500PF and WH-200

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Here's a follow-up for anyone still following along... Decided to go with a lighter option so am trying the Benro BH5C Carbon Fiber model that I found a nice deal on for a barely used one. Also shown is a Kirk 6.25" plate, as I could not find an RRC MPL-1 in stock anywhere. And a Custom Brackets TFM bracket for the flash, which I mentioned in a different thread (instead of a Wemberley Gimbal Mount).

Adding the flash and bracket really cleaned up the balance point, and I imagine it will only improve when I add the Mag Snoot Beamer setup - just waiting on a square head v860iii which should arrive later this week.

Anyway, adding the longer plate, and the increased weight of flash and bracket forward of the pivot point I'm pretty happy with the setup (at least in the living room :))., which is essentially an RRS TA-2U-LB leveling plate, Steve's RRS Clamp/Dovetail setup, then the GH5C gimbal head. Lens has RRS replacement foot and Kirk 6.25 Universal Lens Plate.

Again, apologies for the cell phones, just easier to whip out a quick pic :).

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And for reference, from the other thread where I started trying to sort it out, without longer plate or flash/bracket on cheaper pano type gimbal...

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RRS Cradle and v860iii (for MagBeam use) arrived today, making the setup complete. (y) Also added a lenscoat to the 500PF. I've read mixed reviews on the lenscoat covers in genereal, but figured I would give them a try. So far it seems to fit well and not move around - I guess we'll see how well it ages.
 
Well, in a total reversal... I changed to a WH-200 and F-9 Flash Bracket. The GH5C was decent, but the panning never seemed completely free, I thought it might have just been not enough weight, but even with flash bracket/flash/mag mod/etc it just had a hint of "grabbiness" to it. Ran across a NIB WH-200 for a nice price so decided to make the upgrade. Nice and smooth, no issues with balancing, using a longer plate of course.
 
I have swapped the orginal foot of the 500PF against the Wimberley AP-500, which is permanently attached to the lens (I don't trust these quick release things), have either a gripped D850 or a D4s attached to the lens and no balancing issues. The foot seemed long enough to allow adjusting teh balance. I used to have a Gimbal for the bigger brother 500 f/4G VR (parlty inclugin TC) but changed it for a Flexshooter with no regret what so ever since. IMHO if the 500PF is the biggest lens, using a Gimbal is a bit lke shooting sparrows with a 6 inch midieval canon :). Although it is of course not a self-balancing setup, I found that even my travel and macro tripod (Feisol CT3441 with the CB-30D ball head) can easily cope with the 500PF plus gripped D850 and provides rock-steady support.

If the 500Pf were my biggest lens nd I didn't plan to go bigger I would seriously consider one of the small Flexshooter head called Flexshooter Mini (@Neil H. has the Flexshooter Pro and so do I). My experience with the bigger version ogf this head is so positive that I even think of swapping the ball head on my Feisol against this FlexShooter Mini.
 
Just a final update, I did finally break down and pick up the Hejnar H129-500 foot, which works wonderfully with the 500PF and WH-200/RRS Cradle combo. Easy to balance without the additional extra long plate the normal or RRS foot requires, so overall a more compact package, both on and off the gimbal. The real trick to getting that perfect balance is to be sure and raise the cradle enough to get the center of lens barrel/center of gravity in the correct position.
 
If you are OK with the Nikon foot, simply drill and tap a couple of holes and Loctite a long arca swiss plate on it. Set the camera up the way you want it with the grip, position the plate and screw it on. The local hardware store will probably do it for you.

I have a Benro heavy duty gimble on a sturdy tripod but frankly can't see a big difference between it and a cheap Movo gimble and an ultralight Sirui tripod for my D-500/500pf.

_tom
 
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