My impressions on the 3421 gimbal head

[Liquidstone]

Hi everybody,

In response to an inquiry from Mountain Man, I'm posting here my impressions on the Manfrotto 3421 gimbal head, a cheaper alternative to the full Wimberley.

I'm very happy with the 3421's performance and there's no purchase for me for the full Wimberly in the near future.

Here's my mini-review posted at DPR:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1029&message=13110122

Here's a review by Andy Bright at BirdForum (we conferred notes too re the 3421 gimbal head):
http://www.birdforum.net/reviews/showproduct.php?product=129

And here's a review by a Nikon guy using it with his 600 mm:
http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/non-nikon_articles/manfrotto_393/393_2.html

This gimbal head works very well for me, and I'd recommend it for 600 mm or longer superteles.

Cheerps,

[MountainMan]

Thanks a million Romy. Anyone knows where I can get this in Singapore?

[nickmak]

Hi LS,

You said that you had to tighten a screw to prevent play of the head. Other than that was everything else fine? I don't know whether to go for this or to get a Wimberly Sidekick with a new ballhead.

Cheers,
Nick

[Liquidstone]

Thanks a million Romy. Anyone knows where I can get this in Singapore?

Hi MM,

Got mine from B & H. It arrived in less than a week after I ordered it on-line. It costs around USD 160.00, but it totalled USD 207 including shipping to Manila.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=126663&is=REG

Here's a pic of the 3421 with the Sigmonster and XT:

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Cheerps,

[Liquidstone]

Hi LS,

You said that you had to tighten a screw to prevent play of the head. Other than that was everything else fine? I don't know whether to go for this or to get a Wimberly Sidekick with a new ballhead.

Cheers,
Nick

Hi Nick,

When the factory set the panning resistance, the people there might have a lighter lens in mind than the Sigmonster. The heavy weight of the 300-800 DG (13 lbs) induced a slight but noticeable play.

All I did was to loosen the locking screw, so I can adjust the panning resistance proportionate to the weight of my lens. This is to increase stability for still, low shutter speed shots.

For panning shots at higher shutter speeds, it works equally well before and after the adjustment.

Cheerps,

[MountainMan]

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Love your home gallery :) ... how many picture you have on your wall throughout you whole house? :dunno:

[Liquidstone]

Love your home gallery :) ... how many picture you have on your wall throughout you whole house? :dunno:

Hi MM,

I have over 30T bird pics (covering 171 species so far) out of which about 5 to 10% are frameables, the rest are for ID/documentation purposes and web use. I have printed several hundreds of these in 8x12s, and I rotate them using just 8 frames in my house.

Lately, some friends started to decorate their houses too with my bird pics...;-)

Cheerps,

[sulhan]

Hiee All...

I saw this camera mounting for long slens by manfrotto at TKPHOTO in Jade last weekend...It cost $208 if I'm not wrong.......

Cheap I thought...

rgds,
sulhan

[joeyao]

Hiee All...

I saw this camera mounting for long slens by manfrotto at TKPHOTO in Jade last weekend...It cost $208 if I'm not wrong.......

Cheap I thought...

rgds,
sulhanI think it is only $180 at CP.

[wilis128]

I think it is only $180 at CP.


thks for the tip Sulhan!.. got it already frm TK today..

CP is cheaper but out of stock until nov.. :(

[sulhan]

Hahah...

that was fast.....

rgds,
sulhan

[szekiat]

haha...i just saw this thread. I first started using this head in the uk when i borrowed it from one of my birding mates there. I found it easier to use with my 400mm f2.8 than the wimberly which i use on an on and off basis, depending on when someone can lend it to me. I've just gotten the new manfrotto from CP not 3 weeks ago and i can't stop singing praises about it. I can now get useable shots at about 1/30. It is very stable. One bad point, the knobs are all tension knobs and do not lock properly. As such it is quite unstable to leave the lens mounted on the tripod and try and shoulder the whole setup. Manfrotto spare plates cost $50 a piece though, much cheaper than the AS options. MM, if you want to try it out, let me know i guess. Would be glad to lend it to you as long as you can catch me before i leave.

[wilis128]

haha...i just saw this thread. I first started using this head in the uk when i borrowed it from one of my birding mates there. I found it easier to use with my 400mm f2.8 than the wimberly which i use on an on and off basis, depending on when someone can lend it to me. I've just gotten the new manfrotto from CP not 3 weeks ago and i can't stop singing praises about it. I can now get useable shots at about 1/30. It is very stable. One bad point, the knobs are all tension knobs and do not lock properly. As such it is quite unstable to leave the lens mounted on the tripod and try and shoulder the whole setup. Manfrotto spare plates cost $50 a piece though, much cheaper than the AS options. MM, if you want to try it out, let me know i guess. Would be glad to lend it to you as long as you can catch me before i leave.


Dr MM is currently using it.. shipped wth UPS 3 day express from states.

ok, ok.. i added the 3 day UPS myself :D

[glennyong]

wha... 300-800 stacked with 2x and 1.7x..... wah...