Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I ordered this item via Amazon but for some reasons Amazon failed to pay 47stphoto so after 4 days they still didn't ship. I ended up cancelling the Amazon order and ordered direct with 47stphoto via Ebay - same exact item, same exact price. They shipped the next day. Amazon has been really slow lately...but that has nothing to do with this head. I just got the head today and I'm so excited I had to tell someone about it. The gimbal head is impressive looking and very well made...it does not look or feel cheap like many Chinese made product. The locking knobs are sturdy and work beautifully. There is no operating or installation instructions with it but I didn't need one. It's fairly obvious. It came with a 2" quick release Swiss Arca plate with a single screw. If you have a large lens with 2 screws, you will need to order another plate. Mounting it to the tripod is quick and easy. The quick release plate goes on the lens and can be fastened securely to the head. You can slide the screw on the release plate about an inch each way to balance the lens laterally. To balance vertically, you can slide the lens up by releasing the small locking knob near the plate. Once balance is achieved, wherever you point the lens, it stays there when you let go. Moving it about takes very little force. You can do it with one finger. The action is glass smooth in any direction with the head I got. Last week I spent sometime playing with my brother in law's $650 Wimberly gimbal head and as best as I can recall, this one is just as smooth in any direction. I'm very happy with this head but I got this late today so no chance to try. I'll give it a thorough workout taking BIF pictures and report back in a few days. Update, 3/24/12 - This morning I ran into a photog that I know at Quail Hill, a local hummingbird spot. He's got a huge lens and the Wimberly so I had him take a look at mine while I checked the motion on the Wimberly. Vertical panning is much better on the Wimberly...my head is very stiff compared to it. The lateral panning is about the same for both. We looked carefully at my Opteka head and we discovered that the soft rubber coating covers the joint responsible for vertical panning preventing it from rotating freely. When I got home, I used an exacto knife to trim off excess rubber around the joint. I also put a little WD-40 onto the joint and the vertical panning is 10 times better. Too bad I don't have the Wimberly to directly compare but I think it's almost there. Prior to getting this head, I've always taken pictures of Birds In Flight (BIF)handheld. Taking BIF with this head is such a pleasant experience...vertical and lateral panning is glass smooth and when I stop panning, the camera stops, no residual movement at all. It is much easier to track birds with this setup than handheld. I don't think I will take BIF pictures any other way. Caviat: I'm mounting on this head a Canon 50D with battery grip and a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L lens. This setup is relatively light. The heavy weight of a 600mm f/4L may alter performance...I simply don't know. Update: This head will not work if you mount the plate on the bottom of the camera body with a battery grip. The grip is too big it will interfere with the arm. No problem if you don't have a grip. UPDATE: 4/5/15 - I got a chance to finally tested this head using a Canon 7D2 camera and a Canon 600mm f/4L IS USM version 1. I shot several hundred shots with this combo and it performed flawlessly. This lens is 7 inch across at its widest, 2 feet long and weighs 12 lbs. Contrary to one report that this thing bends with the heavy load, the head stands up OK to the heavy weight. After inspection, there was no sign of warping or damage. I must admit that the head looks a bit small with the behemoth lens and that doesn't inspire confidence too much. There was some warbling where the head meets the tripod. I ended popping the cap and tighten the screw with an allen wrench and that eliminated the problem. Action is just as smooth as with the smaller lenses I had. There is one problem though. The 600mm f/4 lens is so wide that it barely fits. This lens that I tested had a lens coat cover and it was too tight, preventing me from adjusting it for balance in the vertical axis. For this reason, I can only recommend using this one with a 500mm f/4 and smaller for this head.