wimberley mounts

[bill swiech]

<p>What is the difference between the Wimberley version one and version 2 heads.<br>

Can they both be used with Canon 5D and 400 5.6 lens.<br>

What is best tripod and ball head with this setup.</p>

[don_cooper]

<p>Wimberly version 2 is lighter and has a different adjustment knob layout. Any lens you use on 1 you can use on 2 and vice versa. Why would you use a ball head with a full Wimberly. Your setup by the way is about the lightest you'd want to use with a full Wimberly. You might want to consider the sidekick for that combo.</p>

[JohnMWright]

<p>If you are not going to get anything bigger or heavier, you can get away with just a ballhead. If you still want a gimbal style, I'd just add the sidekick as mentioned above. You can also lower the ballhead into the socket on some of the heads below, no sidekick needed, though it may take some adjustment to get used to it.</p>

<p>Good ballheads include:<br>

Kirk BH-1<br>

RRS BH55<br>

Arca Swiss Z1<br>

Acratech models<br>

Markins models</p>

<p>There are many good tripods, but I'm sold on Gitzo carbon fiber models. I'd look at the 35xx series. Pick the one that fits your height without using the centerpost.</p>

[dcstep]

<p>The 400mm f/5.6L doesn't really need the full Wimberley. I'd get the Wimberley Sidekick and use it on the Arca-Swiss V1 on an Induro C414 tripod.</p>

<p>With a strong ballhead, like the V1, the sidekick is really good up to and including the 500mm f/4L IS. However, if you like the full Wimberley, then it's hard to beat, except it's a pain to unscrew if you want to switch to a camera with a wide angle lens and no lens mounting plate. I love the versatility of the Sidekick with a high-quality ballhead and strong, stiff tripod.</p>

[alex_lofquist]

<p>I have used the Kirk BH-1 and Sidekick to hold my 500 f/4 Nikkor lens. It's a fine combination!</p>

[gerald_wallace]

<p>I think that John Wright provided very good advice including the listing of the RRS BH55, Arca Swiss Z1, and Markins ball heads. I have the Sidekick but use it with my 500 mm F/4; I'm not sure why you would need the Sidekick when using the 400mm F/5.6. I say this because although my wife and I, no longer use the 400mm F/5.6 (I use the 500 and she prefers the 100-400(?)), we never had a problem using the 400mm without Sidekick.</p>