Wimberely Sidekick

What's It All About?

Large and heavy lenses such as theCanon 300mm f/2.8L IScan be awkward to use, even when tripod mounted. The preferred mount for most field photographers is a ball head, such as theArca Swiss B1pictured above. But, when a camera / lens combination like this is mounted on a ball head it can be unbalanced and easily tip forward or backward unless the ball is cinched tightly. This, naturally enough, makes panning when following a bird in flight or a wolf loping across a field problematic.
How it Works

The Sidekick places the lens and camera so that its center of gravity is directly over the center of the tripod. It also means that the lens ishanging overthis point rather thanbalanced onit. Consequently by setting the friction knobs to the desired points handling a large lens like this becomes almost a weightless experience. Following birds in flight, as I did at theSalton Seain January 2000 and atBosque del Apachein December 2001 was a breeze.
What's Needed?
The Sid...