NEEWERGimbal Tripod Head Professional Heavy Duty Aluminum Alloy with Arca Type Quick Release Plate, GM101 Supports Smoother 360 Degree Panoramic Shooting for DSLR Camera Up to 30lbs/13.6kg

Excellent build quality. Movement in all directions is very smooth. Works very well with the Nikon 200 - 500mm lens. Adding a longer mounting plate (I use the Oben 5.3") helps with weight balancing longer lenses.

I enjoy watching online videos of the expert wildlife photographers who use a d500 with the 200-500mm lens, and one of the wildlife photography experts, who apparently has won awards, mentioned what a great buy the neewar gimbal was, that it was solid and had performed well for him for years, and he seemed to think the neewar gimbal was as good as the more expensive gimbals, and well made, and (this was important to me), that wildlife photographer in that video said he had not been paid for that endorsement, it was just a recommendation based on his experience with the neewar gimbal. Elsewhere in the video he noted other products he had been given products to test, so that makes his saying he wasn't paid for the neewar gimbal praise more credible (in my eyes anyway). I decided to buy one. I was torn between the older version of this gimbal, that was slightly lest expensive (and which I assume is the one that expert wildlife photographer had, based on the date of the video) and this newer slightly more expensive version. I decided to go with this newer slightly more expensive version, and so far it is really easy to work with, moves smoothly, lots of different ways to adjust to my tastes and height/angle/directional needs. I have used it every day now since its arrival with a d500 (which is not a lightweight DSLR) with teleconverter and 200-500mm Nikkor lens with grip (definitely not light weight), and even when used with that sort of bulk, it is very easy to set up, easy to adjust, easy to manipulate to my tastes in the moment. It's early days yet, but if this gimbal works this solidly and consistently a year from now, then this is truly a great buy. While this gimbal is not super light, it's light enough for my needs. That said, I'm not a rigged wildlife photography expert like the person on the video. Right now we have some new tenants (bird tenants that is!) building a nest and I use the gimbal to keep my camera pointed up at the nest 'construction site.' Would definitely be exhausting and unsteady holding the camera in just the right position WITHOUT a gimbal, and this gimbal holds the positions fine, no slippage. I definitely recommend (so far). If you shoot photos looking out your window using a tripod or tabletop tripod, this gimbal so far works great for that. Per the video I saw, it seems to have worked well for the 'real' wildlife photographer that I saw in the video, which is how I learned about this gimbal.I hope this review is helpful to you, happy photo adventures!

The media could not be loaded. ***UPDATE***Neewer customer service reached out to me based off the below review and video; I didn't reach out to them at all. They replaced my gimbal head free of charge with a prepaid shipping label. Absolutely top notch, 5-Star customer service. The gimbal is very smooth and works as advertised. It is large, stable, easy to adjust and balance your lens, and locks tight. It is a great value compared to the top brands and a great choice for a first gimbal head or if on a budget. This is a 4-Star product and a 5-Star company.This thing is heavy. I hoped it would be robust and stable, but it's not. The bottom portion that spins on the horizontal axis is not tight. If the bottom is not locked down, it wobbles horribly. I do not recommend. What's the saying, "buy nice or buy twice."

Extremely stable gimball head. Tried with a 200-400mm lens and a Canon 5D on a light weight carbon fiber tripod and a heavier Aluminum tripod.The carbon fiber tripod is lighter and the head makes it top heavy. Due to the nature of the tripod, the set up had a minor unstability.With the heavier tripod, the head is like a rock. Had a 200 - 400 mm lens on it in 40 MPH wind gusts. The whole set up vibrated a little.The head out of the package was smooth to move on all axes. Had it out in near freezing weather conditions. The movement in all axes was still smooth. Guessing the usual goo grease is not used on this one.Good value for the money. Will use it further and if anything more to add, will update.

A good cost effective gimbal. Works great with long lenses.

I have been very impressed with the build quality of this product. It’s very well made and works great! Minor adjustments seem responsive. Very smooth movements and good value for money!!

This is a high quality gimbal head, very smooth and easy to use. I love it - What a game changer for nature photography! I highly recommend it!

So I am avid animal photographer whether it be in a zoo, National Park, or the frozen wilderness of Alaska. One biggest challenges I often face is animals move and when you move your camera with them they are not always best shots. When possible I will used a monopod or tripod. But with a gimbal I can move my camera and have smooth transition without having to adjust my tripod. Hopefully not missing a great shot.So I have had a chance to field test this gimbal and here are my thoughts:PROs+ easy to use regardless of skill level+ works great even with large super telephoto lens+ big fan of the camera height adjustment which helps when your tall and your travel tripod is not tall enough+ rotations are smooth and does not cause noticeable shackingCONs-weight, don’t get me wrong if your going to be shooting from your vehicle or not hike having to hike out to your subject the it is fine. However when you are doing backcountry wildlife photography every pound matters. I wish this was maybe a pound less.OVERALLthis is a great sold product and for the price is great alternative to some of the more expensive options.