Soldato
Anyone want to guess what arrived today? 
The "New Gear/Willy Waving" thread
- Thread starter Fusion
- Start date
Soldato
Soldato
I have a ton of old flash units in the cupboard... no idea how to use them 
Anyway, here it is naked
Anyway, here it is naked
Soldato
This?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anti-slip...Hand_Grips&hash=item1c26519d0b#ht_3853wt_1396
Doesnt it not knock your leg all the time walking around?
This is the one I have
http://www.qstrap.co.uk/
Discount available over on Talk Photography forums - Trader Sales section
It sits against my waist, so stays fairly still when walking. Plus, its the perfect length to rest your hand on when walking, to keep it steady.
Lensmaster gimbal head, made by a great fellow in Grimsby, arrived this morning.
Excellent piece of engineering, very simple and does the job perfectly.
I had been considering the Jobu BWG-HD2 at a cost of £385, no doubt a fine piece of engineering but this cost me £148 delivered.
Now it only needs to stop raining........
Soldato
does anyone know where you can get RS7's for less than £50? I have had a look at the above but looking at reviews the blackrapid stuff wins out.
Soldato
Footman, what will you use that for as I do not know anything about Gimbal heads.
How it that better (if so) than a normal 3 way or ball head on a tripod, interested..
thank you
How it that better (if so) than a normal 3 way or ball head on a tripod, interested..
thank you
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Soldato
From the photo, I can see no way that you can adjust the height. That is the distance between the lens attachment point and the top swivel.
Different lens/camera combos have different distances between the attachment plate and the center of gravity.
If the C of G is too high, the rig will topple forward/backwards. If it is too low, it won't stay inclined without holding it.
Andrew
Just out of interest, what made you get the ST-E2 over a set of radio triggers?
That's the reason why I use a Wimberley MkII. I tried balancing my 500 at the bottom point on the swing arm and just couldn't get it right. It balances spot on adjusted about an inch up the arm.
I cant understand why people look to save on tripods/heads when they've spent the price of a used car on a body/lens combo. Simple fact is there is no cheap way of doing it right.
Not the best pic (Tamron 18-270 zoom, ugh) but it illustrates the point.
I cant understand why people look to save on tripods/heads when they've spent the price of a used car on a body/lens combo. Simple fact is there is no cheap way of doing it right.
Not the best pic (Tamron 18-270 zoom, ugh) but it illustrates the point.
I'm not totally clear by what you mean by "rig". Do you mean the whole assembly, body/lens, gimbal and tripod, or just the body/lens?
I've just put a 1div with 400f5.6 on the gimbal/tripod and by moving the lens plate on the clamp I can balance everything perfectly.
Maybe I'm too simplistic in my approach but so far it works for me, I'd be grateful for any advice I can get.
I use it for photographing birds that are either perched or on the ground. I find it much easier to use than a ball head for that purpose.
The implication here is that I'm skimping by buying some cheap knock-off that could endanger my investment in equipment.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I chose this gimbal because it has very good reviews and seemed good value for money.
There is certainly nothing "cheap" about the engineering or quality of materials.
Whether the design could somehow limit my use, as I said to Andrew, I await enlightenment, genuinely.
I'm happy to stand corrected on the gimbal if it works as you want it to, but maybe you should amend this statement and what it implies...
Soldato
Interesting discussion, I see a lot of these heads at airshows with hefty glass. I don't have anything which would warrant mounting on such a system but they do look interesting.
From looking at the pic footman posted, the mounting plate seems to have a lot of latitude in it. So I'd imagine you move this back\forwards until the CoG is in the right place?
From looking at the pic footman posted, the mounting plate seems to have a lot of latitude in it. So I'd imagine you move this back\forwards until the CoG is in the right place?
Soldato
How does moving an object in the vertical plane affect its centre of gravity\balance point? Or am I missing something in the use of these gimbal heads (most likely!).
Edit: Is it so that you get the centre line of the lens in line with the top joint of the gimbal arm (or whatever it is called?)?
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That sentence alone implies that I bought it simply on price. The sentence above:
implies something quite different, at least it does to me.
That's how I use them.
I wouldn't use it at an airshow, much prefer to to be free-standing, the same as I would use for BIF's.
Without the vertical plane adjustment the lens will return to the horizontal position. With the vertical plane adjusted correctly you can point it at an angle and it will remain at that angle. This effectively makes the lens weightless thus requiring less effort to move, you can push it around with one finger basically.
Note, this is my experience with the Wimberley II, though I have no reason to doubt it applies to similarly designed gimbals (eg RRS, Jobu).
Note, this is my experience with the Wimberley II, though I have no reason to doubt it applies to similarly designed gimbals (eg RRS, Jobu).
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