Why You Need a Gimbal Head for Wildlife Photography

[@joits]

Never thought I'd ever get to the point where I'd need one... but here we are...

[@dicekolev5360]

You realise that it his job to brainwash you buy anything, right?! KZbinrs are here to make you buy think yo'lll never really use. Especially gimbal heads are HELPFUL when having big lenses than 100-400mm and you should also think that gimbal heads weight minimum 1.5kg to your already heavy bag. That's why they make all lenses with VR now but when having 600mm it's pointless to have VR cus that's when gimbal head comes in play and VR is only trick of companies gives higher pricings. Anyway, think twice before buying 😄

[@joits]

​@@dicekolev5360 Yes master. I will do whatever you say.

[@dicekolev5360]

@@joits Lol, it was just an advice, slave 😄

[@joits]

@@dicekolev5360 Ah, thank you master.

[@PeteLovesPixels]

Hi, nice video. I love the enthusiasm. Sorry to be a bit of a nit picker but I think you have missed the point of how a gimbal is supposed to operate. You keep stressing that a gimbal is self leveling. It is not and should never be. The way to set up a gimbal head is two steps and you have only completed the first half. Once you have it leveling by itself the next step is to adjust the hight to matche the center of gravity with the top pivot point. Once you set this you will be able to aim the gimbal at anything, leave it loose, let go and the camera will stay pointed where you aim it. Example up at a birds nest. You can wait for hours aimed and ready to shoot and move the camera in a split second. You can search youtube for how to set up a gimbal properly there are many out there. Good luck and keep up the good work.

[@steveplackett3328]

Exactly well explained

[@JGZphotography]

A gimbal is a nice add, especially for active ground wildlife video, like bears, bison, wolves, etc. For birds, ok if paddling in the ponds but not flying directly overhead, where hand holding becomes a must. BTW, at time line 3:38, might be best not to have a lens cap cover on while pretending to see through the lens.

[@csb65536]

Without reading through all the comments to see if anyone else mentioned this, I will mention. The adjustable plate is not meant for micro height adjustments as much as it is to balance you camera and lens. If you adjust that plate where the center of the lens is equal to the pivot point (assuming your front to rear balance is set) the camera will stay in the position you point it at without having to tighten any of the knobs. To be, this is the best feature of the gimbal head. Again, sorry if I repeated others here.

[@brandt_bennett]

Some good points. The one about moving the slider up and down to get over grass etc is solid

[@wattswildlifephoto]

I appreciate it! Thanks for watching

[@kohanson]

The camera should not be self balance back to its original position with the gimbal head. If it is balanced properly with the height adjustment, it should stay in the position whichever angle you are pointing at.

[@Lyn._.dragonzz]

I believe you got it wrong. The camera and lens are not supposed to flip back to the vertical plane when you let go of the camera. A well balanced set-up should be that the camera stays in the same position when you let go.

[@williamsereki]

Great video, I'm completely in agreeance it's a must-have for wildlife photography

[@wattswildlifephoto]

Thank you 🙏 yes it’s definitely a really important piece of equipment for wildlife.

[@reflexr10]

Is canon EF lens support in canon r10 ...for wildlife photography

[@vinceedwards142]

We're in yellowstone now and I was fighting with my ball head tripod so I went to west yellowstone camera store they were out of stock but my question is can you hook the camera to the gimble if your lens doesn't have the mount for example I have the Canon 800mm f11 and it doesn't have the mount on it any advice would be greatly appreciated

[@markusbolliger1527]

Very helpful advice! I think my next purchase will be a Gimbal head ...

[@Those_Weirdos]

I'm glad I scrolled down to see the comments and write one of my own, since it looks like this video is mostly misinformation. It also jumps from what a gimbal IS, to how you use it. You (and so many others) never describe WHY you use it.

[@yesidtac7863]

Execelent video my friend

[@wattswildlifephoto]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it

[@DeputyNordburg]

Great video and I absolutely agree. Many photographers will buy that first long (probably heavy) lens and then mount it on a ball or three way head. That can lead to whole rig crashing to the ground. I shoot sports more than wildlife, but still use a gimbal for soccer and other sports when I'm behind a barrier or up in the stands. The ability to just let go of the big camera and grab the second camera with smaller lens on a strap around you neck is a godsend when the action gets too close for the big lens. I don't think anyone sells a gimbal already attached to a tripod and this probably keeps many beginners from using the gimbal because they are looking for a complete solution.

[@wattswildlifephoto]

Thanks! Yep, I’ve had a tripod nearly crash to the ground when using a ball head with a telephoto on it. It’s worth the extra bit of money to have one.

[@natosuperman1]

Your talking about me. I am moving from landscape to wildfire and bought my first huge lens that flops around on the ball head. So a gamble head it is

[@victorkayem]

Great Video

[@hanklevesque426]

Nice video - just a suggestion and possible correction. Yeah, they’re nitpicking, but might help. Suggestion: mount camera/lens so that your left hand can control the tilt/swivel knobs, allowing you to lock it and fire and also modify tension without removing your hand from the shutter button when you’re concerned about camera shake or you’re honed in on a subject. Possible correction: the up/down adjustment is more for fitting your position based upon the size of the lens. That way you’ll rotate around the center point instead of stopping down and back up again. Keep up the good info.

[@hanklevesque426]

Make that “swooping down and back up again” instead. Gotta love autocorrect.

[@wattswildlifephoto]

Thank you! That’s a great suggestion, I’ll make sure to set it up that way next time I shoot. I see what you’re saying, yes that’s a solid point on the up/down adjustment as well. That adjustment plate is one of my favorite parts of the gimbal, there are multiple helpful ways in which it can be used and you’ve just shown me yet another! Thanks for the input 🙌

[@hanklevesque426]

@@wattswildlifephoto Thanks for taking it the way it was intended. I use my gimbal with an old 600mm lens on a Canon 5DIV with a battery grip or the R5 in good weather. Very heavy setup that handles like a breeze when on a gimbal. Just wish this type of equipment was available 50 years ago when just starting out, but thankfully it’s available now. Keep going with your craft.

[@akmediaproductions]

Great information!!

[@wattswildlifephoto]

👍 Glad you found it helpful!

[@Bubble5555]

Oh man! Why did I watch this video. I now need a Gimbal.

[@RNAbarton]

That so awesome 👏

[@tonyfields6198]

I think stabilization auto focus and using high so it’s a good one manual I know I always use manual settings on my camera never auto we just have a lot more control over everything.

[@SueTay.]

Your channel is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

[@wattswildlifephoto]

Thank you!!

[@resenfernando1187]

3:36 Forgot to take of the lens cap 👀 huh😂🤌🏻🤌🏻

[@kevlarspirit392]

I'm looking at buying my first gimbal head. Which ones would you recommend

[@carwin90]

So panning and tilting are great. What about level. Keeping your horizon straight without fiddling around adjusting tripod legs in and out while your subject flies away

[@ahmedbebars6844]

Great video. By the way, what lens are you using? Cheers.

[@wattswildlifephoto]

Thanks 🙏 I use the Canon 100-400 ii.

[@BadazzShovelhead]

Hey nicely done- really good video- enjoyed it more than most

[@Rudy60426]

great video thanks for the tips

[@FlatulEssence]

Your camera is not properly balanced on the gimbal. You're shooting with your lens cap ON.

[@averymcdaniel423]

What type of tripod do you use for the gimbal?

[@maryheinz5138]

What's the best strongest tripod best for Gimbal Head

[@pastuh]

planned to get ballhead, but gimbal obvious better..

[@kc5479]

Video is well executed but as a beginner/ amateur/ hobby wildlife photographer I am afraid texts/ sentences like “must have” or “ need” for things like gimbal are quite discouraging and may be intimidating for some as not everyone can afford 100 or more dollars for another piece of equipment And also hadn’t you said that a tripod is not “necessary” for wildlife photography in a previous video? I’m not tryna be overly critical but it’s better to avoid click bait or showy titles when possible, for the long term growth of your channel

[@wattswildlifephoto]

As you said, uses of phrases like “must have” and “need” are really just showy titles. A person doesn’t have to have a gimbal to take good wildlife photos, a person doesn’t even have to have a tripod, which as you noted is something I discussed in a previous video. The point of this video is simply to explain why gimbals are good tripod heads for wildlife. The title is, to be 100% upfront and frank about it, to draw attention and a wider audience. A sense of urgency makes people want to click more. In todays extremely competitive KZbin landscape it’s a simple thing that doesn’t affect video content but can help expose your channel to larger audiences. A video titled “Why you need a gimbal for wildlife photography” will get more views, regardless of content, than a video titled “using a gimbal for wildlife photography.” I apologize if the wording used came across as overly exaggerative or discouraging, this was genuinely not my intent. Just trying to get my content to a wider audience who may be interested in the information/opinions I share on here. I seriously appreciate the feedback and support. Thanks for commenting and watching 🙌 have a nice day.

[@kc5479]

@@wattswildlifephoto Gotcha, thanks for the honesty and polite response

[@wattswildlifephoto]

@@kc5479 Absolutely, thanks again for the feedback!!

[@JohnFizzle]

I think you're missing the entire purpose of the gimbal head. It's not meant to "self balance" it's meant to hold it's position when you let go of the camera.

[@AR-vf7vg]

Some wrong and some incomplete infos that could have been avoided with proper (humble, repectfully thorrow enqieries first, then having it checked) - before teaching.. But what matters is : showing. Isn't it. That's the norm to conform to ! All the "rest" is perfect.

[@ThePhk5]

not setup well, why didn't you show how to balance the gimbal, that is the reason for having a gimbal to start with

[@BelnapExpedition]

I had no idea this was a thing

[@wattswildlifephoto]

Lol yeah they didn’t become very mainstream for photography until relatively recently

[@janvanholten7592]

Don't agree with a must have for wildlife. Bought one years ago, but didn' t liked it at all. Sold it very fast. I'am working with a Sachtler head. Stable, works also when minus 30 degrees and you can set the amount of resistance to your own preferences. Something that works not very smoothly on a Gimbal head in my opinion.

[@CarstenBruhn]

Hello. Apparently you did not understand correctly what the vertical adjustment does. Its not for camera height adjustment, its for balancing. Please study this video from Steve: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYikq6qNhMaLrcU

[@jesss7930]

Anyone here with an opinion on a gimbal head on a monopod? I don’t think I can be bothered stuffing around with an entire tripod.

[@nickhardcastle1]

Hope this chap has learned how a gimbal is supposed to work by now.

[@stevetimman]

As someone mentioned. You didn’t set up the gimbal as intended. The way you leave the camera is the way it should stay and not auto return to “center”. This design is intended to make the camera weightless when you are tracking, otherwise you are fighting the camera trying to get back to “center”.

[@jensbuus6386]

WHY do you you need to talk so fast?????