jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

A ball-head in NOT the most idea way to shoot birds. BIF requires nimble maneuvering to track. Ballheads are for static shots such as landscapes and still life. If you subject moves you need something other than a ballhead.

MJPerini

I like Ball heads a lot for many things, but not really long lenses.
For long lenses Gimbal heads can also balance your rig which adds to stability.
Also on a gimbal the point of tilt is above the center of gravity of the camera/ lens so there is no tendency to tip.
One other possibility is Acratech's long lens head with a nodal slide on the shoe of the lens to balance the load.

Ollieboy

I have this lens and would only use a gamble with it due to it's weight and mass. Gimbals were made for these type of lenses.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Gimbal head is way easier to use and can perform all the functions of a ball head.

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

I had a good ball head ( no idea what one it was) when I got my 600mm lens, it pretty much made the ball head useless for me. I bought a gimbal but the ball head in a box and havent seen it in years. ( and dont miss it either)

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Yes, go with a gimbal head.

A 90D with Tamron 150-600 G2 on tripod using a Gimbal and with a splitter on the hot shoe, so I have a flash (for fill, my backyard is on the south side of the house so the birds are partly or completely backlit depending on the time of day) and a red dot for fast finding of small subjects.

(Download)

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

I have the same lens and a great tripod with a 40mm ball head. I don't like it that way for the Tamron G2 and I use a good gimbal instead. My gimbal is the LensMaster RH-2 made in the UK. It was very reasonably priced and I absolutely love it with my Nikons and Tamron 150-600 G2 lens.

Bruce T Loc: Michigan

Hi. Which gimbal do you suggest for a 150-600mm lens. Will it handle the long lens and a DSLR. How much would this gimbal cost?

SkyKing Loc: Thompson Ridge, NY

…you really do want a gimbal head…
Benro Head GH2 GH2CN Professional Aluminum Gimbal Head with PL100 Plate…$214 on eBay with free shipping…

BearFotog Loc: Florida USA

Other than a gimbal, check out the relatively new Platyball. There no play in it, once it is tightened down with one hand.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

Ball head is unusable for BIF. One option would be a good ball head with a Wimberly Sidekick.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

No, it can't. Not ALL the functions of a ballhead. It is only usable with long lenses that have a tripod mounting ring.



This is true... with a full size gimbal. In fact, without additional accessories, a full size gimbal is almost unusable with any lens that doesn't have a tripod mounting ring. If you use the mounting point on the bottom of the camera, you won't be able to look through the viewfinder, might have some of the camera controls blocked and will only be able to shoot landscape orientation (or only vertical shots, if it's a side-mount, full size gimbal)

SOLUTION... Instead get a ballhead AND a gimbal adapter.

Tamron 150-600mm weighs about 4.5 lb. and a camera it's used with is likely to weigh no more than 2.5 lb. Should you ever load up with a flash and flash bracket or other accessories, you MIGHT get to 8 or 10 lb. total.

A ballhead capable of 77 lb. would be huge OVERKILL. Waaaaaaaay more than what's needed.

For around 20 years I've been using a couple 50 lb. rated ballheads in conjunction with a Wimberley Sidekick gimbal adapter to support MUCH heavier lenses. No problems at all.

More info about that below. But first, let's back up a little...

Very important will be the tripod leg set that the ballhead and gimbal adapter are installed upon. I use a couple "Series 3" Gitzo that are rated for around 35 lb., if I recall correctly. Also, for best stability, I have no center columns on the tripods I use with gimbals. Instead I use a leveling platform between the ballhead and the tripod leg set, which makes for quicker and easier setup of the the gimbal.

The tripods I use have 3-section legs (carbon fiber) and are more than sufficient height for me... someone significantly taller than 5' 9" might need a taller tripod. The 3-section legs don't fold up particularly compact, so these aren't "travel tripods" (though I have taken them on trips). My philosophy is that as few leg sections as possible avoids joints and small diameter tubing that's likely to make the whole rig less stable. Single section legs or 2-section, do exist for very heavy loads like cinema/broadcast cameras... but are too big. 3-section seem about right, though I have one tripod with 4-section legs . But that's an extra tall rig and I rarely need to extend the smallest diameter, lowest leg section at all. (This tripod also has a center column, although I almost never need to raise it at all. Occasionally I use the center column reversed [i]below[/] the tripod for really low level shooting.)

As to the ballhead... Considering the weight of the kit you want to put on it, any decent one that's rated for around 30 to 50 lb. should do, so long as it has separate panning control. It also must have an Arca-compatible quick release platform to accommodate a gimbal adapter.

Besides the Wimberley Sidekick, there are several other gimbal adapters available. There's an Induro that's very similar to the Sidekick, but costs a lot less. There's also a Jobu "Mini", but that's too small for use with a 150-600mm lens (it's designed for 70-200/2.8 and maybe 300mm f/4). I've seen a few others from other manufacturers.

All these gimbal adapters are used in conjunction with a ballhead that's been "flopped" to the side... then snugged up so that the adapter is secured standing vertically (it can be leaned forward or backward a little if more comfortable). Next the lens needs to be mounted to the platform on the adapter (all of which I'm aware of are "side mount", meaning the lens tripod foot will either be at the 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock orientation).

When you use any gimbal (either full size or adapter type) with a big telephoto, the lens must have a tripod mounting ring and the foot on that either needs a built-in Arca-compatible dovetail or lens plate with that dovetail attached. Either of those needs to be a little extra long, to allow the lens to be slid forward and backward in the corresponding platform on the gimbal. Once something close to equilibrium is achieved, the quick release platform is snugged up to lock the lens in position.

Once the adapter is installed in the ballhead and the lens onto the adapter, you're almost ready to use it. Sometimes it's best to have the tripod reasonably well-leveled. This can be done by adjusting the leg lengths. It helps if there's a bubble level to reference somewhere on the tripod. While I roughly level my tripods by the leg lengths, I do use the leveling platforms to fine tune the adjustment. This is particularly useful when moving around with the tripod on uneven ground, where re-adjustment is needed each time it's moved. While it isn't mandatory that the tripod be leveled in this way, it helps when panning moving subjects.

Now that everything is ready, LOOSEN the ballhead's panning access lock AND the knob on the side of the gimbal. Now you can quickly and easily move the big lens rig right/left, up/down to follow moving subjects or quickly grab a shot of something that suddenly appears. With internal focusing and zooming lenses, once the equilibrium is accurately set up you can leave the knobs loose and nothing will move, while you can move it with just a light touch. However, with lenses like 150-600mm that aren't internal focusing and/or zooming, lenses that change length during focusing or zooming, the equilibrium gets upset a little so it's not wise to leave the knobs fully loosened when not holding onto the camera or lens.

If all this sounds complex... well it's really not. It all becomes second nature rather quickly. And most people who try a gimbal with their big, heavy telephotos wonder how they ever used the lenses without them!

A ballhead with a gimbal adapter allows you to quickly, easily convert the tripod back and forth from long lens use to "regular" use (i.e., shorter lenses without tripod mounting rings). In contrast, a "full size gimbal" semi-permanently converts a tripod to use only with "long telephoto lenses that have tripod mounting ring". Of course, it's possible to swap out tripod heads completely, such as a full size gimbal at times it's needed versus a ballhead when working with those shorter lenses. But that will mean carrying around both types of heads and possibly tools to be able to swap the heads out in the field. With the gimbal adapter/ballhead combo, no tools are needed and the tripod can be reconfigured in a few seconds. Oh, and the weight of a ballhead and gimbal adapter combo is roughly the same as many of the full size gimbals.

Here's a partial list of gimbal heads, with the types illustrated: http://www.carolinawildphoto.com/gimbal_list.htm (I don't know when this was last updated.)

cmc4214 Loc: S.W. Pennsylvania

With this simple adapter you can mount a camera on a gimbal, (with an "L" bracket you can even mount the camera in portrait orientation) for me this works much better than a ball head.
If your tripod has a center column that can be inverted, you can get the camera literally at ground level for low angle/macro work, and the camera remains right side up

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Especially when the lens isn't all that heavy... a 150-600mm weigh about 4.5 lb., except for the Sigma Sport version that's about 6 lb....

... this just seems so much simpler! (Wimberley Sidekick like I've used for 20 years is shown... now there are other brands that are similar.)