| Author: | | Forum Member Registered: March, 2011 Location: Ontario Posts: 89 | | Review Date: December 31, 2017 | Not Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 3 |
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I got one of these for a short while after having my Wimberley WH-200 stolen and before getting a Benro GH-2.
It was a big disappointment after coming off the Wimberley. It was not where near as sturdy and got positively wobbly when the controls we unlocked for motion. Position locking/unlocking was not positive (kind of mushy), required too much force and movement was not smooth at all, especially in swivel where it would bind in several spots. Tilt was a bit better, but if the knob was not locked it was not sturdy. It was not up to the load of my FA* 600 F4 with K3 and grip. This is definitely not the head you need for wildlife on the move.
Luckily the seller also sold the Benro GH-2 at a great price and was willing to give me a full credit toward the Benro and pay for return shipping.
| | | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: February, 2008 Location: Modbury North, South Australia Posts: 351
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 9, 2016 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Low Cost and ease of use | | Cons: | The knob to tighten plate, rubber is loose - easy to fix | |
I never like to give more than 9 on anything I comment on. Pity no .5 figures are allowed.
I am quite happy with my purchase, admittedly it is only day 2. I fitted my K3 and Sigma 150-500 and found the balance and damping on both axis acceptable and easy soft tightening with the soft to touch adjustment knobs.
This is a keeper.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: May, 2008 Location: Hampshire Posts: 732 | | Review Date: October 16, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Cheap and offers damped tilt | | Cons: | SUspect nylon bushes and heavy grease | |
I read with interest the low scoring reviews.
They all seem to have 1 thing in common they are not using a gimbal for its intended purpose, Come on a gimbal on a mono-pod ?
I suspect others are using it as a pan tilt head with light short lens.
This is a cheap gimbal but as a tool for the amateur it is quite capable of doing the job (controlling the movement of big heavy long telephoto lens on a tripod) , I have been using mine for 4 years now so though I suspect the 'bearing' are nothing but nylon bushes and heavy grease this is no worse than 90% of all Ball Heads and doesn't signify low life cycle
Because the bearings are bushes there is a reasonable damped feel to both tilt and pan this allows very comfortable tracking and if your coming from expensive video heads you'll appreciate this over the free wheeling the WImberly and copies do on their ball races.
The top tilt lock is interesting being a wedge lock it has very little feel for levels of friction I use it as a switch locked or damped over it about 20 degree turn.
Overall its a great product at less the $100 you will not get a better solution for handling big lens build quality is so-so but its not going to fall apart on you if used with respect.
The Arca base-plate is fitted to the cantilevel arm via a split V so if you over tighten or badly twist you could shear the joint, This would be impossible to do if mounted on a sturdy tripod but if for some reason you think to use it on a monopod I'd say is likely to occur.
If this was priced @$200 it would score considerably less but there is nothing else in this price bracket that will do what this gimbal can so has to be 10 (best of breed), Directly against a wimberly (ignoring cost disparity) I'd score to 6 to the Wimberly 10, But I do know some videographers cannot get on with the loose Wimberly and prefer the damped Beike so YmmV.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: December, 2011 Location: Lewes DE USA Posts: 1,780 | | Review Date: August 29, 2015 | Not Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 1 |
| Pros: | Inexpensive | | Cons: | poor materials, knobs that do not work | |
Used on a monopod. The ARCA tightening mechanism broke and couldn't be repaired. I felt very lucky that the mechanism broke at a time by camera and lens were safely positioned. This could have been a costly disaster. Perhaps this unit had a defect but all in all the clamping mechanism seemed like a weak design. I could not recommend this to others except for a very light weight camera and lens.
Prior to the ARCA plate mechanism breaking the knob controlling pitch on the gimbal head never worked properly, it couldn't be tightened to lock movement.
| | | | | | | Banned Registered: March, 2013 Location: Planet Earth Posts: 12 | | Review Date: April 13, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $94.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Good fit for FA* 300 f2.8 (diameter) | | Cons: | A* 400 f2.8 does not fit (diameter) | |
I rate this head 9 for the price, a lot of bang for the buck. It is stiffer (more damped) than my Wimberly knock off. I find it easier to control (acquire and stay on target) than a gimbal with no resistance. I think the BK-45 is well damped. Maybe my hands shake but any movement is amplified when shooting a subject at a long distance. The damping of this head helps in this regard. The Wimberly knock off has zero stiffness (damping). The Wimberly knock off holds a larger diameter lens 400 2.8 where the BK-45 does not.
Update with a special bit I was able to tighten the Wimberly knock off to the point of being well damped. At this point I would rate the Wimberly knock off a bit higher, it should be at twice the cost of the BK-45. Since I have both heads I like using the BK-45 when using the 300 2.8 and smaller lens & the Wimberly knock off when using the 400 2.8. I have two 3068 tripods to mount them on which are very stable and have a high weight capacity
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2013 Posts: 8 | | Review Date: March 17, 2013 | Not Recommended | Price: $105.00
| Rating: 1 |
| Pros: | Inexpensive | | Cons: | Very stiff in operation | |
I purchased this head because the site advertised ball bearings in the swing. Others advertised needle rollers. On receipt mine was very tight and on contacting the seller they suggested I return it to them and they would exchange. This was at my expense (almost $50) and the replacement was as bad. Perhaps I should have marked the original to see if I got the same one back as the replacement was at least as bad. In desperation I pulled it apart and found no bearings and also no suitable bushes. As well the grease was a sticky mess more like contact adhesive that had not gone off properly. On complaining again to Paypal the seller agreed to give a refund providing I sent to them with tracking postage (about $58) so I cut my losses and modified the unit myself to sort of do the job.
I would not recommend the Beike BK45 to anybody who wants a usable item.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2011 Location: In the boonies (NW Penna) Posts: 5,744
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 20, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $149.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Perfect head for any long lens use | | Cons: | Relative cheap build compared to higher end heads | |
If you shoot long lenses, you need a gimbal type head. I was skeptical at first, so I bought a cheaper model as the name brand gimbal heads are north of $500.00. I am now a believer and wish I had bought one years ago. Once balanced properly, this head gives you free fluid movement in all directions, and no matter what angle you stop at, it stays put.
The model I bought was sold under the Opteka brand, and is exactly as the picture at the top of the page. It uses pressure washers and grease in the joints instead of bearings which is one reason it is so much cheaper than other versions. To help with the stiffness, I disassembled the forward/aft swivel joint and re-lubricated it with some lubricant called Fluid Film which I always have on hand. Just this small bit of maintenance improved the movement drastically.
An important feature with this head is the vertical adjustment of the base mounting plate. For a gimbal head to work properly, it needs to be balanced as perfectly as you can. This means not only the front to back balance which is achieved by sliding the lens plate forward or aft, but also getting the center of the lens in line with the center axis of the upper swivel joint. With this head that is easy to do with the vertical adjustment.
All in all I am very happy to have purchased this head. It allows such freedom for wildlife shooting including birds in flight. You can actually move the camera with a heavy lens side to side and up and down with one finger, and when you stop no matter the position, it stays exactly where you stop. Highly recommended for anyone who shoots with a 300mm f4 lens or larger.
| | | | | Inactive Account Registered: March, 2011 Posts: 121
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 12, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | performance, price | | Cons: | variable quality | |
I've had one of these (branded Beike BK-45) for about a year. It is widely discussed on other forums where most users are quite pleased but a few complain about stiffness or unevenness in movements. I'm in the "quite pleased" camp. After a period of initial work-in mine performs flawlessly with my K-5, Sigma 500mm F/4.5 combo. It also worked well with the Pentax 250-600mm I owned for a while. The heavier the gear the smoother the operation, in my experience. You'll need a longer lens plate than comes with the package to adjust for the variations in center of balance you get from adding a camera grip or TC to a longer lens. The dimensions and clearances are a bit smaller than the Wimberly 200 so if you have an older lens with a very large barrel diameter check the measurements.
The only issue I've noticed is that the movements become stiffer in colder weather, so an axis rotation I could have achieved with one finger in the summer has more reistance in the winter.
A tip I've picked up from another forum for copies of this gimbal that are unusually stiff is to peel back the rubber a bit and puff graphite into the joints -- this apparently works miracles. My copy hasn't needed this.
My wife gave me a Jobu Jr. for a present, so I have at least one basis for comparison between the Beike and a higher priced unit. The Jobu weighs enough less than the Beike that it is noticeable. So if I'm going anywhere I take the Jobu. But the Jobu doesn't balance as well as the Beike -- with the Jobu and a 500mm lens I have to tighten down the pivot point to prevent the lens from pitching fore or aft whereas with the Beike the lens can be perfectly balanced. All I can say is that my copy of the Beike BK-45 has worked very well. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: July, 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 9,807
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 11, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $90.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Low Cost, Strength, Stability | | Cons: | Low Quality | |
This head is sold under a number of names on ebay and can be purchased under $100 US.
For the price it is very usable as compared to the units it is knocking off, but the design is unsophisticated and the quality of materials is consistent with the price.
The unit comes with an 'Arca/Swiss' compatible mounting plate with safety screws, and adjustable plate height with scale.
The height adjustment works well for centering the lens for balance, and the short mounting plate is fine for lenses that naturally balance well but would need to be replaced with something longer for off balance setups.
The base of the unit has a panning scale but it does not have a mark on the moving portion so the user would have to paint a dot to use it.
The head is solid when tightened down and works well for my application of a Pentax Q with adapted DA*300.
The Head functions OK in the panning direction when the lower knob is loosened, and locks well when the knob is tightened.
The pitch action of the unit is usable, however it does not appear to be on bearings, and the arm sags when the top knob is loosened to swing the lens up or down. With the lightweight setup I am using it for, this is not an issue, but the sag could become an issue for heavier setups. Moving the head in the pitch axis is not rough, but requires a bit of effort that I don't think would be the case if it was on bearings.
Overall the gimbal is usable for static shots, but I would not try to use it for smooth panning/pitch such as for video, for example.
For the price it is a good fit for my current application, but obviously it will not have the quality, workmanship or performance of units costing 4-5 times the price.
EDIT: 1-6-13 I have raised the rating of this unit from 7 to 8. I was able to entice better performance from this gimbal in the pitch direction by modifying a large flat washer that is press fit into the knob side of the unit. By removing the washer, sanding it so it can drop into the arm freely vs having to hammer it in, allows the system to release pressure on a compression bushing that causes the action to stick. After doing this mod the pitch action is smooth and can even swing freely when loosened. I believe there is a lot of inconsistency in the parts and quality of these gimbals which would explain why some are smooth and some not so much. If your unit has this issue try this mod and see if it helps.
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