Gimbal Head Junior 3 Deluxe Kit

The Jubu Junior 3 Deluxe Gimbal is well-made and competitively priced. I've attached it to a Skimmer camera platform for shooting birds at ground-level, beach-level or water-level. At 1.5 pounds, the gimbal is very lightweight yet strong.Using the Jobu Junior Deluxe gimbal lets me easily balance my camera and 500mm then tilt and pivot to get the shot. It also works well with smaller zoom lenses with collars. If you want to use shorter non-collared lenses on this gimbal, you'll need a long-enough lens plate that lets the camera body sit behind the gimbal; there isn't room for the body to sit directly over the integrated quick release. Or you could add the wide angle adapter, WAA2, and a small camera body plate.I've used a Wimberley gimbal head for birding for years - it's great at what it does, but I wanted a lighter, more affordable solution for use on the Skimmer. The Jobu Junior 3 Deluxe gimbal is a great choice.

This gimbal is perfect for a 400mm lens like the Canon 400mm f/5.6L or Canon 100-400L. Most gimbals are designed for the really big lenses like a 500mm or a 200-400mm which are several times the weight. This is effectively a full gimbal shrunk down to a much smaller size and weight.It works really well even compared to a ballhead and Wimberly sidekick. It locks down much better than that combination and is much lighter to boot. The only slight negative is that it is not as smooth as a full blown Wimberly gimbal and the height adjustment is not variable. Instead there are three sets of screw holes to move the arm up and down. At the end of the day, it just means that it won't balance quite as perfectly.I highly recommend this with a mid-size tripod as a lightweight kit!

It is solid construction but I wish it had more adjustments available for raising and lowering the swing arm aside from just 3 height adjustment bolts. I can't seem to get my camera to balance correctly.

I am a semi-professional Nature and Wildlife photographer. I'm A Canon 7DM2 shooter and my favorite subjects are birds in flight and landscapes. So I end up using my Canon 100-400mm IS II USM f/4.5 zoom a lot. I am a 5ft.1" woman and weigh 120 lbs. so that camera with that lens attached are too much for me to handhold. I use a Sirui Monopod with a quick release arca-swiss plate and it is still quite difficult to follow and get sharp photos of those flying birds.. My Manfrotto 190 Carbon fiber tripod is excellent, and I bought an excellent Sirui ballhead for it to shoot landscapes. Even so, it is still a challenge to frame a shot and lock the ballhead exactly at the right place... it always dips a bit, after you lock it and let it go. Although I am conscious of staying within my budget, I try to buy the highest quality gear I possibly can. My camera backpack is a ThinkTank Airport Roller. All my Canon lenses are the top of their L line; I use Lee Filters. Having excellent and efficient equipment makes it easier for me to getting the results I want. I have been waiting for some time, doing my research, looking for a gimbal head that could help me with my shooting. Yes, there are many different models of gimbal heads in the market, but when I saw the Jobu on my friend's tripod and the ease with which she maneuvered her tripod, from a canoe... I tested it and immediately knew what I needed. It is a pleasure to work with. It is everything that is advertised. Solid, well made, light enough, small enough. Exactly what i had been hoping for. Thanks JOBU!

Hex screws continously come loose when I vary it with my lens. Works well when I am not having to tighten the screws.

I have himed and hawed over a gimbal for my 300MM F4 for a while. Once I bought an extender for this lens I decided that a ball head was just not cutting it. One recommendation is to get a long lens foot plate to adjust the balance. My 7D with grip and extended lens was back heavy on the 2 inch foot plate so I bought a 4.5 inch one. Probably could have gone with a 4 inch one instead because the plate is pressed up against the grip and had to be mounted with the lens on the camera to get it properly positioned. Not a big deal but you should be aware. You can not mount the camera by it's self on this and that's not what a gimbal is for but Jobu does make an accessory that will allow that for a price.The gimbal is sturdy but surprisingly light weight and the arm is adjustable to three heights. I mostly leave it on a dedicated tripod but I have a spare center column with my ball head on it if I'm not using a long lens or I want to convert in the field without carrying another tripod. For BIF you must have a gimbal, in my opinion, and I'm sorry I waited so long to get it. Buy this one and you won't be sorry.

This is a really smooth gimbal. I only have one complaint and that is I can not mount my 5dmiii with the additional battery grip. When installed it rubs against the swing arm which does not allow it to be mounted flush. Another thing to pay attention to is when using this to track moving subjects such as planes, birds in flight or anything which requires you to change your FOV vertically more than about 20º you will hit the mount. This can be addressed by adding a spacer to the mount but that will change your center of gravity which will effect the articulation points making it a bit awkward. There is a 3 level mount position adjustment which allows for some modification to its height but again it is at its best performance when it sits low and centered. I use an adjustable arc swiss plate that allows for enough forward adjustment to eliminate this issue but again it is no longer at its best center point for balance, control, and holding effortlessly. A great product with a few limiting aspects but if used with a stock body and you don't need large elevation in your shooting technique it works well.

Probably the most efficient well design gimbal I've ever used. Built like a tank but not very heavy. Definitely purchase the pre-designed plates for your lens size. Mounting and dismounting safe and easy.