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Thread: Mongoose 3.6 accessories?

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    Default Mongoose 3.6 accessories?

    Hi,

    I,m thinking in buying a canon 500mm f/4 L IS very soon, and after reading some post's about gimbal heads I decided to buy a mongoose 3.6 to use with the 500mm.
    Normally I donīt do BIF, only hide photography to small birds in a feeder and birds in water with a moving platform that i've made.

    I've some questions about the mongoose 3.6:

    1. should I use the M3.6 alone or with the ILM - Integrated Low Mount Arm? anyone has any experience with it?

    2. should I buy a lens plate and use canon foot, Kirk replacing foot or 4st Gen replacing foot?

    3.Will the Canon 500mm f/4 IS be centre aligned in tripod with any of the options above?

    Thanks and regards
    Last edited by Humberto Ramos; 01-28-2011 at 11:06 AM.

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    get the foot it balances better and is way easier to pack, especially in a backpack

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    Another recommendation for the 4th Gen. Designs foot. I recently switched to the Mongoose (from a Wimberley) and opted to avoid the Low Mount Arm (for now). You lose two advantages by going with the Low Mount Arm:

    1. Weight, the low mount arm adds weight (although even with added weight, its still considerably lighter than the Wimberley).

    2. You lose the fact that by side mounting, all lenses that are attached to the Mongoose using the 4th Gen. Designs low profile foot are automatically aligned to their centers.

    However the advantage of the Low Mount Arm is that it will make loading and unloading little easier which why I opted to wait and see how it goes first.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aravind Krishnaswamy View Post
    Another recommendation for the 4th Gen. Designs foot. I recently switched to the Mongoose (from a Wimberley) and opted to avoid the Low Mount Arm (for now). You lose two advantages by going with the Low Mount Arm:

    1. Weight, the low mount arm adds weight (although even with added weight, its still considerably lighter than the Wimberley).

    2. You lose the fact that by side mounting, all lenses that are attached to the Mongoose using the 4th Gen. Designs low profile foot are automatically aligned to their centers.

    However the advantage of the Low Mount Arm is that it will make loading and unloading little easier which why I opted to wait and see how it goes first.
    Thanks...
    As the low profile foot will align the 500mm f/4 in the tripod center, I think that for me the best option will be the M3.6 without the Low Mount Arm, and with this option, like Jamie said, the lens also will be easier to pack.

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    My experience with the Mongoose ILM is that:
    1. The arm is very light weight and sturdy, but transmits and amplifies any vibration to the lens - like a tuning fork.
    2. The lens is MUCH easier to mount to the Mongoose side mounted than to the ILM where the access to the lever is on the same side that you are holding the lens.
    3. I do however feel much safer with the foot of the lens underneath (as it was designed) than side mounted with the weight borne laterally on the screws that secure it.
    4. The Mongoose is much more compact without the ILM.

    I'll keep persisting with the ILM for now, but so far I'm not that impressed.
    Jim

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    I think that you will find that if you are using the Flash arm with the Low Mount, the whole rig is more stable. The lower centre of gravity seems to offset the changed balance that comes with the Flash Arm.

    Gerald

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    I have never used the Low Mount. I have used the Mongoose pretty much exclusively now for 5+ years. I routinely make sharp images with it and the 800 down to 1/30 sec and have made sharp images with the head tightened down to 1/6 sec with the 800.

    If you can comfortably hold a lens up for about 10-15 seconds then you will have no problem with the side mounting. That is why I used the Wimberley for the 600....
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    ps: For the first time in quite a while we actually have several M3.6 heads in stock. We have trouble keeping them on the shelf.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

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