Wimberley Sidekick

Comments about Wimberley Sidekick:

This was a birthday present for my wife and so I've only had chance to test it somewhat surrepticiously. I use a Wimberley Gimbal head but my wife finds this a bit heavy for use with our Canon 7D with 1.4x and 300mm F2.8 lenses. We are both very keen wildlife photographers. She normally uses an Arca Swiss ball head but in the heat of the moment, this can become a little unstable when panning on fast birds etc and so although she likes my Wimberley, she baulks at the bulkiness of a tripod fitted with one and probably couldn't carry it along with everything else. This Sidekick seems to be a very simple and effective way of turning a ball head into (almost) a full blown Wimblerley Gimbal head and although she hasn't had her birthday yet and so hasn't had chance to use it, I like it and in use it's not really very different to my Wimberley although it's probably myself who will end up carrying the Sidekick! On first inspection, and I won't be the final judge, it looks a very nice piece of kit and certainly coped with the equipment we will use it with. It would be somewhat unfair to comment on the price, which is admittedly quite high, as I'm buying it as a present. Along with that, the combined price of an Arca Swiss ball head and the Sidekick is probably more than I paid for my Wimberley but for the convenience of use and the fact that the ball head has other, distinct, uses that the Wimberley can't cope with. I felt it was worth it. The combination of ball head and Sidekick is certainly more flexible that a Wimberley Gimbal head alone.

Comments about Wimberley Sidekick:

Like AlunK9 I purchased this rather than a full gimbal head as its lighter, more compact and easier to travel with.

I also don't own any big heavy primes but have successfully used it with a hired Canon 400 f2.8IS and stacked extenders with a 7D.

With the right adjustments it made handling the large lens and camera extremely easy. I can see why you can get lower profile feet to keep the lens over the central axis of the ball head but I have a Arca Z1 which has a very high load limit and didn't experience any issues with stability.

I've given another 4 star award, purely on the cost.

If you have big long lenses and need (and can afford) high quality supports then I'd recommend a full gimbal head over a sidekick. However if you are like me and regularly use the 'smaller' lenses (300 f4, etc) then the Sidekick can make more sense, especially if you plan to travel with it.

Comments about Wimberley Sidekick:

After much deliberation I purchased this rather than the full gimbal head to use with my Nikon 200-400 and D3 body. The main reason being that this is lighter and easier to take abroad.

This is an excellent piece of kit that makes handling the large lens and camera extremely easy. With the correct tension on the main knob your camera and lens can be left in whatever position you need.

The only reason I have awarded 4 stars is the price although I suppose that is insignificant when compared with the cost of the lens and camera!

Comments about Wimberley Sidekick:

I use the Sidekick on a Gitzo GT2542L tripod and Acratech GV2 head to hold a Sigma 150-500mm lens and, alternatively, a Zeiss APO 77mm Televid spotting scope. The lens and scope are mounted on two Kirk QR feet. The combination of Sidekick and Acratech head make it really easy to manoeuvre these large optics for fatigue-free birdwatching/photography. The Sidekick is beautifully engineered and rigid, though this obviously makes it heavier than less robust alternatives. Provides a much better solution than pan and tilt heads.

Comments about Wimberley Sidekick:

I am planning some larger lenses so I decided to try this with the Nikon 70-200 f2.8 vr which wimberley says can be problematic as it is designed for 300 mm upwards.

I could balance the 70-200mm on a D3 with the side kick but due to the D3 hand grip you have to mount the side kick on the left side and quite far forward which can restrict getting to the zoom and focus however you can get over or under to these and on the whole paning ability is incresed in trying to work of the camera plate or lens plate without the side kick on a ballhead.
If you are just using the 70-200mm then you could probably get away without one but they do increase panning ability and more so with large lenses and ballheads.