For all who want a Lensmaster gimbal
Jun 27, 2013 08:25:13 #
Jun 27, 2013 08:26:35 #
Old Cemetery Lodge,
119 Plymouth Road,
Tavistock,
Devon,
PL19 8BY
(01822) 610807
skywatcher@tesco.net
Hearing that http://www.lensmaster.co.uk/index.htm of Grimsby had designed a new version of their Gimbal head, a more compact version, I was eager to get my hands on a copy and was delighted to receive a review model from Lensmaster in the post.
What you need to remember is that these Gimbals are not produced by a large factory in tens of thousands of pounds machines, they are produced one at a time by an engineer working at home, granted with professional and expensive equipment but none the less a small business, this allows for every piece to be checked by hand by the man making it, not bits on a production line.
Whereas a multi million pound company would thing nothing of employing draughtsmen / women, and millions no R&D every painstaking step every little attention to detail has been learnt by a single man, and the quality shows.
Having been told that it was a pre production model I was expecting an un finished/painted mount with a few rough edges, nothing could have been further from the truth. In the usual Lensmaster fashion it arrived well packed in bubble wrap.
Opening the box I found an exceedingly well finished gloss black piece of engineering emblazoned with their new logo.
The Gimbal comes in two parts, the main gimbal itself with side mounting for attaching lenses with a collar such as the Sigma 120-400 and 150-500 and an L bracket allowing cameras with no collar to be mounted in the landscape orientation. Of course that does not stop you from also attaching the longer lenses here either.
The mount itself is constructed from high grade aircraft alloy as are the other two Lensmasters and finished in a hard wearing black coating.
Over the coming weeks I would have ample opportunity to carry out extensive trials of the head both at weddings with video cameras and at hill climbs with motorbikes and fast cars.
First impressions.
Made from the same Aircraft grade alluminium and what appears to be the same bearing types as the other gimbals, this is a smaller veresion of the same ones already in production, with the same attention to quality, well made, and well finished. The movement is a sfluit as the Lensmaster 1 and 2 both of which I have.
What you need to remember is that this is not a replacement for either the 1 or 2 but an addition to the lineup, it is intended for travel use and keeping weight to the minimum, that said, I did place my Canons and Nikons on it with Sigmas 120-400 and 150-500 lenses and was taken aback by the overall stability.
The size is what makes me wonder how stability has been maintained, as can be seen from the photograph, it is considerably smaller than it's larger cousin.
Unlike other Lensmaster gimbals it comes without a mounting or quick release plate, what it has is a mount built into the L bracket. The design one assumes is to keep weight to a minimum, and I have to say it works well.
Field tests.
As can be seen from the above photograph I use my Lensmaster a lot, hence the coating coming off, it has spent more time in rivers, actualkly in the sea and under water than an olympic swimmer, and has twice fallen down cliffs in Cornwall. Am I concerned, no, because as you can plainly see it is fine.
I was worried by what appears to be a flaw in the new model, you can see that the L bracket slips into the mount and is not held in place by and locking pins, which made me feel that it could slip out, however these fears were soon allayed.
First of all it can not drop out as if it was to slip it would simply be stopped by the large knob securing it to the tripod, it can not fall far enough to fall off, secondly, it does in fact tighten more than sufficiently not to worry.
Here are two photographs showing a D700 with Sigma 150-500 AND battery grip on the mount, not just managing but coping excellently and has been use on many occasions like this.
The bottom line.
Two years ago I was searching for a reliable gimbal that was not over priced simply because of the badge it sported, also I didn't want a cheap steel rustworthy one from abroad, Lensmaster didn't advertise, in fact I found them by sheer luck on a birding website.
These gimballs whilst not Wimberleys, they are also not £600, they do the same job, are slick, smooth and ¼ the price.
I have all three, I use mine everey time I shoot, could I do my photography without a gimbal, no, I use them for wedding videos and sports and will continue to do so, what will amaze you more than anything is just what a great piece of engineering you get for the price.
I will continue to use my mainstay, the RH2, because it is what suits my needs best, but this new model is a perfect addition to any photographers kit who wants to travel lighter and has limited space especially when travelling abroad.
Jeremy Rundle
www.jrs-photography.co.uk
119 Plymouth Road,
Tavistock,
Devon,
PL19 8BY
(01822) 610807
skywatcher@tesco.net
Hearing that http://www.lensmaster.co.uk/index.htm of Grimsby had designed a new version of their Gimbal head, a more compact version, I was eager to get my hands on a copy and was delighted to receive a review model from Lensmaster in the post.
What you need to remember is that these Gimbals are not produced by a large factory in tens of thousands of pounds machines, they are produced one at a time by an engineer working at home, granted with professional and expensive equipment but none the less a small business, this allows for every piece to be checked by hand by the man making it, not bits on a production line.
Whereas a multi million pound company would thing nothing of employing draughtsmen / women, and millions no R&D every painstaking step every little attention to detail has been learnt by a single man, and the quality shows.
Having been told that it was a pre production model I was expecting an un finished/painted mount with a few rough edges, nothing could have been further from the truth. In the usual Lensmaster fashion it arrived well packed in bubble wrap.
Opening the box I found an exceedingly well finished gloss black piece of engineering emblazoned with their new logo.
The Gimbal comes in two parts, the main gimbal itself with side mounting for attaching lenses with a collar such as the Sigma 120-400 and 150-500 and an L bracket allowing cameras with no collar to be mounted in the landscape orientation. Of course that does not stop you from also attaching the longer lenses here either.
The mount itself is constructed from high grade aircraft alloy as are the other two Lensmasters and finished in a hard wearing black coating.
Over the coming weeks I would have ample opportunity to carry out extensive trials of the head both at weddings with video cameras and at hill climbs with motorbikes and fast cars.
First impressions.
Made from the same Aircraft grade alluminium and what appears to be the same bearing types as the other gimbals, this is a smaller veresion of the same ones already in production, with the same attention to quality, well made, and well finished. The movement is a sfluit as the Lensmaster 1 and 2 both of which I have.
What you need to remember is that this is not a replacement for either the 1 or 2 but an addition to the lineup, it is intended for travel use and keeping weight to the minimum, that said, I did place my Canons and Nikons on it with Sigmas 120-400 and 150-500 lenses and was taken aback by the overall stability.
The size is what makes me wonder how stability has been maintained, as can be seen from the photograph, it is considerably smaller than it's larger cousin.
Unlike other Lensmaster gimbals it comes without a mounting or quick release plate, what it has is a mount built into the L bracket. The design one assumes is to keep weight to a minimum, and I have to say it works well.
Field tests.
As can be seen from the above photograph I use my Lensmaster a lot, hence the coating coming off, it has spent more time in rivers, actualkly in the sea and under water than an olympic swimmer, and has twice fallen down cliffs in Cornwall. Am I concerned, no, because as you can plainly see it is fine.
I was worried by what appears to be a flaw in the new model, you can see that the L bracket slips into the mount and is not held in place by and locking pins, which made me feel that it could slip out, however these fears were soon allayed.
First of all it can not drop out as if it was to slip it would simply be stopped by the large knob securing it to the tripod, it can not fall far enough to fall off, secondly, it does in fact tighten more than sufficiently not to worry.
Here are two photographs showing a D700 with Sigma 150-500 AND battery grip on the mount, not just managing but coping excellently and has been use on many occasions like this.
The bottom line.
Two years ago I was searching for a reliable gimbal that was not over priced simply because of the badge it sported, also I didn't want a cheap steel rustworthy one from abroad, Lensmaster didn't advertise, in fact I found them by sheer luck on a birding website.
These gimballs whilst not Wimberleys, they are also not £600, they do the same job, are slick, smooth and ¼ the price.
I have all three, I use mine everey time I shoot, could I do my photography without a gimbal, no, I use them for wedding videos and sports and will continue to do so, what will amaze you more than anything is just what a great piece of engineering you get for the price.
I will continue to use my mainstay, the RH2, because it is what suits my needs best, but this new model is a perfect addition to any photographers kit who wants to travel lighter and has limited space especially when travelling abroad.
Jeremy Rundle
www.jrs-photography.co.uk
Jun 27, 2013 08:37:00 #
I am not associated with Lensmaster just did a review, the photos are on their site
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