Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

Great gimal!!! and for the price a bargain it is a bit on the heavy side but other than that it's a great buy.i would not want to carry it around for long though they show it on a monopod have tried it on mine works ok but with a big lens it can be a handful to walk around with.

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

I am very impressed with the quality of this gimbal head, it is well engineered and holds my 500 f4 with ease. The foot is very secure and will not slip out due to the locking pins.The u shape makes focus adjustments trickier than with a Wimberley type head but I simply rest my hand on top of the bracket and adjust focus with two fingers.
The u bracket has extra holes for adjustment which I used to attach a flash bracket, I see no benefit in attaching a lens in the way shown in the advert unless this has advantages with a spotting scope.
This represents stonking value compared to the competition and really cannot be matched.

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

This is used for photographing birds and I have found it easy to use and it does exactly what I bought it for

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

As good as OS/VR/IS is these days, hand holding at super telephoto zoon lengths is always tricky at the best of times to get sharp photos, not to mention takes little time to knacker your arms. I had previously only ever used a ball head on my tripod, mainly due to their small footprint making them easier to transport, however after discovering first hand the limitations of such a head for supporting a large lens that needs to be able to pan and track smoothly and doing some research, I was sold on the gimbal head idea, and with the price of the pro standard Wimberley out of my reach, the price point of the Manfrotto 393 seemed the perfect option.

The whole thing really feels rock solid, no flex at all in the bracket that I can see. The included foot plate fixes to your lens securely with one or more of the included screws and has a safety feature in that once it slides into the bracket mounting, it cannot slide back out again accidentally thanks to a sprung peg that prevents the plate from leaving the mount without being depressed. The plate allows the lens to be easily positioned so that the center of balance of the lens/camera combination sits nicely over the middle of the frame so that it is nicely balanced, and a combination of this balance and the adjustable friction enables the lens to be moved smoothly in all directions and happily stay put wherever you position it without needing to be locked down. This makes tracking fast moving subjects without killing your arms a breeze (not to mention making simply aiming elsewhere a smooth transition), and giving you the peace of mind that your lens isn't going to attempt to fall over as soon as you let go

Some people have commented on the weight being a negative, and indeed it may be a slightly more cumbersome design that the much lauded Wimberley, but when you consider the weight difference is only about 170 grams, it's really not a difference I feel is worthy of complaint.

My only criticism is one echoed by other users in that you cannot lock the head position in place to safely carry the tripod with camera still attached without simply tightening up the friction adjustments, which is something you're unlikely to want to do after carefully adjusting them to suit your needs. That said it is still perfectly possible to carry the whole getup if you just balance it carefully to prevent the camera spinning freely

In short, it does exactly what I needed and I am confident that, unlike with my lenses, I won't feel any whimsical incentive to upgrade to a more expensive alternative any time soon, regardless of how worthy they may be of all their accolades

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

I note all the others have said. I do not regard its weight as a "con." It is heavy but stable and suits my Sigma 50-500 (bought around the same time) very well.

I guess I could always fit a level to the camera hot shoe and, of course, I believe some modern DSLRS have electronic levels built in.

I find the quick fit attachment for the lens just the job.

The whole kit is sturdy, solid and does the job well.

Great for wild life and sports in particular.

Perhaps it could be a little neater.

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

I tried a wimberley once, it was very nice but it didn't do any more than the Manfrotto 393. Also,with the 393, apart from being a fraction of the price of the competition one doesn't have to buy expensive adaptor plates.
I use mine on a Benbo tripod in the "U" configuration to shoot sports and wildlife. I find it easier to mount my big 600f4 this way. Once mounted and adjusted I don't notice that I'm moving close to 7Kg with no effort. For those few of you who have used a machine gun on a pintle mount it's just the same but with better balance. My only criticism is that it doesn't have a spirit level. (I don't think the competition does either.)I overcame this with a large target type of level that one would use on motorhomes or caravans. Although this is advertised for use on a monopod I can't really see much point in using it on one. If I'm using a monopod I fit the lens directly to it. However, when it's fitted to a tripod It's superb and a joy to use, especially for wildlife which very often can be a waiting game. All in all I can't praise this bit of kit enough, and would recommend it to anyone.

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

When I bought my Canon 500mm lens I realised I would need a good, flexible support for it but could not afford the expense of the full Wimberley heads. So I decided to buy this one and so far have not regretted my purchase. It provides the stability but also allows full movement of the lens in all directions making it great for both stationary objects and moving ones such as birds in flight.

Great purchase and great product - you will not be disappointed!

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

Having purchased this head to support my Canon 500mm F4 Lens I can say that it is a very solid piece of metal that does the job well. The ability to pan easily and adjust the balance of the lens is exceptional.

My only gripe is that it is difficult to lock the head in one position which can make carrying a tripod with the head and lens attached difficult especially over any real distance.

Overall a great buy at an affordable price that does the job well

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

If you are a wildlife photographer who is happy to set up a site and just observe and shoot then this product is great. It has a lovely smooth action which follows birds in flight is easy to manouver and does exactly what you expect.

Its limitations however are that it is quite heavy and actually not that easy to carry around. I tried perching it on my shoulder - put my arm through the opening carrying it on my shoulder- but it dug in and i ended up carrying it in my hands.

So my only criticism is actually with me rather than the product. I simply hadnt thought through how i would use it.

So if you are someone who likes to watch and wait- then go for it. If you are someone who likes to wander around and snap what you see then you need something a little more portable

Comments about Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket:

I had been wanting to get a tripod head for` in flight shots` for use with my Canon 600mm. I had considered a Wimberley, but at over £500, it seemed grossly overpriced. A professional friend of mine told me to look at the manfrotto. He had seen and tried one out at the NEC against a wimberley, and he thought the manfrotto head was not only better value but a better product.
He bought one,and when it arrived he let me try it out. I was very impressed and dully ordered one which arrived from Warehouse Express the next day.
It is a very solid piece of kit, and does the job perfectly. I tried it out on Kites in flight and it was very easy to pan and follow the bird. Very good value for money. Only small fault with it is that they could have put a tightening knob on it so that when using in a hide you can lock it up solidly. This you can do with the use of an Allen Key, not the most ideal way to work. Apart from this , it is a very fine peice of equipment.