rjandreoff Loc: Hawaii

Adding to the chorus for the WH 200. Mine was part of a deal for a Nikon 400 2.8 VR about two years ago. Utterly bullet proof, beautifully made, and a pleasure to use. A lifetime investment (not cheap) but worth it, IMHO. I also have a lighter duty Jobu that has been a winner. The original seller of the lens combo was a retiring pro (in her 70s). The only TWO Gimbals she would ever consider: NEST, Wimberley. Good luck!!!

Archiefamous Loc: Manhattan

I bought a used wimberly and love it. The gitzo unit looks very cool but I have never used one.

picsman Loc: Scotland

Try lensmaster a UK firm, the owner made his own when he couldn’t find what he wanted and now sells travel and heavier versions. I bought a travel version for canoeing and snow sports and it is as good as more expensive gimbals IMHO.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Nobody has mentioned any prices even though that was part of the OP's query.

Haydon

Grin.....seems like you haven't either :)

RRS Loc: Not sure

I really like the looks of your lens support, front, is it adjustable or only built for that lens? I shoot with a jobu gimbal and a video head, Manfrotto 504HD, and have been looking for a more stable set up. I don't like the ones with those little black wheels as I have seen what they can do to a lens. I will be buying an Arca-Swiss plate very soon.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

While zooms would change center of gravity, the majority of times folks shooting birds are probably setting the zoom near the long end of the range and would set the balance accordingly. I have used my Nest Gimbal with both a Canon 300 mm f2.8 plus 2x tele-extender and also a Panasonic 100-400 mm and had no problem with the zoom lens on the gimbal head.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

I show ALL the prices for ALL in my link ..... .........but there may be one or two missing and the prices may not be current .

..

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Sooo, don't leave us hanging - what do they DO ??

..

Peter571

I use a Jobu junior gimbal head with a nikor 200-500mm lens and a tripod. The Jobu is not as expensive as the Wimberly, its light and has a built in Swiss arca for the lens to attach to. Most of my shots are for birds (warblers and birds in flight)--99% of the time I am using the lens at 500mm and balance the gimbal head accordingly. Adjusting the lens say, to 300mm, on the fly and shooting some pictures is not a problem even if the center of gravity has changed. If you are going to shoot a lot of pictures at say 200 mm--readjusting the C.G. balance takes less than a minute. The tripod has huge advantages if you want sharp pictures as it eliminates camera shake (the nikor does have vibration reduction). Small birds often move from one spot in a tree to several other ones on the same tree--the setup allows to easily keep track of its movements and pick your shots and not have to worry about supporting an 8 lb camera steady for several minutes. I have many pictures of birds on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/enthalpy5/with/26652253267/) if you wish to see what this combination will do.

Robyn H Loc: MainLine PA

Same problem as anything on a monopoly, even the ones with little legs. You have to be holding it all the time. With a tripod you can do other things with your hands than supporting a camera on a stick.
Yes I have monopods that are self supporting. They are fine if all they are supporting is a speedlight. I'm not about to even attempt to try to support a $2000 lens on a $3600 camera body with a self supporting monopods, that's a recipe for disaster; the slightest gust of wind and there goes that Sigma 150-600 Sport crashing on to the ground.
The best route to take in this situation is a tripod and a gamble.
For those that believe you shouldn't use a zoom lens on a gimbal, well, you usually have the lens zoomed all the way out anyway so it doesn't really matter.

fchretdet

I would suggest the LensMaster RH-2 from lensmaster.co.uk.
The cost was about $275 US (I think). Their website is very helpful and gives prices, specs, etc.
Rob, the owner and manufacturer, was very accomodating and all the reviews I found gave him and his products high marks.
Steve Perry gives some helpful tips in a youtube video for "Using Gimbal heads with a monopod".
Good luck.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

User reviews are generally not from qualified writers, so they are to be taken with a grain of salt. I often will look at those, but only regard the 1 and 2 star ratings as worth reading, just to see what kinds of negative things I can expect. When someone spends money on something, there is a honeymoon effect in place and you will have a hard time getting an unbiased and fact-based opinion.

At 5.1lbs, and with a D7200 (1.5 lbs) - for a total of 6.6 lbs, you should be able to hand hold it. I use a much heavier D810 with a battery grip (3.2 lbs) and a Sigma Sport 150-600 (6.5 lbs) for a total weight of 9.7 lbs. I have yet, in over two years, mounted my lens on a tripod. I much prefer the flexibility of shooting hand-held - and all the opportunities that I missed when using my Nikkor 600mmF4 on a tripod with a gimbal.

But I will say that if you decide to get a gimbal, give the Manfrotto 393 some consideration. It is one of the more stable ones out there with a double "U" design. At around $200, you'd be hard pressed to find a better, more reliable product. And I am not a fan of Manfrotto - but I do like this head.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

I tried a Manfrotto 393 before I bought my Wimberly, I returned it the next day!! while the double "U" shape looks stable it isn't, will it hold the camera and lens ? yes is it stable nope especially when panning.

throughrhettseyes Loc: Rowlett, TX

I bought a $99.00 one and it works great. I didn't feel it was worth $500 -600 to see if I liked it. With my heavy tripod and now heavy Gimble head it's a real haul to carry in the woods. But having 360 angles if axes is really cool. Love my Nikon 200-500 mm f5.6 II lense even more now.