📸 Elevate Your Photography Game!
The Movo GH700 Professional Gimbal DSLR Tripod Head is designed for outdoor bird and wildlife photography, featuring fluid panning and tilting capabilities, a robust aluminum construction that supports up to 30 lbs, and an adjustable Arca-Swiss quick-release plate for versatile camera setups. With a lightweight design and a 1-year warranty, it's the perfect tool for both amateur and professional photographers.
P**O
Good gimbal but Arca Swiss Plate screw does not clamp
The MOVO GH700 Gimbal Head is very good for the price. I have just received the item and hence I am not able to post an in-depth field review yet. But initial observations are quite good. I shall list the Pros and Cons here.Pros:- Build Quality. This is reasonably good. It appears sturdy and should be able to handle a very large/heavy lens. It can't compare to the Wemberley's, the Jobu's, the RRS', the Promedia Kintana's, etc., but this is not a slouch either.- Price: At $99.95, I am very happy. There are others which are 3 to 7 times as costly. One can't complain.- Long Arca Swiss Compatible Plate. I was using my friends Beike BK45 gimbal. The Arca Swiss compatible plate is in BK45 is barely the length of the Arca mount itself. This leaves very little room for manoeuvring the lens to balance. The GH700 plate is about 4.5" long and quite sufficient to adjust any lens.Cons:- No bearings: It is obvious that the gimbal does not have bearings inside that make super fluidic movement possible (pan and tilt) but at this price one can't complain. Even without the bearings, the motion is smooth. In fact, to some the super smooth pan (horizontal) rotation may be too irksome; some resistance is useful.Real Bad:- The screw length of the Arca Swiss plate holder is too long. IT DOES NOT HOLD AND TIGHTEN THE PLATE AT ALL. This renders the Gimbal completely useless. To fix the issue, one needs to hack off about 1/2 to 3/4 cm (0.2 to 0.3 inches) of the screw. Only then the bolt will be able to clamp the Arca Swiss plate properly and tightly. MOVO should be aware of this. The pictures below should explain. For this defect, I am docking off two points.Edit (06-Jun-2018):After posting the review, I was immediately contacted by Movo Support. How nice and proactive from them! They wanted to understand the problem and I explained to them how the Quick Release Knob screw was too long. They offered to send a new knob but I said that I would solve the problem myself. My initial thought was to hack off the excess screw length. But then I solved the problem by having a slightly oversized nut and couple of washers to fill the gap. Now the knob tightens the Arca plate nicely. I am attaching a couple of pics (last 2) on the solution that I implemented.MOVO offered a small refund for the trouble and I am very grateful. I will say that their service department is excellent and they really care about their reputation. I am adding two more stars because "I love it"!
M**G
AWESOME Gimbal!
One words sums up my thoughts on the Movo GH700 Gimbal; AWESOME! The quality and workmanship is excellent, and with my Nikon D810 w/ power grip and Nikon 80-400mm lens attached, it moves as smooth as silk. This setup is primarily used for wildlife (mostly birds and deer) and flower photography, and stability is critical. Tracking BIF (Birds In Flight) is effortless, with none of the stiffness or gritty feel I've felt from other gimbals.Getting this rig balanced on the GH700 was simple and reasonably quick; I dialed it in on my second adjustment attempt, and I made alignment marks on both the mounting plate that attaches to the tripod foot on the lens, and another mark on the baseplate the lens mounts to, to speed up remounting from one day to the next. The lens stays right where I put it, and most of the time I don't need to tighten either knob or lock it in place, unless it's windy.I could have purchased the carbon-fiber version of this gimbal, but I wanted the extra weight for stability. My tripod has carbon-fiber legs and center post, and is light enough as it is. The carbon-fiber version of this gimbal (the GH800), I don't believe, would have provided the added weight I wanted, and believe me, this setup is ROCK SOLID! I also use a wireless shutter release, just to make sure that pressing the shutter does NOT induce any additional vibration or movement. Unless I inadvertently bump one of the tripod legs with my foot or knee, pictures come out tack sharp.In case anyone is wondering what that 'thing' is between the tripod and the GH700, it's the rayfoto LP-68 Leveler, w/ three bubble levels. As I'm sure you can imagine, with the camera and lens mounted to the gimbal, adjusting the legs on the tripod could be a death (to the camera and lens) defying balancing act. One slip and CRUNCH! The leveler removes that risk and works like a champ.Lastly, the price of the GH700 is EXTREMELY low, given the quality and smooth, precise functionality this gimbal provides. I would have gladly paid twice the cost, but luckily, I didn't need to. THANKS, Movo! You guys ROCK!
