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"When I get to a place
for the first time and know it like home, this is when I know my journey
will be over"
"There are always two
people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer."
"I was born lost, and take no
pleasure in being found"
"The strongest reason for the people to retain
the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect
themselves against tyranny in - Thomas Jefferson
"If I am fortunate, I will live 80 years on this amazing planet, so I will throw caution to the wind, strive to make a difference, and seek out adventure with every breath, as I am far more afraid of regret than failure!" - Scott Brady
"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of 4x4's, handguns and tequila." - Joaquin Suave
"The Sure Sign of Life is Death. Why Else Would humanity Thrive So Hard To Leave Its Mark on This World" - Unknown
"A tourist does not know where they have been, a traveler does not know where they are going."
"I Have Learned Something About Creating Art. People Do Not Want to Hear What You Are Going To Do, People Want To Hear About What You Done Did." - Unknown |
CineCity Gimball Head Review Making a Big Lens Manageable and Not Breaking the Bank Anyone who owns a large, heavy telephoto lens knows how hard they can be to manage while out in the field. Not having them properly stabilized will make that added length become useless if your shots aren't tack sharp. Smaller ball heads just dont hold up these larger lenses all that well and can actually be quite dangerous if the top of the tripod becomes too top-heavy, you might end up with your valuable lens and camera hitting the ground. This is not good.
Usually one
of the first purchases after a big telephoto lens is some type of mount
to make it manageable. There are a few options from Arca-Swiss
type ball heads to the big dollar Gimball type mounts. The standard on
which every
Problem is the Wimberley's sell for $595 at B&H and you'll almost NEVER see one being sold used. The saying goes, 'Once you use a Gimball Head, you never go back to anything else.' I've seen maybe one or two for sale used, and they're always right around the same price as a new model. They just hold their value that good! Wimberley does make an alternative model called the Sidekick which drops the price down to $249, but the problem is you still need to have a very sturdy Arca-Style head to hold the Sidekick steady. So add a few hundred dollars to that price and we're back up to almost $500. See where I'm going with this?
If you want
to have stability with your big lenses, you're going to have spend
That was till I was surfing Photography On The Net, or POTN, as us camera nerds like to call it when I came across a thread talking about a more inexpensive knock-off to the Jobu Design Gimball that you could pick up for around $100. For that price, I was ready to bite the worm, hook, line and sinker all at once. I read through the very long thread reading what other members to the forum were talking about the Gimball Head and it's build quality. I finally figured for $100, how could you go wrong? Now I know that we're not comparing apples to apples here. Wimberley is a father and son company that is situated in Virginia and you cant go wrong with an American made product. The Wimberley head is almost a full pound lighter than the CineCity Gimball model, but for many of us who save up for a year or two in order to purchase that huge, long lens, we just cant afford to drop another $600 on a Gimball Head to go with it. If money was no option, I'd buy Wimberley products all day long and recommend them to every single one of my friends or fellow photographers. But in a day in age where everyone is looking for the best bargain, well that's what I'm here to review for you today. A phenomenal Bargain for your long lens stability. I'll say right now that I have no affiliation with CineCity or any of the other companies I've mentioned in this review. Just trying to help the fellow photographer with saving some money. I should also say that these type of Gimball Heads only work with lenses that have Collars on them. If you have a smaller lens without a collar, you'll probably have to stick with a standard ball head. In Steps the CineCity Gimball Mount Sidekick
After talking back and forth through email, I was told if I wasn't fully satisfied with my purchase, there would be a no questions asked return and I'd just have to pay for the shipping and handling to return it. Like I said, How could I go wrong? I ordered the Jobu replica mount rather than the full Wimberley style mount because it was a hundred dollars cheaper and was a full pound lighter than their biggest Gimball they offer. Plus, we dont have a Ball Head so I wanted the style that will just screw to the top of my Tripod or Monopod by itself. I was ordering this Gimball Head to mount our Canon 400mm f/2.8 lens on which already tips the scales at 11lbs, so I was wanting to try and keep the weight down as much as possible. I dont want to be wearing myself out before I even get out to take pictures.
My total was $126 shipped and what amazed me the most; it was at my door in 5 days time. That's 5 days from India. I've ordered things from the same state within the United States and not received them in that amount of time! Kudos' to CineCity for their top notch shipping and handling. Getting the Gimball Head and Setting it Up for the 1st Time
Two Bonus points for CineCity! While looking over the construction and workmanship, I noticed some sections that lacked the perfection you'd see if you were to spend the extra money and get a Wimberley, but the welds/machining looks stout and the piece of aluminum is very solid feeling. Besides, when you have a huge white lens mounted to this, who is looking at the welds? As long as it holds the lens steady, I dont care what the build quality looks like. One thing that concerned me was the base section that mounts onto the tripod would not spin if I was just trying to spin it in my hand. But when I put it on the tripod and added the lens to it, it spins like its buttered, so I'm guessing it just needs the weight of the lens to make it move smoothly.
Putting the
base plate onto the camera's collar, I noticed there is enough room due
to how long the plate is that I can screw two allen bolts into the
camera's collar, then screw two of the extra allen bolts into the
Gimball Head itself.
I think if
we'll be hiking and using the lens for the
Once they're mounted, you'll notice the hand screw is plenty big enough to tighten the base plate down securely and not have to worry about losing your lens. I dont really like how sharp the edges are on the hand screw knob where the red arrow is pointing in that image on the left. If I had my say in the design, I would probably like to see a bigger, smoother knob like they have on the base and pivot points. Those two knobs are very smooth and easy to adjust. I attached our lens to the Gimball Head and carried the two around which felt very solid and secure. I made sure to carry them around the house a few times and jostled them about before I ventured outside just to make sure nothing was going to come loose. It never did, and hasn't on numerous uses out in the field, so I'm not all that worried about it anymore. But you know how that first time is! You can never be too careful. Using the CineCity Gimball Head in the Field
Our first
day out to really test the Gimball Head we took it with us attached to a
Manfrotto NeoTec Monopod. We had tried to use the combo of the big
lens
atop the monopod on a few other occasions, but if trying to pan
with a moving animal or a flying bird, you look like you're
I think the lens could be put atop a monopod and used easily for panning with something that you know the path of, say a race car or a motorcycle on a flat track. But moving up and down is pretty useless and downright uncomfortable. The combo of the CineCity Gimball head atop the NeoTec Monopod makes for one smooth day out shooting. I could almost shoot one handed and many times I found myself doing so because I needed to hold on while in the back of the vehicle we were in. We spent 2.5 hours shooting out of the back of a Pinzgauer at the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom Louisiana and came home with some of our best images we've shot with this lens.
My wife, who had yet to get anything useable with the 400mm due to not being able to hold it by herself was now shooting away with a smile from ear to ear. I think I might have lost the use of this lens after she got the feel for it mounted to the Gimball Head and I think I've now become her Sherpa just carrying the lens around for her. This was her first time using a Gimball head and she couldn't believe you could maneuver this huge lens with one hand. On a tripod, you can track any subject with a few fingers. It's that easy to use!! Final Conclusion We've used the Gimball Head a few times since that day and each time I cant believe we only had to pay $120 for it. For that price, I'm honestly thinking of ordering another one so we dont have to argue over who gets to use it.
I now know why that saying is so used, 'Once you use a Gimball Head, you'll never be able to go back to anything else.' The best part is for the inexpensive price that CineCity offers these mounts for, almost anyone can afford to give them a try and see if they make a difference in their images. I know ours did for us.
Here are some links to some various manufacturers who make Gimball Heads for you to do your own comparison. I have never used any of these models, I'm just providing the links for you to do your own comparison. Again, I have no affiliation with CineCity or any of these companies, just trying to provide some information on how fellow photographers can save some money.
CineCity - Your most inexpensive option, but no qualms from this
photographer
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.JPG)
Gimball
is judged would probably be the Wimberley. This puppy is the
Cadillac of camera supports and will make any sized lens become Childs
play once adjusted properly.
some
serious coin.
If you want
to go with a different option, there is a company called Jobu Design
which makes a Gimball style mount that blends the functionality of the
Sidekick with the stability of the full scale Wimberley. I looked
at trying out one of these because the
.JPG)
.JPG)
When I
received the package, it came with a bag full of extra screws and a few
allen wrenches that confused me at first. What were all these
extra screws for? I looked around the Gimball head to see if it
was missing any bolts or screws that I'd have to insert these into, but
I realized they just sent along an extra screw for every single section
of the Gimball head that uses one.
When you
order the Gimball Head from CineCity, you're allowed to pick one Base
Plate from the
.jpg)
Granted, this removes any adjustment you have
with the lens and head, but if you find that sweet spot and aren't
worried about moving the lens fore or aft for the remainder of the day, this
would be your best bet for that extra piece of security and piece of
mind..JPG)
entire
day, I'd spend the extra five minutes and attach the two together like
this.
having some
sort of convulsion while trying to track the animal.
.JPG)