Wimberley WH-200
Gimbaled Telephoto Tripod Head
Made in the United States of America
Sample Photos Review Recommendations
Wimberley WH-200 Gimbal Tripod Head II (51.522 oz./1,460.6g without plate, $595; 56.105 oz./1,590.5g with P50 plate as shown). bigger. I'd get mine at Adorama (WH-200 head and/or P50 plate), at Amazon (WH-200 head or P50 plate) or at B&H (WH-200 head or P50 plate).
This 100% all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally-approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Get yours only from the trusted sources I've used personally for decades for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
Live Video: The Wimberley WH-200 Head in Action.
October 2018 Better Pictures Nikon Canon Sony Fuji LEICA All Reviews
Sample Photos
Top Sample Photos Review Recommendations
MCAS Miramar, San Diego California, USA, 28 September 2018. All shot as NORMAL JPG files; no raw needed:
Red Biplane against Blue Sky with Smoke Trail, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/4,000 at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution.
This guy was about a mile away! This Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 and Wimberley WH-200 system is so sharp there's no problem cropping as needed at this distance.
Shockwave Jet Truck, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/4,000 at ISO 100. bigger or wider.
This was a long way away and cropped. You couldn't shoot this on an iPhone because 1.) you'd be so close that you'd get sucked into the jet engine, and 2.) a closer point of view would have made the front of the truck huge and the flame tiny. By getting further away we change the relative rendering so that the truck's grille shrinks and the flames grow huge in the background.
How loud is this thing? I'm writing this two days later on Sunday from nine miles away, and I just heard it during today's show!
Red, White and Blue Smoke behind Jets, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/2,500 at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution.
Track formations of jet planes? Easy, I can do this all day with this rig.
Marines dangling under a helicopter, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/2,500 at ISO 100. bigger.
With a 400mm lens I had to wait until these Marines were about a mile away until I could fit them all in one frame. They were about a thousand feet off the ground.
The Blue Angels, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/2,500 at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution.
Standard shot, made trivially easy with the Wimberley WH-200 to hold my A9 and 400/2.8.
Flag and Paratroopers, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/4,000 at ISO 100. bigger.
Blue Angels' Fat Albert, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/4,000 at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution.
USMC V-22 Osprey, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/4,000 at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution.
Flying Lamborghini, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/1,600 at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution.
US Marines F-35B, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/1,600 at ISO 100. bigger.
The Blue Angels, Miramar Air Show, 28 September 2018. Sony A9, Sony 400/2.8 on Wimberley WH-200, f/2.8 at 1/4,000 at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution.
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Review
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Wimberley invented the practical gimbaled tripod head for super-telephoto lenses back in 1991, and they've been the world standard ever since.
This American-made jewel of innovation holds your 20-pound camera and lens in perfect balance so a fingertip can point the entire rig in any direction, and pan smoothly to track anything. It has no play, and easily locks and releases either axis if you need it.
When it's properly balanced, which is fast and easy to do, the entire rig moves and tracks with a fingertip, and stays wherever you point it without needing to be locked.
There are precise bearings to allow left-right and up-down motion, with a big knob to lock or release each. When you have it set up properly everything is so well balanced that you don't need to lock anything; it just stays where you point it until you move it again.
Wimberley heads are extremely popular with birders and airshow photographers. This rig holds your monster so you can pivot it all around and track moving objects all day with minimal effort.
Not only does the Wimberley WH-200 make it trivial to track moving planes smoothly, it also holds our rig all day so our arms never get tired.
The Wimberley has very little static friction (stiction); it glides smoothly with the slightest touch and stays put when it stops.
Level your tripod, and the Wimberley ensures that every shot is perfectly level if you have a lens with a tripod collar with 90º clicks.
With full-sized lenses like a 400/2.8 the rig can't point straight-up or down because the camera body or lens front interferes with the rig. If you need to look straight up or down, hand-hold or raise the bottom support plate towards the pivot to let the camera body or lens front clear the tripod — but balance will suffer.
While sports shooters usually make do with a monopod, for photographing birds, planes and anything else in the air that moves we also need to pivot vertically, and Wimberley heads have been the ticket for over 20 years.
It has a 3/8" socket on the bottom to mount to your tripod, and an Arca-Swiss receiver into which to mount anything you can put on an Arca-Swiss plate. I use the large P50 plate; there are smaller plates for smaller lenses.
It's all metal, except the three lock knobs made of tough grippy plastic so your fingers don't freeze to them in the cold.
Recommendations
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While there are always cheap Chinese copies available of everything (and plenty more at Amazon and at B&H), I wouldn't cheap-out on something that 1.) is responsible for holding a $10,000+ camera and lens assembly, and 2.) will last you for the rest of your life and then some. Wimberley heads are built to last forever, and they probably will even with a good deal of abuse. While your cameras and lenses will change over the coming decades, your Wimberley head should always be there for you, regardless of what you're shooting in the year 2050. This is an entirely mechanical device; there's nothing to go obsolete, update or upload. They're an American company (made in Charlottesville, Virginia), so no matter what you do to it they ought to be able to repair it for you in the future.
There's another less expensive foreign-made Gimbal head from Gitzo which is also well made, but it's a highly damped fluid head designed for smooth, slow video pans. It doesn't move or pan freely. It won't move fast for tracking jet planes or birds, and worse, it demands you keep pushing against resistance to keep the rig moving, and its locks aren't as solid as the Wimberley's.
The well-made Gitzo has an only 8kg (17.6 pound) weight limit, so it's sketchy to use my 14-pound Nikon 400/2.8 and a pro body on it, while the Wimberley head has no weight limit. David Wimberley has stood on it with no problems, and just add a small spacer for clearance and the gargantuan 35-pound Sigma 200-500/2.8 works fine. I wouldn't trust any of the rubbish from China with a heavy lens.
The Sony A9 and Sony 400/2.8 combo cost $17,000 and will be obsolete in several years, just like similar setups from Nikon and from Canon. I'm not going to try to save money on an inferior head from a company whose I name I can't pronounce when 1.) this Wimberley head will last the rest of my life while cameras come and go, and 2.) I'm not taking any chances with cheap foreign products potentially failing and dropping my rig on the deck.
I'd get my Wimberley gear at Adorama (WH-200 head and/or P50 plate), at Amazon (WH-200 head or P50 plate) or at B&H (WH-200 head or P50 plate).
This 100% all-content website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
Thanks for helping me help you!
Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
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