Gimbal or Ball head???

[Woodbadger]

Greetings! I am a birdeatcher and have used a superzoom bridge camera (SX50) over hthe years mainly for record shots.
I recently got an R7/RF 100-400 combo to “up my game”. I am especially intrigued with shore birds and to that ends I am looking at building my own “ground pod”. I have purchased the iShoot collar but now I am a bit stuck as to how to mount it. I have seen implementations using both gimbal and ball heads. Seems like the gimbal is a bit of overkill for my kit, but could prove useful in future for a replacement of the QR4 bideo head on my Benro tripod, which is mainly haed to support my spotting scope. On the other hand I wonder about the lower price pint and smaller size of a ball head.
Anybody have any experience of this kind of setup (ground pod, tripod head, zoom lens) and preference for head type?
TIA

 

[SYSO]

I've done a DIY "ground pod" using an old roasting pan, but for my deck bird photography. I've done another DIY "ground pod" with much smaller footprint. Either case, I used a ball head and a Gimbal "sidekick" (ProMediaGear GT2 Tomahawk), which isn't a full Gimbal. Alternatively, you'd also use Wimberley MH-100 MonoGimbal and mount it on a ball head.

 

[Woodbadger]

I've done a DIY "ground pod" using an old roasting pan, but for my deck bird photography. I've done another DIY "ground pod" with much smaller footprint. Either case, I used a ball head and a Gimbal "sidekick" (ProMediaGear GT2 Tomahawk), which isn't a full Gimbal. Alternatively, you'd also use Wimberley MH-100 MonoGimbal and mount it on a ball head.

Thanks for the reply and photos. Unfortunately the iShoot collardoes not allow for rotation since it has cutouts for the control buttons on the lens, so a side mount solution does not work for me.

 

[SYSO]

A full Gimbal would be your solution, then, although it's a bit of an overkill for the lens, but it's an essential tool for any serious bird photographers. Or, just connect the iShoot collar on a ball head directly. You'd just have to loosen the ball head knobs while shooting and tighten when done.

 

[Woodbadger]

A full Gimbal would be your solution, then, although it's a bit of an overkill for the lens, but it's an essential tool for any serious bird photographers. Or, just connect the iShoot collar on a ball head directly. You'd just have to loosen the ball head knobs while shooting and tighten when done.

Thanks. Yes, I was thinking maybe overkill. Seeing as I will probably not be doing much high-speed panning and “up-down” for this particularapplication, I will probably go with a mid range ball head for now. In the future, if (when? Grin) I go with a bigger lens, I will look at getting a decent gimbal to accommodate both the ground pod AND my regular heavy duty tripod.