gwong1 Loc: Tampa, FL

Carter, If you are shooting long exposures like the moon, do you lock yours down? I do, and by the way I love the NEST gimbal. It was nice meeting you last month. Gary

Psergel Loc: New Mexico

After I got my camera/lens balanced I made a little mark with a file on the side of the QR plate. I can mount the lens every time without having to fuss with the balance. (I actually have two marks, one for the rig with flash and one without)

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

I almost never shoot long exposures from a gimbal head. As for the moon I am usually around 1/500 sec exposure when shooting it. But as for stationary subjects, yes I often lock the head down for them. But my primary use of a gimbal is wildlife shots and I never lock the gimbal when shooting moving subjects of any kind.
And thanks for stopping by the store while you were in the area.

Billbobboy42 Loc: Center of Delmarva

B&H description says for medium format cameras. Is the assumption correct that it will work on dslrs?

htsmith Loc: Glen Burnie, MD

Go to You Tube.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

I believe that comment is to say that the top is big enough for medium format. Important to me is the 22 pound weight capacity.

You can put anything on top that has a 3/8" socket. I use this with a full frame DSLR and 11 pound 400mm f/2.8 lens with no worries.

Billbobboy42 Loc: Center of Delmarva

Thanks, Larry. Guess I gotta satisfy another GAS attack
:)

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Hi Paul,
I balance my lens so that the 100mm mark of the scale on the rail is the fully retracted (150mm) position of my lens. (150-600mm Tamron)
Fully zoomed at 600mm is but 25 mm of rail travel (75mm). So not a lot of back and forth between the two extremes.
Since the Tamron is basically the only lens I use on the Nest, I found I could insert some small plastic tubing (glued) into the keeper slot the pin uses, and limit the rails travel when adjusting.
That way, I don't have excessive travel forward or back to surprise me. And I know the extremes.
But often, If I might be working a range of zooming, I will settle on something in the middle (~12 mm of rail), and dampen the gimbal so I resist gravity with my hand(s).

Looks like this:

http://www.dropbox.com/sc/rna9siw44gjnvas/AABSm54EFKCCvKCN27nWGUt8a

Note: Best if "tuned" to a single lens like I do. ;)

gwong1 Loc: Tampa, FL

Carter, My pleasure, you are very generous with your knowledge, so the least I could do was to introduce myself when I was in the neighborhood. Glad you business is doing very well. Gary

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Leveling bases are really nice when using any gimbal mount. I use them on two Gitzo tripods, but they're different from the Sunway. The Gitzo levelers are only usable on tripod models without any center column (Systematics... not Reporters or Mountaineers), but are very fast to set up. You just "get close" with the leg adjustments (doesn't need to be perfect... just close enough to be nice and stable), then twist a short handle that protrudes below the tripod to loosen the leveler, make your adjustment, then re-tighten the handle to lock it in place. It only takes a couple seconds to do that. The Gitzo leveler also has a quick release locking lever for whatever head is installed on top, making fast head changes pretty easy in the field (I keep mine very tight, because there's at least some possibility of accidentally loosening that lever while transporting the rig.... though I've never had that happen in around 15 years using one.)

Feisol makes something very similar for use on certain of their tripods. It's possible the Gitzo leveler also will fit some other, similar tripods... like those that RRS sells. I don't know if the Feisol is interchangeable.

Speaking of which, RRS makes several different models of levelers.... some with integral Arca-Swiss dovetail so that heads can be set up with a quick release for fast swaps. Or, I suppose, a lens could be mounted directly on top of the tripod, without any head at all. RRS's are pretty pricey, though!

The Sunway appears more similar to the Acratech leveler ($150 for the regular, $170 for the extra large), with a knob on the side to loosen and re-lock it. It looks like Oben offers one that's very similar, too, and at $90 is even a little lower priced than the Sunway. There are Benro, FLM, Sirui, too. This type can be used on top of a center column or directly on any platform with a 3/8" thread, with any tripod head that also has a 3/8" thread. I haven't used one, but it appears to be fairly fast to set up.

Manfrotto makes a third type, with three brass screw knobs around the perimeter that are used to more slowly dial in level. It's not very fast to set up, but can be pretty precisely adjusted and also can be used on most any center column or platform, with most any tripod head.

A fourth type incorporates a leveling platform into a center column. Manfrotto offers these for some of their tripods (as do some other manufacturers).

The whole idea probably came from video tripods, many of which have been offered with some sort of leveling ball (60mm, 75mm) for a long time.

All the levelers add some significant weight to the tripod. Might be helpful if you ever need to swing the tripod to defend yourself from a bear or a wolf pack or a mugger! It also probably helps with stability a bit, by adding some fairly hefty mass centered right under the head of the tripod. But, primarily they make setup a lot faster, particularly when using any sort of gimbal head that needs to pan fairly smoothly.