One usual challenge on trips is, sometimes I need to use a shorter lens for landscapes when using a wimberly gimbal.
My camera has a L plate so I can mount it on a ball head / wimberly with a wide lens. On the wimberly, I have a problem. I can’t use the viewfinder or the rear LCD since the Wimberly blocks the view.
In the photo below, you can see how the wimberly gimbal blocks the viewfinder and rear LCD.
So I researched some and got this nifty adaptor. Basically this is a camera strap attachment. This is also used as part of macro setups and in “nodal rails”. But this has an “arca swiss screw clamp” as also, in a transverse (90 degree) alignment an “arca swiss rail” ( groove ). How this works is that the screw clamp, clamps on to the camera L bracket and, the rail slides into the gimbal lens groove. That solved my problem.
There is a wimberly attachment the M-8 perpendicular plate to do this same thing but, is some 8 times more expensive than the aliexpress one (USD 85 vs USD 12) !
The aliexpress clamp attachment
Attached to camera L plate as below
Problem solved after attaching the adaptor. I now have access to my viewfinder and rear LCD 🙂
For vertical orientation, for my D3 i can use it in a pinch, just that the camera needs to be shifted away from the side of the gimbal hinge. So camera is basically off axis. Should be ok for smaller lenses. And perhaps ok for smaller camera too.
Note: In vertical use, the camera is off axis and the centre line is shifted to the right to fit the camera. This is the situation for my D3 or any pro large body camera . Smaller cameras may fit closer to the centre axis.
Hi. Interesting read.
Do you know of any attachments that can fit onto an L bracket to shoot uprights using the gimbal, and a 24-70 on a D810?
Your advice works foreally a horizontal shoot, any suggestions for an upright?
Hi, I think you should be able to also shoot vertical with the same attachment.
but I need to check the clearance for the viewfinder. Alternatively , buy a longer clamp rail and push the entire camera a bit “off axis” of the gimbal