104 March 2016 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
NIK PEDIA HEAD TO HEAD
TRIPOD HEADS
Best support for long lenses
For shooting with heavy telephoto lenses, both of these heads
have a lot to offer, but which is best for taking the strain...?
Built from multiple, adjustable brackets connected via clamps and
roller bearings, the Gimbal RH2 enables you to keep the weight of
a camera and heavy lens centralised, even during panning and
vertical tilting. This makes it ideal for tracking subjects like birds.
A ball and socket head is a more conventional support for cameras
and lenses. However, this one is less conventional than most. It has
an internal chamber containing fluid which, when pressurised
upon tightening the locking knob, exerts a more even locking force.
Wonderfully smooth panning is assured by the gimbal’s roller-
bearings, washers and ‘soft-touch’ control knob. The knob enables
you to apply adjustable friction damping without any wobbling, as
well lock the panning movement completely for static shots.
Unlike some ball heads, the Manfrotto includes a separate
pan-only release and locking knob. This enables easy panning
through the same 360-degree range as the gimbal head. The base
plate is marked with a scale calibrated in degrees.
The RH2 is made of aircraft-grade aluminium. It secures to a tripod
via a 1/4-inch or 3/8-inch thread (adaptor provided) and comes
with both 50mm and 140mm quick-release plates, making it
suitable for mounting both cameras and lens collars.
The 16 kilograms maximum load rating of the Manfrotto doesn’t
compete with the 45 kilograms of the gimbal. However, at just 700
grams, it’s little more than half the gimbal’s weight. The compact,
magnesium-alloy design boasts excellent strength and rigidity.
The main claim to fame of this or any other full gimbal head is that
vertical tilt adjustments have the same smoothness and ease of use
as horizontal panning. A separate ‘soft-touch’ locking and variable
friction knob works in exactly the same way as the panning knob.
Whereas a gimbal head retains balance for heavy camera and lens
combinations during vertical tilt adjustments, ball heads can’t do
this. Even so, the Manfrotto head’s variable friction damper (in
addition to its main locking knob) enables fairly smooth movement.
One thing that’s impossible with a gimbal head is to tilt the lens
and camera laterally to enable portrait orientation shooting. It’s
not a problem though, because gimbals are designed for use with
big telephotos that generally have tripod collars to enable this.
Good for use with small lenses that lack a tripod mounting collar,
the Manfrotto has a cut-out in its socket section, enabling full
90-degree tilt both to the left and to the right. However, you still
need to rely on the mounting collar of big lenses to retain balance.
Lensmaster
Gimbal RH2
Manfrotto
468MGRC3 Ball Head
Design
Build
Panning
Tilting
Portrait
TYPE Gimbal
MAIN MATERIAL Aluminium
RELEASE PLATE Arca-Swiss style
HEIGHT 250mm
LATERAL TILT None
PANNING LOCK Ye s
WEIGHT 1.2kg
MAX LOAD RATING 45kg
PRICE £148/$220
TYPE Ball
MAIN MATERIAL Magnesium alloy
RELEASE PLATE Arca-Swiss style
HEIGHT 120mm
LATERAL TILT +/-90 degrees
PANNING LOCK Ye s
WEIGHT 0.7kg
MAX LOAD RATING 16kg
PRICE £174/$320
The LensMaster Gimbal RH2 wins
out over the Manfrotto 468MGRC3
for freedom of movement and easy
tracking of subjects that require
vertical tilt. Not just for shooting
birds and aircraft, it’s also usually
preferable for things like motor
sport. The Manfrotto is lighter,
much more compact, and more
suitable for static shots, while
still enabling smooth horizontal
panning – perfect for panoramas.
VERDICT
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