Gimbal head for Nikon 500 mm f/5.6 PF

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Okay, I have a Nikon 500 f/5.6 PF which I use on a D750 body with a grip. I put a Wimberly AP 500 replacement foot on the 500 PF. I either use a Sirui 30 K ball head or a Sirui PH 20 gimbal. I've been happy with the performance of both of those heads. But I recently picked up a nice used TC 14 E II converter and when using the converter with the PH 20 gimbal I can't slide the whole rig forward enough to balance. The problem is the clamp of the PH 20 is quite long and the safety stop screw slots are short. I've solved the issue for now by using the factory foot and the long Sirui plate that came with the PH 20. Even before this, I'd been thinking about the Jobu Jr. 3 gimbal as a lighter smaller gimbal for the 500 PF. My question is, does anyone have a similar rig and use the Jobu Jr. 3 gimbal? Does the grip bottom out on the base of the gimbal and severely limit how high the rig can be pointed?

Thanks, Paul
 
Hejnar makes a longer lens foot, I think. It might balance better than the one you have. I have been very pleased with my Wimberley gimbal. The longer lens foot might be what you need. Not sure how long the Wimberley foot is though.
 
Okay, lets see if I can pot a photo
 

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Hejnar makes a longer lens foot, I think. It might balance better than the one you have. I have been very pleased with my Wimberley gimbal. The longer lens foot might be what you need. Not sure how long the Wimberley foot is though.
It's pretty short. But the actual problem is caused by the very short safety screw slots on the Sirui PH 20 and it's a relatively long clamp. My friend has a Wimberly Sidekick, and it balances fine with room to spare on the sidekick with the Wimberly AP 500 foot.
 
I do like the WimbeRiley gimbal. I don’t have the Sidekick, but the larger model. I was able to get the D5 with the 500 pf to balance well. Wait for some more recent opinions. My gear is mostly inscce at the moment, unfortunately
 
I recently noticed a fellow shooting an 800mmPF. He was using his left hand cupping the end of the lens hood, placing his fingers inside the hood to stabile the set on the gimbal.
I tried that, I can't see my fingers are blocking any of the image, and it is a cool way to hold the set in place.
 
I recently noticed a fellow shooting an 800mmPF. He was using his left hand cupping the end of the lens hood, placing his fingers inside the hood to stabile the set on the gimbal.
I tried that, I can't see my fingers are blocking any of the image, and it is a cool way to hold the set in place.
I have always rested my hand on the top of the lens. Usually, right in front of the focusing ring on the 500 PF and my old 500 f/4 Ai P. the only way you would see if your fingers were getting into the light path is if the out of focus highlights were misshapen as in notches'
 
You should be aware that Hejnar have 4 different foot options for use with the Nikon 500mm pf lens. I originally got the foot with product code H129 and this balanced well on a gimbal with the D500. However when I upgraded to a Z8 and added the FTZ II and a 1. 4 x TC it no longer balanced. I then got the foot with code H129-500 which extends backward toward the body and this now balances well with all my lens / body combinations. There is also a low profile and a Z9 option.
I keep my foot permanently attached to my lens and I would recommend the use of blue Loctite on the fixing screw.
I would highly recommend Hejnar.
 
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You should be aware that Hejnar have 4 different foot options for use with the Nikon 500mm pf lens. I originally got the foot with product code H129 and this balanced well on a gimbal with the D500. However when I upgraded to a Z8 and added the FTZ II and a 1. 4 x TC it no longer balanced. I got the foot with code H129-500 which extends backward toward the body and this now balances well with all my lens / body combinations. There is also a low profile and a Z9 option.
I keep my foot permanently attached to my lens and I would recommend the use of blue Loctite on the fixing screw.
I would highly recommend Hejnar.
I'm looking at the Hejnar products. They appear to offer the most options
 
I have found all lens feet available (including Nikon's midget feet) at the time are too short to balance a Telephoto rig with or without a TC. Add in a heavy gripped ILC versus lighter ILC and the balance point varies across a wide range.

Like your's, my simple solution is to screw on a Sirui PH180 Arcaswiss lens plate on the lens foot. This long lens plate is also a handy - and above all safe - carry handle, particularly on lighter telephotos, for which I rarely need an extra leg(s) for support. The plate position is also adjustable to avoid fouling on a gimbal, and fit one's hand.

Of course, this obviates buying a 3rd party lens foot to get AS compatibility, but I hardly ever have used these for this purpose anyway. The ones available via my sources have all been too short IME including as a carry handle, but today's options may have improved.
 
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I have found all lens feet available (including Nikon's midget feet) at the time are too short to balance a Telephoto rig with or without a TC. Add in a heavy gripped ILC versus lighter ILC and the balance point varies across a wide range.

Like your's, my simple solution is to screw on a Sirui PH180 Arcaswiss lens plate on the lens foot. This long lens plate is also a handy - and above all safe - carry handle, particularly on lighter telephotos, for which I rarely need an extra leg(s) for support. The plate position is also adjustable to avoid fouling on a gimbal, and fit one's hand.

Of course, this obviates buying a 3rd party lens foot to get AS compatibility, but I hardly ever have used these for this purpose anyway. The ones available via my sources have all been too short IME including as a carry handle, but today's options may have improved.
I put the original Nikon foot back on and put a Sirui PH-120 plate on the foot. That allows me to balance with or without the TC with my D750 body with a grip. I think this is probably the best solution. My friend talked me into the Wimberly AP 500 replacement foot citing the posts about the stock foot coming off accidently. I was a newspaper photographer and had two Nikon 70 200s 2.8 lenses over 20 years. Both had the exact same design of foot as the 500 mm 5.6 PF and I never had either fall off. But, I don't use the foot as a carry handle, and I don't use a Black Rapid type of strap attached to the foot, ever. I always use a tripod or occasionally a monopod
 
Hey PCRATE, new member here also. I have a 500pf with the longer Hejnar 129-500 foot that i use often with the 1.4tciii on a Jobu Junior 3 gimbal. However it has a z8 mounted and no battery grip. It works quite well for me, but to balance with the converter on I do have to slide it fairly far forward in the gimbal, although not so far as to be constrained by the safety screw. I'm guessing that with your heavier body and grip combo, you'd have a similar problem with being too far forward and bottoming out. Your solution of a longer extra arca plate is probably the best option.


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Thank you for the photo. I've been tempted for a long while by the Jobu Jr. 3 and it's nice to see it with equipment similar to mine. After getting the TC 14 I thought well I'll just take the grip off. which allowed everything to balance. One trip out in the field was enough to convince me I'm to accustomed to vertical grips to give it up. if I imagine my D750 body which would move the length of the FTZ forward and the whole rig slid back a bit to rebalance it looks like the Jobu Jr. 3 might be a nice gimbal for me.
 
That's true, not having the extra length of the adapter would move your center of gravity away from the camera. Still hard to say if your grip would hit the knob if you were aiming far up in the sky. I'm otherwise very happy with the gimbal, I sent it back to Jobu a few months ago and they replaced a some washers and freshened up the drag for me for the cost of shipping.
 
I've found being able to tilt up 45 degrees is enough for my style of shooting. I don't care for a high angle of view of birds. I've seen two versions of the Jr. 3. one with the clamp machined into the swing arm and another with the clamp attached with two screws. Which version is yours?
 
Mine has the two screws, which I think is more flexible as I can buy whatever length clamp I want for adjustments in position.

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