FotoPro E-6H Gimbal Head, Black

2022-08-12T09:24:37

Believe everything good you read in these other reviews. This gimbal is velvety smooth and precision built. It is GREAT! For the price it can't be beat!

SALLY B.

2022-01-20T12:07:40

My first gimbal head, so I have nothing to compare it to...but started looking at them when I knew I was getting a 500 f4 lens...turns out this one is a bit too light duty for that particular lens, but that is more my fault for not researching more thoroughly. I pulled the trigger prematurely because Adorama suddenly put it on sale for one day for 299 and I couldn't pass it up. I determined it being too light for that lens after observing the movement that lasted for a couple seconds after I lightly tapped it. The movement was observed on the live view monitor at highest magnification, so maybe I'm being too critical, I don't know. Otherwise I love the fit and finish of the gimbal...it is super smooth and I have decided to ditch my old ballhead and use this guy for all my non 500mm photography that requires a tripod. The only reason I knocked off one star is because on my first outing with it the bubble level fell out. Luckily it was inside my vehicle at the time so I didn't lose the level, but that shouldn't happen. Poor adhesive, or applied incorrectly maybe? I'll glue it back myself so no harm

EDMUND H.

2022-01-13T11:54:22

Great tripod head and super sale price!

Jay P.

2022-01-04T09:00:34

Love this gimbal. Its super sturdy and has many adjustment points. I use it with a large and heavy lens, (150-600mm) and it holds it very steady and accurately. I am not using this with the Eagle tripod but its very easy to level it.

MILTON C.

2021-12-21T21:54:07

The best investment I?ve made

JOSE C.

2021-12-08T13:00:05

I purchased this to secure my Canon 500 f4 L. I had never used a gimbal head before, so I had to puzzle it out a bit. However, it's pretty easy to figure out. I'm still working on my panning skills, but this is a perfect tool to use. It's stable, but moves easily using the handle.

CYNTHIA H.

2021-11-24T23:00:10

The first thing one sees in photos of this head are bright metallic knobs, giving it a fancier look. Competitors' rubber knobs give them better grips, which feel less cold in frigid weather. (Think of shooting flying eagles in winter.) The next is its lower profile. Competitors are taller, allowing vertical rotation of lens-camera combinations around their centers of mass. Centers of mass should be directly over the rotational axes where heads attach to tripods. They should be opposite the upper large knob controlling their tilt. This renders lens-camera combinations "weightless" on their heads. It's impossible to so mount a large telephoto on the swing arm of the FotoPro, because it is neither tall enough to permit the lens to get low enough to accomplish this, nor wide enough to permit the lens to center over it horizontal axis . It would accommodate my Canon 300mm f/2.8 IS II lens but neither my 500mm nor 600mm lenses. It was possible to mount my Canon 100-400mm and my Tamron 150-600mm within its swing arm, provided they were not to be zoomed, which would destroy their balance on its arm. Other gimbals have two large knobs on the same side to allow the use of both by feel with ones left hand, while the right grips the camera and works its controls. Since photographers have their eyes to the view finder, control knobs are large and widely spaced to be found easily. Although the FotoPro also has two large knobs on the same side in similar positions, the lower, which should control tension and locking of the horizontal axis, has no function on the FotoPro. (One can turn it, but doing so affects nothing.) Its horizontal lock and tension control is small and located on the opposite side of the head. This dictates removing ones right hand from the camera to loosen or tighten that control, and finding it may require taking ones eye from the viewfinder, given its small size and the presence of another knob near it. Once freed, the FotoPro moves sluggishly, unlike my gimbal heads. (Good gimbals feature sealed bearings on both axes to facilitate rotation and insure long life.) I did not attempt to disassemble my copy of this head to determine why the drag, since by that point I feared it was likely that I would need to return it. Were this the whole story, I would have rated the FotoPro as one star. However, I discovered that it has two Arca Swiss style clamps--one at the bottom of the swing arm and another securing that arm to the upper (vertical control) knob. (Other gimbals have upper clamps that allow their swing arms to slide up and down to accommodate differences in diameters of lens tubes to assure centering on their vertical axes.) The FotoPro clamp in that position is useless for that purpose, because of the shortness and positioning of the swing arm. But opening it does allow removal of the arm, making it an "armless gimbal head." This allows more space between the vertical control clamp and the top of the horizontally rotating portion of the head to accommodate larger lenses. By rotating lens collars by 90 degrees, lenses can be mounted directly into that one remaining clamp. One can slide the foot or lens plate forward or backward within the clamp to balance the lens, but one need not (and cannot) move the lens from left to right to center it over the horizontal axis, which is found directly over the center of the confluence of the three tripod legs. Fortunately, the FotoPro clamp knob incorporates a locking button which prevents insertion or removal of the lens, unless that button is depressed. Positioned within that clamp with its button locked closed but still untightened, the lens can slide back and forth, but cannot come out. Once balanced the clamp should be locked. It was possible for me to position my 500mm and 600mm lenses within that upper clamp, balanced from front to back, as well as my doing so with my smaller lenses. Given their different diameters and different height feet, such mounting placed the center of mass of several to the right of the horizontal center of rotation of the head. Fortunately, they did not extend so far to the right of that axis to cause the tripod to tip over, no matter how the head was rotated. Unfortunately, the change of mounting position did not improve the smoothness of motion of the head in either axis. Nor did it remedy the problem presented by having to control the horizontal movement with ones right hand, thereby removing it from the camera. Nor did render it easier to find that small knob without removing ones eye from the viewfinder. Nor does it make the metal control knobs easier to handle bare handed in cold weather, nor provide the sureness of grip of a large rubber knob. Thus, while performance of the rig was enhanced, its functionality fell short of all other gimbal heads I have owned. (They consist of five models, produced by four companies.) Consequently, the FotoPro gets three stars.

ROBERT S.

2021-03-24T14:34:33

Very happy with the gimbal. It certainly makes taking pictures of wild animals easier.

Doreen M.

2020-12-10T07:28:45

Using it in conjunction with an Acratech tripod leveler on top of my Induro CLT-403 for mounting a Sony a7R III mated to Sony’s 200-600mm. This head also works amazingly well for landscapes. Although it does not have fluid dampers it is so smooth you would think that it does. Looked at and researched this head for a long time before buying it and I am so glad that I purchased it. Pricy but worth it.

COURT B.

2020-12-06T07:28:21

Compact strong and very easy to use. Worked great with my Z6 and all lenses even my large Sigma 150-600 zoom

PHILIP D.

2020-02-22T12:47:55

So, bought this as a package deal with a set of the Foto-Pro Carbon Fiber Legs (Fotopro X-GO Max) and the FPH-62Q Ball Head. What a fantastic deal and really nice set up. Top quality construction, functionality is perfect, it looks fantastic, and it does everything I hoped it would do when I selected it back during the Christmas sales. The movement is fluid and precise, the controls and knobs are good size, work very nicely, and 'snick' into place just like you'd hope. Balancing it with a variety of lenses was easy as well. I mean - I paid $499 total for the Gimbal Head and L-Bracket (reg $449), the FPH-62Q Ball Head, (reg $95), and the legs (reg $269). You can't go wrong. I was a bit suspect of the quality at this price, but don't worry about that - I've used or seen the Wimberley, Benro, etc - and this is on par with those products.

Waylon L.

2020-01-29T08:25:36

Very nice product love the size and the weight the price is not the best but I got it as part of a package when I purchased a very expensive lens.

Jorge P.

2020-01-12T10:01:55

I love the use of a gimbal over a ball head, so much more versatility. Horizontal, verticals, or slap the L bracket on and mount the big glass for wildlife. Panos are a breeze! One thing I have from my multi row pano days is a leveling base, which helps level the gimbal.

Michael L.

2019-03-26T11:46:37

This new Eagle Series from FotoPro is phenomenal! It makes shooting wildlife photography SO EASY! You can also use it for video (so smooth) and landscape panoramas. Highly, highly recommended!

CHRIS D.