What's the best gimbal system on the market?

[John Flynn]

I was looking to purchase a gimbal head and mounting plates. I am not a rich man but I have learned that purchasing "the best" is sometimes your most cost effective solution. I know the standard is the wimberley system but I have heard good things about Jobu, Really Right Stuff, Induro and Mongoose. I am attracted to a setup that is modular: offering both the sidemount style and the cradle style, but I don't want to sacrifice quality in one mode for quality in the other. Two gimbal heads are out of the question though. Locked down rigidity is my primary concern followed by smooth/stable tracking for BIF, quick lockdown then weight. My thought was to purchase plates from the same manufacturer to match up the machining on the plates because my number one fear in life is watching my camera tumble off of my gimbal head. Darn, I guess I will be having that nightmare again tonight :eek3:.

[James Shadle]

I'm a huge fan of the Mongoose. I use a 3.5a with my Nikon D700 and 600mm F4 AF-S.

The modular heads are to heavy and clunky IMO.

[Michael Wolf]

If you will be going on long, long hikes and travelling far & wide The Mongoose may be best as it is substantially lighter & more compact. If you will not the Wimberley system is simply the best (IMHO).
I can only comment on these systems as they are the only two I have used. Had a Wimberely & sold it for a Mongoose 1 year later I switched back to Wimberely.

[Rene de Heer]

Check out the Sirui gimbal head. It offers modularity and it also lighter as it is made of carbon fibre. BH sells them and you can find a small review on my webite www.naturepics.co.uk
Rene de Heer

[David Stephens]

Seriously consider the Wimberley Sidekick combined with a top end ballhead, like the Arca-Swiss Z1. It's smooth, locks tight and has the added versatility of quickly converting to a ballhead for scenic shooting, etc. I love mine. If you already own a great ballhead, then it's an even better deal. Buying both at once is no less expensive than buying a top gimbal.

[John Chardine]

Hi John- I had a Mongoose but got to dislike the side mount and in particular the clamp on the Mongoose which has no fail-safe features other than the stops to prevent the plate from sliding out. A couple of times I almost dropped a big lens because the clamp was inadvertently undone by me in the heat of the moment. So I decided I needed a swing arm with a bottom clamp with a screw tightener that didn't come loose in one go as the Mongoose lever can. After looking at a Wimberley 2 and a few others, I found a couple of blog posts- one by Robert O'Toole and one by Chris Dodds, both of whom use and love the Jobu Jr. 3. Chris is a friend so I contacted him to get first hand info and found out he uses that head with the new deluxe swing arm for everything up to an including the Canon 800/5.6. That was good enough for me and I purchased one direct from him.

The head is the best I have owned. It's very light (700g, 1lb 8oz), very stiff, and locks down tight. It's a pleasure to use. I use it with the 1DIV, 500/4II and teleconverters, flash etc and it can handle all that and more. I like the Jobu flash arm too. It connects to the Jobu replacement lens foot rather than the head so if you remove the camera/lens combo from the head, the arm and flash comes with it as a unit. With the Mongoose, you remove the camera/lens and the flash stays with the head and is tethered to the camera via the flashcord, and invariably the flash will flop forward or backwards if things are not locked down.

And hey, Jobu is a Canadian company!!!

[Nancy Phillips]

Look at Custom Brackets: it has a modular system. I have the side-mount, fits-on-ballhead piece, "Basic Gimbal", for my modest weight lenses (Canon 400mm f/5.6L) and hiking/travel. If I ever get a large lens, the rest of the system is available for purchase. I think that Custom Brackets makes well-designed well-made kit.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey John,
If I was on the market today for a Gimbal head......I would use the Induro. you can read my review here: http://roaminwithroman.wordpress.com/photo-gear/induro-ghb2-gimbal-style-head-review/
I have the "old style" wimberly.......which I consider the best on the market. I feel the Induro works a bit smoother than the V2 Wimberly. I am not sponsored by anyone.....so I give this review after trying all of them.

[Richard Mc Donald]

Just went to purchase the Jobu after reading Johns speal and quickly shut the sale down after they wanted $100 for shipping to Australia!

[John Flynn]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! The CB is engineered for less locked down stability http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Custom-Brackets-CB-Gimbal-Tripod-Head-Review.aspx and that is my number one issue. I know the mongoose is a great head but I'm not too sure about how it functions with the cradle in. My guess is there's some issues and that's why many people wind up using the WH-200 as their main head. I know the cradle design is going to be a pain to travel and hike with but I'm not sure how my gimbal head technique is so I'm a bit scared of getting a mongoose as it is definitely not as rigid as the cradle design. My handholding technique is very good but I'm also 6'5" and that factors into stable handholding and also the ability to carry a heavy gimbal head on hikes. I have an induro tripod that I'm very impressed with so I'm definitely going to keep looking at it even though the guys at lensrentals.com rent both and like the wimberley more.The RRS seems like a great product and if you look at the WH-200 + the kit to use it as a sidemount they're comparably priced. Seems like a great product but not a ton of reviews and comparisons. I just saw a video of it and it seems like it doesn't track up high as well. Wouldn't it be fun to make a pano with a 600 +2X though?
I'm still trying to figure out what system to use. The Wimberley, Jobu and Induro seem great and so far and I've still got more research to but thanks for the help!!!

[Martin Lord]

In the last year, I have been going back and forth between the WH200 and the Mongoose M-3.6 and ungraded in the meantime from Canon 500 to 600 II. John has excellent comments on the M-3.6 above, I find the same to be true. I actually did the mistake of loosening up the knob on WH200 that holds the lens foot thigh instead of the 2 other knobs that control tilt and turn. The lens-camera were saved because the RRS (Really Right Stuff) lens replacement foot has tabs on both ends that prevent the foot from just slipping through the foot mount and fall off. I'd be the living proof that stupid things can be done with the WH200 as well. However, the M-3.6 has 2 knobs and tabs to lock the head and I have not found myself unlocking the foot holding lever on the side mount; that would not be good.

With the 500, I liked the WH200 and the Mongoose equally. It somewhat changed with the 600mm. It might not be heavier, but it is big and the weight center is closer to the camera on the 600mm. I feel this is making it a little harder to perfectly balance the camera+lens combo on any wimberley style head. It is definitely faster easier to adjust the balance on a bottom mount than on a side mount, no question. But once this is done, I find that either the WH200 or the M3.6 work quite well. I am thinking of making 3 marks on the lens foot so that I'd know exactly where to mount the camera+600 alone, and with the 1.4x and the 2x. That should take care of the balance adjusting troubles. Especially with the M-3.6, if I add/remove the 1.4x, I will want to reposition to lens foot on the clamp.

To me, here is what it boils down to. If I would shoot everything from 50 feet from the truck, I would go with the WH200. I find the knobs handling a little nicer that the small knobs and tabs on the M-3.6 and the handling of the lens feels a tad bit easier, more weightless. That said, call me lazy, but I have no desire to haul around and hike with the heavier WH200. The Mongoose is the right compromise for me, it strikes the right balance of smooth operation and weight. When flying, it's a no-brainer as I like to go as light as possible.

For the record, I also tried the integrated Low Mount Arm for the M-3.6. I thought this would alleviate some of the pain of using a side mount for just an additional 5 ounces. I did not find that it improved the handling or the balance though and there seems to be a design problem with this product. The knob that controls the tilt on the vertical arm of the M-3.6 gets in the way of the vertical arm of the low mount. It is very difficult at best to turn this knob with the low mount in place. I would not recommend the low mount for the M-3.6... maybe I am missing something here. Others have also said that the low arm mount is vibration prone, but I cannot attest to that.

There is not an RRS product I have got that I did not like... I have not tried their wimberley head (PG-02). It looks like you can't beat how adjustable this product is and I would bet it works great, but I could not get over the size and slightly higher weight than the WH-200. I dont think I would want to take this too far from the car either.

Sticking with the plain M-3.6 for now. Hope this helps,

[John Chardine]

Just went to purchase the Jobu after reading Johns speal and quickly shut the sale down after they wanted $100 for shipping to Australia!

OZ is a long way from Canada.

[Bill Jobes]

My 2 cents and only that:

If you want to do it right -- The Wimberley II is the best.

If you want to do it 'light,' -- the Mongoose is worth a look.

[Doug Campbell]

Wimberley...the original and still the best!!!