[coreyhkh]

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Has anyone tried these, the ones in my local Camera store are $400 to $600 seems alot for a tube of metal.

for example something like this one Opteka GH1 Pro Heavy Duty Gimbal Head with Quick Release (Supports up to 30lbs) | eBay

[cmohr]

I think Littledrawe has one of those??

There is a little more to the expensive ones at 400-600, like better more fluid bearings and locks ect ect.

There's a few pics of my cheapy here.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-field-accessories/174187-my...lots-pics.html

[joe.penn]

@coreyhkh - scroll down and you will see a video review of this gimbal head...

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Opteka GH1 Pro Heavy Duty Metal Gimbal Head (Supports up to 30lbs)

[coreyhkh]

Cool reviews seem good and it has to be better then the $30 tripod/Head I am trying to use now.

[joe.penn]

Cool reviews seem good and it has to be better then the $30 tripod/Head I am trying to use now.

The video review is a really good review, shows you what the head is really capable of.

[Frogfish]

I have one of these and it is absolutely fantastic ! A knock off Wimberley for 1/5 of the price. Very little throw on the two screws you can see on the right means you can loosen and tighten in an instant. It is NEVER off my monopod (only ever need to loosen / tighten the top screw in actual use on a monopod).

The only issue is the screw fixing the plate to the tripod mount (on my DA*300) tends to loosen in use (though has never come off) and so every 30 mins I'm taking it off, re-tightening, and replacing on the mount. I believe a tightening washer could fix this so long as there is enough space between the plate and the Opteka plate mount.

[littledrawe]

Has anyone tried these, the ones in my local Camera store are $400 to $600 seems alot for a tube of metal.

I have one of them and I got it from one of the chinese/japanese retailers on ebay for $89.00 I think. I've had no issues so far and since I didn't spend $500.00 I have no complaints. The knob that clamps the lens plate could be a little more robust and if I found one of the bottom pieces from a different manufacturer I might switch it out for a better knob but that has been my only complaint.

Ultimately for me it comes down to if I can take better photos or not and this piece of equipment improves my picture taking ability with a 400mm and 600mm lens.

[joe.penn]

I have one of these and it is absolutely fantastic

I am buying on, tight now!!!!

[Frogfish]

I am buying on, tight now!!!!

Good luck Joe - I'm sure you'll love it. Just get that extra locking washer and you're all set to go !

[stormtech]

Thanks for all the input here about the non-Wimberly gimbal heads.

I just ordered the Opteka GH1 this afternoon with confidence.

[stormtech]

I remember reading here some time back where there was an ebay seller that had decent quality arca swiss plates for a decent price - I can't seem to find that now.

I want to get a couple universal lens plates for this new head.

[littledrawe]

I remember reading here some time back where there was an ebay seller that had decent quality arca swiss plates for a decent price

I've bought all mine from this seller so far, aside from some of the smaller ones that come with the extra clamps I've bought. These do have the ridge on the back to line up with a tripod mount and prevent the plate from twisting.

Filter accessory, Hand Strap Neck Strap items in RainbowImaging store on eBay!

This may be the thread you were thinking of:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-field-accessories/164870-ch...ball-head.html

The seller that Cmohr mentions has a lot of stuff to make your whole system arca compatible.

[stormtech]

Thanks littledrawe - the Rainbow imaging seller is the one I was looking for.

[stormtech]

Received the Opteka GH1 head today - only had enough time to mount it and play with it for a few minutes as I have to go to work (man, I wish I didn't have to work and pay for all these goodies.....).

First impression - well built and heavy - not heavy in a bad way - solid is a better word. I mounted on my Manfrotto 055xprob - when I first tightened the head down on the center column, and tightened the 3 set screws, the bottom rotating base hardly moved. So I went out to the shop and tried a regular split lock washer thinking that the 3 setscrews were causing a bind somehow in the base. A regular split lock washer wouldn't work as it was too think for the threads to even start, so after a bit of searching I found a star type flat lock washer that fit perfectly. I tightened down the head hand tight with the lock washer, then gently tightened the 3 set screws - perfect - the head rotates nice and smoothly.

I am a little concerned with the forward/aft rotation - it is very stiff. I read the reviews on the Amazon site, and this seems to be common. Some said it will loosen up after a few hours of use while one said they used some WD-40 and it loosened up nicely. I think I am going to wait and try it out some over the weekend to see if it loosens up any. As it is right now, I can move the camera lens with 2 fingers - being my first head of this type I don't know if that is how it is supposed to act or if it should be a lot looser.

Will report back after some use over the weekend. Meanwhile, if anyone has any comments/suggestions on the tightness of the forward/aft (up/down) movement please let me know.

[Frogfish]

Will report back after some use over the weekend. Meanwhile, if anyone has any comments/suggestions on the tightness of the forward/aft (up/down) movement please let me know.

Two fingers is fine - I don't want it any looser as it's important the lens doesn't move once in position - without having to tighten the screw. At the moment, with a DA*300 and sometimes an AFA x1.7, it rotates smoothly and easily into position and stays there. I'm not sure if with a heavier lens you would have to tighten the screw each time regardless but for birding my hands are on the lens/camera all the time anyway.