Walt, I second Mike's comment. Thanks indeed! I've done quite a bit of web searching and reading of reviews but I'm still not sure I understand the mounting of the lens to the gimbal. If you have an Arca Swiss style QR plate on the lens mount, does that mate directly to the gimbal or do you mount a matching QR plate on the gimbal? If I order the CB Gimbal LS do I need to also order a specific plate for mounting the lens? And one possible concern: I see that the only 2 reviews on B&H are negative, claiming that it is not steady especially with the heavier long lenses. From reading your posts (& seeing your photos) I've get real respect for and confidence in your opinions but do you have any thoughts about those complaints?
Thanks much, and apologies if I'm missing something that should be obvious – Alan
The Kirk Cobra, both versions of the Wimberley and the CB Gimbal all have at the top of them a arca swiss style mount. You do have to buy the arca swiss style plate to mount on the bottom of the lens, then that plate fits the mount clamp on the Gimbal. There are a wide number of different style arca swiss plates, thus they are not included with the gimbal, chances are whatever plate they might include would only match a small number of possible lenses their customers have. So, yes you would need to get the appropriate plate for your lens, but that would then clamp into the gimbal's mount. At the same time it's worth thinking about standardizing your camera support gear.
Primarily the length of the plate is an issue. Get a plate that allows adjustment to reach all balance setups you might use. Also look closely at the safety locks built into the plate and clamp. If the plate was not clamped enough when mounted you don't want the loose plate to slip out of the dovetail, that's what the safety locks prevent..
There are even replacement feet for some of the Canon and Nikon long tele that have the arca swiss dovetail (same as the plates) machined into them, no separate plate needed at all. I have machining tools and often have thought of making such special feet for my long lenses. Someday when I have some free time ;-) Always a problem with a new lens as modifying them can kill your warranty.
Ideally your arca swiss plate would be mounted to the tele with two bolts or be machined in some manner so the plate won't rotate in use. Some of my lenses came with a foot with only one tripod mount hole and I'd end up drilling and tapping for a second bolt to attach the plate. It's one of my annoyances with lens manufacturers of tele lenses.
A Gimbal setup is all the pieces from top to bottom properly matched. The B&H comments are from folks who seem to be not using matched setups and are looking to use fairly heavy long tele. I've used the CB Gimbal on long lenses up to 600mm and up to 5 lbs lens weight without the problems they are describing. The vibration one described would indicate to me that he was using too light a tripod. For instance one of the tripods I had in that set was the Manfrotto CF 55. Lots of folks think that's size tripod is more than big enough for long tele. I've tested it with gimbal and with several quality ball heads. And with the 70-400G lens and a700 DSLR. The vibration dampening described by the B&H reviewer is about what I experience with the Manfrotto. It's, in my opinion not suitable for long tele work. So I guess my comment about the B&H is without knowing their entire gimbal, tripod, camera and lens setup it's hard to judge if their problems are the gimbal. I do know that the CB has handled every long lens I have or where I've run across using it. I will guarantee there are lenses that will be too big for it. There are some huge long tele, but for the most part those end up having to have custom supports made for them.
Just like DSLR is a system of pieces, Long tele is also a system and all the pieces count. Understanding motion and vibration issues is often complex and an amazing amount of design efforts go into camera supports, they only look simple.
Many of the reviews one finds are misleading, especially those from customers or have a axe to grind. In reading reviews I often spend more time evaluating the reviewer to determine if he knows what he's talking about. Many do not. Only if I know the reviewer can I find the value of their review. With nearly 70 years of camera experience I likely know more than the reviewer's on a lot of it.
I've met a few folk using the Jobu gimbal in the field. It's pretty much a copy of the Wimberley original as are a number of other gimbals. If they were going to copy Wimberley what didn't they study the changes in the newer one? Examine the design of any gimbal you are considering very carefully. Every gimbal I use I've actually ended up discussing the design with the company before buying. The Jobu Lacks a bunch of useful features that are found on the CB They seem to want to show off balancing the gimbal which is important, but not all to look at. Like the gimbal lock on the CB which makes it a lot safer to mount the heavy lens when setting up. You do not want to drop that expensive lens while doing that. Also does not break down for compact carry on a trip. For some reason Jobu stuff often is recommended, but I've not found it to be anything special from panoramic setups to gimbals and so on.
While it's interesting for someone to copy what I have, I think each person should study and learn the equipment and make their own decision. Each of us have our own photography we do.
