A gimbal head balances your camera and lens at their natural centre of gravity. If you try to use a large telephoto lens and camera on a ballhead you have to fight the natural tendency of the equipment to want to tip over due to gravity. The ballhead will balance the lens only when the centre of gravity is directly vertical over the ballhead, as soon as it moves it will want to fall. Ballhead designers implement friction and all sorts of fancy elliptical gizmos to fight gravity. This is like using a screwdriver to hammer a nail. Wrong tool, wrong job.
A gimbal head balances your lens naturally. You can probably picture the way a large telescope is mounted. There is a reason for this, it works. Our gimbal heads use the same principal to make your lenses and cameras weightless. Tension control is not necessary because your camera and lens CANNOT flop over. You can move a 600mm F4 lens with one finger. Put yourself in the drivers seat and take a Jobu Design Gimbal Head for a spin, you will be like a machine gunner at the control!
We offer 3 sizes of gimbals. The PRO, new Jr.3 series and the BWG series. The Jr.3, BWG LW2 and HD2 are available in either a top-mount or side-mount configuration -- Neither top or sidemount is BETTER than the other or STRONGER than the other, it is merely your CHOICE which you think would work better for you. The Pro only comes in Top mount style as it is much easier to load extra large lenses.
Both top and side mount work really well, there are advantages/disadvantages to using an Horizontal Mount (HM-1, or HM-J2). Advantages are: easier loading of lenses (esp. HEAVY lenses), adjustability of vertical balance, centering of lenses for panning. Disadvantages: cost, weight and potential for increased vibrations.
Size guide: Our gimbals fall into this range depending on your lenses:
Gimbal Head Size Guide
Gimbal
Gimbal Weight
Size (HxW)
Recommended lens and camera combined weight
Max Weight Capacity
BWG-Pro Gimbal
3lbs 5 oz
11.5" x 9"
10-20lbs (ie 600mm F4)
35lbs+
BWG-LW2/HD2 (Lightweight/Heavy Duty)
1lb 13oz / 2lbs 11oz
11" x 8.5"
5-12lbs (ie 200-400 F4/500 F4)
25lbs
BWG-J3K (Junior 3)
1lb 7oz
8" x 8"
5-10lbs (ie 50-500, 400 F5.6)
12lbs
BWG-J2/J2K (Junior 2)
1lb 5oz / 1lb 8oz
9.5" x 8"
3-8lbs (ie 100-400, 70-200 F2.8)
8lbs
Maximum gimbals weight limits are for occasional use. Our gimbals are extremely strong, but continually overloading the gimbal will generally cause poor braking performance, extra vibration or unecessary wear on internal components and will void our manufacturers warranty.
The best performance and 'sweet-spot' for continual daily use is our recommended weight column.
Please note our gimbals do not come with a lensplate unless otherwise specified in a kit. Please check our lensplate page for specific sizes for your lens.
Please note our gimbals do not come with a lensplate unless otherwise specified in a kit. Please check our lensplate page for specific sizes for your lens.
