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Anyone use the Acratech GV2 or GP head in gimbal position?

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by California4Life on Fri Jun 19, 2009 4:50 pm

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I've been using the Acratech Ultimate ballhead for a while now and I'm pretty happy with it, but I was thinking of getting a sidecick for occasional use with the 300 2.8 when i came across Acratech's new GP model and it seems like I can accomplish the same thing without buying anything extra... Says it's rated to 25lbs...
I would be using either a 100-400 L, or a 300 2.8 + 1.4tc on a 1Ds MkII with it.... Does anyone own this one yet, or has anyone tried the gimbal mode out on it with a similar lens/ body combo?

thanks in advance.

-Mac

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by wsebastian on Sat Jun 20, 2009 9:35 am

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Mac,
I have a GV2 and I've used it a lot with a 300 2.8 + 1.4 + 40D as well as 400 5.6 + 40D it works very good. If you get the rig balanced front to back I don't think you will have any problems.

----
Will
[url]http://www.williamsebastianphoto.com[/url]

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by California4Life on Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:40 pm

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Thanks, Will... That's great to hear.
I am now still debating whether or not to go with the GV2 because of this feature, or to use a Markins M10 or RRS BH40 in normal mode.... At least I have decided against the sidekick for now, since the largest lens I will ever be using is the 300 2.8 IS, (and not all that often anyway)... So, unless I buy that 500 F4, no actual Gimbals for me any time soon.

It seems though that all the people who use RRS or Markins are very happy with them and aren't into the idea of using anything else... It's kind of hard to get many opinions from people who have used all 3...

-Mac

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by Stubb on Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:38 am

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Mac,

I have a Velbon 640 and Acratech GV2 that I've used with a friend's Nikkor 200–400 VR + TC-14 a few times. The lens has a fairly long Arca Swiss plate that lets you fine-tune the balance point. This is critical for smooth operation. The combo works fine, but is not as slick as his Wimberly rig. The main downside is the height you loose flopping the ballhead on its side; it's like shooting in portrait orientation without an L-bracket.

Cheers,

Andreas

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