Uniqball...replacing my Wimberley Head??

With a ballhead...Could it be?

Announcing the Uniqball tripod head. This head will most likely replace both my ballhead AND my full sized, beloved, could not tear from my cold dead hands, Wimberley II. How is this even possible? You have to see it and try it to believe it.

The UniqBall is like no other. It is a rock solid full sized ballhead that ACTS like a gimbal. It does not/can not flop and is ROCK solid supporting up to 90 pounds on the larger model! Once horizontally leveled it stays level through panning and tilting and you will never fight it like a traditional ballhead. It is SO easy to use and adjust for precise tension without even taking your hands off the lens. For those that shoot from blinds it's great not to have that Wimberley arm in your face. Oh, the larger one weighs 1/2 as much as the Wimberley at just 1.55 pounds yet it's rated to support 90 pounds! There is a smaller model that is equally awesome and will still easily support a 500. The larger one was effortlessly supporting the Canon 1200/5.6 at Photokina.

Folks please trust me what I tell you that THIS is a game changer!

http://www.naturescapes.net/store/uniqb ... bh-45.html

http://www.naturescapes.net/store/uniqb ... bh-35.html

(These are in stock now - I am taking mine to the Galapagos and Ecuador and leaving my Wimberley behind. I have not done that in 15 years...)

I agree Greg, I picked one up a few months ago and it's amazing to have a wimberly in a ball head. The only real dislike I have is the small tightening lever.

Yep, sold my gimbal head and RRS-BH55 ballhead a few months ago shortly after I had tried the Uniqball. Love this head, so light and the panning is so smooth, far better IMO than my Induro Gimbal head.

Greg,
This indeed sounds like a good product...have you tried carrying a 500
mounted to this ball over your shoulder for an extended time?
Tad

Tad Lubinski wrote:Greg,
This indeed sounds like a good product...have you tried carrying a 500
mounted to this ball over your shoulder for an extended time?
Tad

Tad

I carry my 500 with 1Dx attached all the time over my shoulder with the uniqball. Very secure and far more comfortably (and lighter) than my previous gimbal head and levelling base rig.  The RRS levelling base would always 'slip' with that amount of weight when placed on my shoulder, which was very annoying.

Tad Lubinski wrote:Greg,
This indeed sounds like a good product...have you tried carrying a 500
mounted to this ball over your shoulder for an extended time?
Tad

I've used it with a 600 without issues.

Hmm... need to check this out.

Does anyone have photos of it as a gimbal? Wouldn't the camera/lens combo stick out to one side such that the center of gravity would not be over the center of the tripod?

I love my 4th Gen Mongoose but find the lack of any real friction control frustrating, it is either too loose or too tight. It also has limited vertical/tilt movement. I don't want to increase the weight (Wimberley) so the Uniqball makes a great alternative, plus provides a regular ballhead features so I would only need one head in the field.

Cheers,

Jim

Greg (or others who have used it witha Supertele), can you post a video of this setup with your 500/600? I would REALLY love to buy it for the weight savings, but I need to see it first. It would be a good thing for me since I travel a lot internationally with the gear.

Thanks in advance for all your time!

-- Vivek

This looks like a good review of what this head is capable of or not capable of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9pCP7j ... _H&index=8

Thanks Joel & Tony! I should've checked youtube. Thanks again.

I remember watching Andy Rouse's review/sales pitch and was impressed at the ease and flexibility.  But then I heard that it was restricted in vertical movements if a bird were to fly a little higher.   I did not see any published angles of tilt in degrees.

Personally, using one right now, I feel it tries to be all things for all people but doesn't do any of them super well. I will be writing more in the future. It certainly could be a single solution for those that want a single solution for everything but it is a significant compromise for some uses - specifically for Gimbal and Panorama operations - useable yes, optimal, not even close for me. Just one person't opinion. This is one of those products that individuals will need to try I think.

Vivek wrote:Greg (or others who have used it witha Supertele), can you post a video of this setup with your 500/600? I would REALLY love to buy it for the weight savings, but I need to see it first. It would be a good thing for me since I travel a lot internationally with the gear.

Thanks in advance for all your time!

-- Vivek

Andy Rouse You Tube video  link on the UniqBall website

http://www.uniqball.eu/

Thanks everyone, I went through a bunch of videos on the Youtube site. After reviewing these videos, I still feel that the Gimbal is better for my use (mostly birds). After experience with a bunch of Gimbals (Mongoose, knock-off Indian/Chinese one, RRS PG-02 and Wimberley WH200), I've finally settled on the Wimberley since it works so very well. There are disadvantages and advantages of all of them, but having used them all, I prefer Wimberley and am going to stick to it since it works for me (although it *is* heavy).

I was very intrigued after I read Greg's introduction above, but after going through the videos, assessing my shooting style and noting EJ's post above, I decided to stick with the Wimberley.

Thanks everyone!

FYI...Different way to use the UNIQUBALL- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbwbWFK7iBE

Chas, to use it like that I'm pretty sure you'd need a center column, which most of us don't have for our tripods...

Chas, I saw that as well. It is quite interesting, but I still prefer the Wimberley, the entire lens + camera combo is suspended from top and while it is probably OK mechanically, I just dont feel good about it. The center of gravity is not above the pivot of the tripod and this cannot really be good. Not to mention the issue with the center column that Tony brings up above. Most of us (if not all of us using these Superteles), don't have the center column.

Thanks for the link though.

I did not say I would personally use it as in the video... it was just an FYI.

I will be taking the Uniquball to the Arctic this Nov for a full workout in extreme conditions.

I will have a video and text review shortly thereafter.

I will state my 1DX w/ 600 II is very stable on the Uniquball. I have no doubt I could shoot consistently sharper images at slower shutter speeds with this head than on any of the three gimbal heads I own. Ease of use in real world conditions....I will let you know!

Chas