I no longer use that. Instead, I just have the head screwed directly to the monopod. I used to use my gimbal on the monopod and swap back-and-forth. However, with a monogimbal, that’s no longer necessary. I just leave the monogimbal on all the time.
Quick Lever Release for Wimberley MonoGimbal head
- Thread starter Ivan Rothman
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Steve's video of using the Wimberley MonoGimbal head explains why and it is worth watching. Just putting large lens on monopod head allows lens to flop. That's why you can use a monopod with a Gimbal head such as the Wimberley head, but that is large and heavy. The Wimberley MonoGimbal head is small, compact, light weight but since it functions as a Gimbal head it makes it much easier to use big glass on a monopod.
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Thanks, Steve. That makes sense.
For a gimbal to work the lens/camera needs to rotate freely in the horizontal and vertical ranges while being well balanced so it stays in place when you let it go.
Of course you can't let a monopod go.
You can get horizontal motion by simply turning the monopod but vertical motion is problematic if the lens is firmly attached to the monopod.
Gimbal heads can have horizontal and vertical orientation. Ones with a vertical orientation that center the lens over the center of the pod tend to be heavy.
The Wimberly monogimbal head is a compact side mount head. Of necessity the lens is offset to the side of the head, that is the only way it can be so compact.
I have one of those. It is not a big deal to tilt the monopod slightly to the side to balance everything.
Using a monopod makes it easier to transport and use a heavy lens. With practice the monopod head works well as a gimbal but it has drawbacks compared to a standard gimbal head on a tripod.
A well-balanced gimbal head on a tripod makes handling a long lens smooth and easy. You can point the lens just about anywhere and when you let it go it stays there. If you have to wait for something to happen you can just wait, you don't have to hold on or tighten anything down.
By contrast a monopod is inherently unstable. You have to keep your hands on it and it is very difficult to avoid camera shake or motion.
If I understand your comment, I’d say watch the video and you’ll get the idea. It allows your monopod to operate like a gimbal head.
got it