Flashpoint Gimbal Head 2 with Quick Release Plate, Supports upto 7.5 lbs.
SKU: FPGH2
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Questions & Answers
DAVID G D : Is there an owners manual to tell you how yo use the two knobs on the base?MOSES S : i do not remember if i got an owners manual . if it does not have an instruction booklet the controls of most gimbal tripod heads are of a universal design , so you could probaly find derections for it on the webBRIAN C : The smaller knob is mean't to control friction on the panning action but be careful when using it. It my case the shaft that applies friction to the main hub is so poorly made that it would severely scratch the hub if used. I suggest tou completely remove the small knob and check the finish of the shaft and partictlarly the end that will contact the hub, if it is rough do not use it as it will damage the Gimbal. If it is smooth you just need to screw the small knob until it applies slight preasure on the pan hub so that it adds friction when you rotate the panning action off the Gimbal. The Large knob is used to lock the panning action from rotating. I personally do not use the smaller knob as my panning action has sufficient friction without it and in real world use the Gimbal works great without it. For the money you can not beat this Gimbal and if it had shipped without the small control knob I probably have given it Five Stars, as it is this poorly made item detracts from what is a weel made device.JOSEPH O : My guess is that the smaller/longer control would be the azimuthal friction adjustment on a well-made unit, which mine is not. The larger knob is for probably locking the azimuth.JOSEPH O : I did not get any documentation with mine, but I figured out the controls by analogy to a similar, but much higher priced, unit.
The friction adjustments don't work very well - very jerky - but when I use the gimbal head with adjustments fully loosened it was quite smooth.
I haven't been out trying to photograph birds on the wing yet so I can't speak to its usefulness in action, but it does seem to be a good deal at the current price.CHRISTOPHER F : I do not remember receiving a manual with it, but it was several years ago. Both knobs do the same thing, as far as I know. Either one will lock the azimuth rotation. I also wondered why there would be two. I have no idea!
Shopper : Your photo shows camera in vertical position.
As the Gimbal rotates, can we position the camera horizontally as we usually hold? My camera to be is 5D3 and the lens is 400mm F5.6Mary B : I have an attached an L-bracket on my camera. I easily unscrew the Head from the bracket and switch from horizontal to vertical.WIL S : vertical or horizontal position of camera would be achieved by the mounting ring/foot for your 400mm lens .. you wold not mount the camera to the gimbal .. you would mount the lens and thus the camera can be in any aspect you wish by rotating the lens (with camera attached) via it's mount to the gimbal using the supplied Arca plate. (you might want to ck the measurements of you camera rig against max. distances of this gimbal to determine appropriateness)
Note: my gimbal did not rotate on the tripod mount smoothly, one can remove the silver sheet metal ring on the bottom (with a thin screw driver) and adjust Allen screws to even this out .. not obvious, or probably intended .. but necessary in my case.CHRISTOPHER F : It depends: you need a lens with its own tripod mounting foot that rotates. You rotate the camera and lens both with the lens's rotating collar. You would want a ball or pan head instead of a gimbal for smaller lenses that don't have the collar, but I would expect any 400mm lens to have the tripod foot & collar.CHARLES N : Sorry, can not state for sure if it will work on a 5D3. I suspect YES, since you can certainly mount it in two differnt directions and with and w/o a battery grip. I have used it only with a rebel body.
Reviews about this item
Review Summary
2013-04-08T21:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
Surprising
I purchased this for use with my Sigma 50-500mm. When I first saw the price I thought "no way, it must be junk." After reading several reviews on photo message boards I decided to take a chance. Much to my surprise it was perfect for my application. I would not want to mount anything heavier than the Bigma on this head but it works much better than the Induro ball head I was using and I really liked that ball head. I use this exclusively for bird and wildlife photography and would highly recommend it to anyone who can't afford to drop $800.00 on a Gimbal Head
Greg G.
2013-04-04T21:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
easy on the pocket gimble
Too bad the bracket is only usable in the portrait orientation.
Tom
2013-04-03T21:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
Good value
Very good but with lens that are without a tripod mount the camera has to be used in Portrait mode only.
Alan L.
2013-04-01T21:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
sturdy head with a good price
for portrait,landscape night time shots
Al N.
2013-04-01T21:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
Works Well, Great Price
Have used this mostly for wildlife photos. When received the bottom swivel was not smooth at all. Followed the advice of one of the reviewers and lubed the bottom plate and bearing with white lithium grease. Took about 10 minutes, and the head is smooth as silk now. Look forward to using this for a long time to come.
RickW
2013-04-01T21:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Great deal
Use with my 150-500 sigma lens
Frank
2013-03-18T21:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
I would buy again
I purchased this to use with My 70-200, and it functions well. The point of relative position for panos is good for both portrait and landscape position when the lens mount is used. A full frame camera and smaller lens will not mount in correct position (relative point) for panos in portrait position.
MaxmPhoto1
2013-03-07T19:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
Best deal for the money
While this gimbal head is NOT a Wimberly or a Jobu, it is EXTREMELY effective with mid-range telephoto lenses (Up to 500mm). The tubular cast aluminum design outperforms the Desmond DGH-01 for half the price. At this price point there is NOTHING on the market that will give you the versatility and stability that this lens does. 100-400mm Canon, The 150-500mm Sigma and the 80-400mm Nikon are all PERFECT candidates for this head. I did use my Nikon 500mm F4 successfully on it, but I think that lens pretty much maxxed out the head and I wouldn't use it regularly. This head is a TRUE BARGAIN for anyone wanting a gimbal design without shelling out the big bucks for one! The base pivot is a little bit catchy but removing the top cap and re-lubing the pivot shaft with white lithium grease makes this pivot as smooth as silk. A small investment for a BIG gain.
Carter B.
2012-06-13T21:00:00
Rated 3 out of 5
You get what you pay for !!
The Gimbal action is very good with my Olympus E620 w/ 50-200 and I able to achieve neutral balance at most focal lengths. The Arca Plate and clamp are adequate but not as good as those on my Giotto's ball head. My main issue with this head is the very poor panning control where the damping screw is totally non functional , in fact the screw shaft is so rough that it appears to have been hand filed and so rough that it can would badly score the interior of the head. In it's 'new' condition there is enough rotational resistance in the head that the pan damping screw is not required, it may loosen up over time but hopefully I can fabricate a fix.
Brian C.
2011-07-16T21:00:00
Rated 3 out of 5
Works some good some not
Basically works as expected. The upper pivot (where quick release and camera attach) is very smooth with very good adjustable resistance. The bottom pivot (mounted to tripod) is very poor. It has very uneven resistance (with both screws fully released). Why there are two screws on this unit is not understandable for they both do the same thing (probably copying higher end models). They both tighten directly to the internal center spindle there is NO separate tensioning plate at the tip of either screw. I would highly recommend on receiving this BEFORE you tighten either screw you take them both completely out and smooth/round each tip for one is very pointed (main one), and the other smaller one is very rough at tip and will gouge and mar the unhardened internal spindle badly. I found no way to take apart the lower pivot allowing one to re-engineer it (I've a lathe and would like to redo its internals). If you need hi end function .. best to bite the bullet and buy an expensive one. I could recommend this with reservation to minimal users.
WIL S.
About Flashpoint DG2 Gimbal Head 2 with Quick Release Plate
FEATURED REVIEWS
Great deal
By Frank
Use with my 150-500 sigma lens
A Flashpoint Gimbal Head is used with lenses that are too long or heavy to be supported by a standard style ball head. There are separate locking controls for vertical and horizontal movements and the drag control allows for better control when panning. Comes complete with a quick release plate. Smaller than our original Gimbal head
-Instructions- The bottom has a base locking knob and a small knob for damping adjustment..The top has a main arm rotating knob to control lens balance.