Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: Susan Young on January 01, 2006, 12:53:45 pm

Title: wimberley sidekick et al
Post by: Susan Young on January 01, 2006, 12:53:45 pm

Hi, I am thinking of getting a Wimberley side kick. Can someone please advise me on all the appropriate bits I will need for this. I intend to use a Canon 300mm lens with a Canon 1Ds MKII
Thabk you

Susan

Title: wimberley sidekick et al
Post by: Geoff Wittig on January 01, 2006, 01:16:59 pm

All you need is the Sidekick, a good quality ballhead with a standard Arca-Swiss quick release mount, and a long lens with a rotating tripod collar. The Eos-1Ds II is a heavy beast, so you'll need a tripod and head strong enough to carry the whole mess.
I currently use the same camera with Canon's 500 f:4 IS lens, the Whimberly Sidekick mounted on Kirk's larger ballhead. This works great for me, with excellent sharpness down to shutter speeds of 1/125 sec. or even 1/60 sec. at times. The Sidekick is small enough to live in a side pocket of the Scope pack I carry the 500 in.

Title: wimberley sidekick et al
Post by: larryg on January 01, 2006, 01:28:17 pm

I used the sidekick in Kenya with a 1ds and the F500 f:4   (on a window mount)
It worked great except when using with a window mount and the Really Right Stuff ball head.  The ball head is too short too allow good freedom of movement.
(the screws rub against the window mount).  Better to use the Arca B1 for this particular application.

I also used the sidekick at an airshow and worked fine.  Stable with free movement for the fast paced airshow.

Good investment.

Title: wimberley sidekick et al
Post by: boku on January 01, 2006, 03:51:23 pm

Quote

Hi, I am thinking of getting a Wimberley side kick. Can someone please advise me on all the appropriate bits I will need for this. I intend to use a Canon 300mm lens with a Canon 1Ds MKII
Thabk you

Susan

Which 300? This combination might not be very well balanced if it is the f/4. If it is the f/2.8, then you're in the right ball park.

Title: wimberley sidekick et al
Post by: Mike Boden on January 11, 2006, 03:47:22 am

I don't mean to be a thread hijacker, but I think this might correlate to the initial question.

I'm a little confused with regards to the Wimberly sidekick. I'm thinking about getting the Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens and a Wimberly head to go with it.  But according to Wimberly's website, one of the prerequisites for the Wimberly Sidekick is, "Your lens must have a rotation collar and an Arca-Swiss style quick-release plate." Yet on B&H's website it states for the Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens, " Tripod Collar: Yes (Fixed)". Well, I'm confused. I've read that others, and specifically Michael Reichman, have used the Sidekick along with the 500mm lens, but isn't there a contradiction here? Can someone confirm that they work together and that you'll be able to rotate the camera/lens to either horizontal or vertical while using this equipment combination?

Thanks

Title: wimberley sidekick et al
Post by: bob mccarthy on January 11, 2006, 07:29:51 am

Quote

Yet on B&H's website it states for the Canon 500mm f/4L IS lens, " Tripod Collar: Yes (Fixed)". Well, I'm confused. [a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=55712\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Fixed usually means "non removable" not "non rotational"

Bob

Title: wimberley sidekick et al
Post by: Mike Boden on January 11, 2006, 01:00:06 pm

Quote

Fixed usually means "non removable" not "non rotational"

Bob
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=55727\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks Bob. I appreciate it.

Mike