How to operate settings on camera when on a gimbal

[arjaycoin]

Looking to buy a gimbal for nikon z 5II and nikon 180-600 lens combo for some wildlife situations (mainly still shooting) to help with camera shake handheld etc. E.g WeeBill 3E.

Never used or even seen a gimbal in the flesh before but all those I have seen attached to a camera on websites for sale make it almost impossible to get your eye to the view finder and the screen I know will be hard to see in full African sun. So how do you focus, compose shots, change camera settings like ISO, aperture, speed etc? Mystery to me. Can you help?

 

[Ellis Vener]

Gyroscopically stabilized gimbals are generally not up to the job of supporting a super-tele zoom.

off the top of my head I can think of four reasons for this:

1. The physical length of the lens

2. gyroscopic gimbals like that Webill E3 require you to balance the lens and camera’s center of gravity to work. When you change focal lengths with a long barrel telephoto zoom you are moving groups of elements inside the lens, changing the center of gravity.

3.) you’ll still be using your body to support the lens, the camera, and also the gimbal. Just about everyone I know who uses a gimbal only uses it for a few minutes before they have to stop filming and rest their arms, shoulders and back.

4.) They really are made for shooting video, not stills. That’s not saying you can’t use them to do longer stills exposure but from personal xperience, it isn’t even close to optimal

For the problem you describe you want help with , my opinion is you’ll be far better off with a really good monopod and a fluid damped “video” head. There are a lot of good ones but the best in my opinion is the iFootage Cobra 3 and iFootage Komodo K5S head.

There are also non-gyro stabilized gimbal heads like this one, https://www.adorama.com/sungh02.html?

are designed to support super-telephotos on tripods or monopods but I find them bulky one-thick ponies.

 

[Bill Ferris]

Here's a photo of a typical gimbal head.



I assume you're shooting with a telephoto lens attached to your camera. Long lenses typically come with a foot attached to a ring that wraps around the lens near the end that attaches to the camera. If the foot or the adapter attached to the foot has an Arca-Swiss type mount, it will be able to slide into the receptacle and lock into place. When properly mounted, the camera and lens balance so that they can be tilted to almost any angle and stay in position when you let go.

The lens extends forwards from the gimbal head and the camera extends backwards. It's actually quite easy to access the EVF and controls. Here's a photo illustrating one way to mount the camera & lens.



As you can see, the camera extends far enough behind the gimbal to give unfettered access to everything.

Personally, I prefer to have the gimbal on the right side of the camera. Your right hand still has easy access to the shutter release and right side function buttons. Your left arm and hand can be extended along the left side of the lens to provide additional support. Here's a photo illustrating that configuration.



--
Bill Ferris Photography
Flagstaff, AZ

 

[tclune]

You've gotten good answers already. I will just add my 2 cents on when I use which setup. First, hand-held is by far the most flexible way to shoot wildlife under normal circumstances. Your rig is light enough that you should be able to shoot that way most of the time. Any support system is a PITA to use and needs to be necessary in order to be worthwhile in my opinion. If you are wandering around while shooting, I would only consider using a monopod as a support. The thing that a monopod brings to the table is the ability to support the weight of your system, so you can hold your rig roughly on-target while waiting for the wildlife to do something worth photographing. I use the Wimberley MonoGimbal on my monopod when I do that. The monopod should be tall and substantial. I only use a tripod when I am shooting from a blind or other fixed position. I have both a gimbal (just about any gimbal will work with your rig in my experience -- those multi-hundred dollar gimbals are needed for very heavy rigs) and a fluid head. I only take the fluid head when I am going to do video, because it's too heavy and bulky with no great advantage over a gimbal otherwise. The fluid head (I use an old Manfrotto 502AH, which I Iike) should have a handle to allow for smooth panning and be able to counterbalance the weight of your rig so it doesn't droop if you let go of the handle. You should be able to level the head easily for video. There are various leveling head options for that. I use either the LeofotoLB-75 levelling base or the Leofoto YB-75LP levelling base for a 75mm bowl, depending on the tripod I am using. I have never tried wildlife video while on the move, so I can't offer any ideas on that. FWIW

ETA: WRT changing settings, this is a major difference between the higher-end cameras and the more budget models. I still shoot with a DSLR, but I have used both entry-level and "pro" models of Nikon's DSLRs. You need to adjust your shooting style to the controls that are available to you. I would suggest that you set your camera to manual mode with the aperture wide open -- the 180-600 can use all the light it can get normally. Then, set the shutter speed to what you need for what you are shooting. If, say, BIF, set to at least 1/1600 -- possibly as high as 1/3000 for really fast birds. Use auto ISO and let it go as high as it has to. If you need to increase the brightness (because, say, you are shooting a dark bird against a bright sky, use exposure comp. This way, you will cover most of your needs with very little fiddling with controls. I am not really up to speed on mirrorless AF modes, so I can't help there.

 

[arjaycoin]

Thanks so much for everyone's help. Great suggestions and much to think about.

Most of my wildlife experience is on vehicle safaris in East and Central-south Africa with a couple of trips to India. Been doing this for over 50 years and am now eighty plus so bush-walking is no longer really feasible any more. My last camera was a Sony RX 10 MIV - fixed 24-600 lens. Brilliant in its way 5 years ago.

Decided I want to go up to full frame and have a Nikon z 5II with Nikon z 180-600mm on way. These days, even with VR/IBIS, I have a small problem with handheld camera shake on occasions at longer lengths. Previously I have used a decent enough tripod at half height on the floor of the vehicle for video and handheld for stills.

My idea was to experiment with a handheld gimbal on the new camera but, as you good folks have suggested, a more practical proposition is to fit a gimbal head to my tripod. This is what I now plan to do but will work through your suggestions first.

 

[lehill]

Looking to buy a gimbal for nikon z 5II and nikon 180-600 lens combo for some wildlife situations (mainly still shooting) to help with camera shake handheld etc. E.g WeeBill 3E.

Think this through. The camera and lens weigh 2.6 kg; the WeeBill 3E adds another 1 kg. That's like holding 3.6 liters of water with your wrist at arm's length. I couldn't do this for very long at all.

For extra support, still photographers will use a tripod with whatever type of head they prefer. If a tripod is not an option, then handhold and lean against something (a tree, a safari vehicle with the engine turned off).

Never used or even seen a gimbal in the flesh before but all those I have seen attached to a camera on websites for sale make it almost impossible to get your eye to the view finder and the screen I know will be hard to see in full African sun. So how do you focus, compose shots, change camera settings like ISO, aperture, speed etc? Mystery to me. Can you help?

You can adjust the brightness on the LCD screen in the camera menus. Let's see, my Sony cameras have a "Sunny Weather" monitor brightness setting. I just stepped outside, and it works very well in full sun. Other camera brands must have an equivalent setting.

I've also seen people — mainly videographers — mount a very bright monitor onto the camera (example). These monitors have their own batteries.

All camera settings are set before the handheld gimbal is turned on. Limited control of the camera is provided by using the buttons on the handle.

 

[Ellis Vener]

My idea was to experiment with a handheld gimbal on the new camera but, as you good folks have suggested, a more practical proposition is to fit a gimbal head to my tripod. This is what I now plan to do but will work through your suggestions first.

if you aren’t photographing birds or things that fly, I really think you are going to happier with a fluid head to support the 180-600 than a gimbal type head.
My reasons for suggesting it:

• the size of a fluid head which will support the 180-600 is less bulky than a gimbal, making it easier to transport and stow.
• easier to balance and operate.

 

[arjaycoin]

Hi Lance. Thanks for commenting. You'll see from my last post that I have given up on the idea of that sort of gimbal (at least for my next safari) and am going for a gimbal head on a half-height tripod on the floor of the vehicle or on a mono section from the tripod which could then be fixed to an upright on the vehicle.

All these possibilities have their drawbacks because they limit the freedom to maneuver the camera freely. Animals have a pesky habit of appearing on the wrong side of the vehicle ;-) . Loads of scrambling about and all that. Ideally a second body with another lens would help but I have already all but blown my budget.

Anyway - not going until late August so will have time when the kit arrives to experiment in mock situations.

 

[number_5]

IMHO, any on-vehicle safaris, I think the bean bag is the way to go. Any use of tripod or monopod will get in the way in many situations. Not just for you, but for everyone in the vehicle.

I came across FlexShooter head. It's mostly a ball head but behaves like a gimbal. It's smaller than a regular gimbal, and the mini version is lighter. I had mounted 600/4 on it.

Here is an off-the-shelf solution for a monopod with mini tripod: <here>. I haven't tried in the field yet though.