Gimbal, my wife is very pleased with hers and having seen how solid they are wish I hadn't spent loads on the Wimberley. Ok the finish is a bit iffy but it does the job perfectly and they are excellent value for the money (and better than some more expensive ones too) I hear Redsnapper are developing a Gimbal head and will soon be available? if its anything like their tripods then it will be very good quality and not overpriced.
Cheers
Brian
Ps I agree regarding the postage from India miles faster than items bought in UK

Mine arrived this morning, total 3 days to deliver!!

Cant wait to try it out now but I know it will be fine on my Gitzo tripod.
Lots of spares with it... so many that I have to double check and recheck that I have all the bits in place....yes and still loads of spares but I guess the supplier are taking all precautions for loss of screws etc and the cost to ship out a new one on its own.:t:

I even got got free postage when I put in a best offer rather than paying asking price.

The plate is the Arca style and having checked it is an EXACT match to the one that would cost me £52 from my local camera retailer.

THIS NOW GIVES BE A SUPER SET UP FOR LIFE AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE!!

Dave

 

[stanacko]

Hi,
Can you point me in the direction of the Indian Gimbal. Many thanks.
Stan.

 

[Bananafishbones]

Hi,
Can you point me in the direction of the Indian Gimbal. Many thanks.
Stan.

Stan

I cant do links sorry but if you type:

Tripod / Gimbal mount head for large telephoto lenses

into the ebay photography search you should get the correct item

Good luck
Dave

 

[Duke Leto]

search for the seller "dvaccessory" or click here

 

[stanacko]

Hi Dave & Steve.
Many thanks for the info.
Stan.

 

[v_cowell]

I have just received the sidekick version of this gimbal for my 300 f/2.8/1Dm3and it is smooth to use. However the lens plate attaches with only one screw (as the genuine arca-swiss plate) and as i nipped it up with the supplied allen key I sheared the head right off. No worries there are plenty of spares as stated in previous posts. I put one of the replacement screws in and snap off came the head on that one too.
Now I have to think, lens and camera are hanging off 1 screw and if it fails the whole shebang ends up on the floor in bits.
I have fixed a nut and bolt through the plate and the strap slot on the lens foot for extra security. Not too pretty but worth it for the extra security it brings.
I will search out a high quality replacement screw from a local specialist soon, but can you (really,honestly) trust 1 budget screw with that amount of weight.

 

[Glaucous1]

Not just you Vince, by coincidence I also received one this morning, the larger version. First screw to be tightened sheared, so thought maybe I'd applied too much pressure - again I'll source some better quality ones.