I tried to use this mount for long focal length digiscoping - 1000mm up. It is too limber for this application. It is fairly usable for shorter focal lengths, say up to 500mm, but at 3 pounds it's pretty heavy and bulky. According to the box this mount is intended for studio lighting.For those looking for a spotting scope mount I'd say don't get it unless you are only using low magnifications, and don't mind lugging it around. There are plenty of tripod heads that are about as stable and are much lighter. And I'd say it's not at all good for carrying a larger scope for astronomical viewing.I'm not aware of a good commercial solution to the tripod head need. Everything is just too wobbly, too heavy, and not stiff enough. Because of this commercial gap I took some time and made a very mechanically efficient head you can see in the pics. It is compact and weighs 20 oz. Based on my measuring it is10X stiffer than the 393. It's extremely smooth and I can precisely point my Kowa 883 with it at 60X. Can you buy such? I don't think so.

Sturdy and well built head and very good for wildlife photography. No regrets excellent product and great value for money.

Très bon pour les objectifs de grande dimension...j,adore !!!

used for wildlife photography

I purchased this to mount a *very* large Pentax67 800mm ED IF lens, after having tried a variety of other options (all of which turned out to be more expensive, and less effective). This is a monstrously long and heavy lens, and this Manfrotto Heavy Telephoto Lens support has been the only mounting solution that has been up to the task of balancing and stabilizing it (mounting it on a big/heavy Gitzo Tripod). Can't recommend it enough if you need to mount big glass on a gimbal. My only gripe is that the lens security features (locking the mouting plate into the gimbal) could be somewhat more solid, but they are totally adequate and acceptable: once the lens is locked down it is not going anywhere. If you are shooging a DSLR with one of the recent Sigma/Tamraron 600mm lenses, this thing is probably overkill and you can get away with something smaller. Note that it does not use a standard ARCA-SWISS mount, but rather a larger mounting plate. For an appropriately large lens, that seems like a good thing, as the ARCA-SWISS standard does seem a bit narrow for supporting truly heavy glass.No complaints, it outperforms everything else I've tried for way less scratch. Don't hesitate to use it.

i got what i want, its really good.

I am using this gimbal head with a Canon 70D, Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L, and Canon Extender 1.4x for wildlife and bird photography. That's a heavy load, and this gimbal head, atop a Manfrotto 190 set of sticks, handles the rig very well. It's stable, easy to use, and once you balance your rig it stays were you put it. You do need the Manfrotto 357PLV connector plate to make this work, and one is provided. Buy extra plates if you have more than one lens and you'll be set. One very good touch here, and one that I haven't seen on the Arca-Swiss style mounts, is the safety pin in the receiver -- once you've mounted the camera and plate to the receiver, you have to push the pin in as well as un-do the latch. That makes it much less likely that your rig will slip off the receiver.The U-shape bracket is different from the L-shape of a Wimberley or Benro gimbal head, and it initially took me some getting used to. The issue is that the left arm of the U will interfere with your hand as you reach up to adjust focus (or a zoom ring if you use a super-tele zoom). I've gotten used it and 'trained' my hand, but you might find it annoying. The dual locks, one on each side of the U, will keep the head exactly where you put it, no problem. Panning isn't hard -- the swivel at the base turns easily enough for me, and with an allen wrench you can adjust that.The head is very sturdy -- and heavy! Carrying the sticks, head and your rig into the bush is challenging.Overall I'm pleased and recommend this as an inexpensive alternative to the J-style gimbal heads for an advanced/intermediate amateur.

Heavy and solid and can take any lens. I used it with Nikon 200-500, I also saw my friend using this with heavy Nikon 600 F4 lens. This is not a true gimbal, The Y movement is controlled by friction and hence it hard to be keep lens in an tilted angel. Need some muscle to do this. The same on a gimbal head is fluid. I was worried about Chinese branded gimbal quality and hence settled for this Manfrrotto. True to my expectation the quality was good.

I tried the Full Wimberly Gimbal, and knew I had to have one, then I read a review for this Gimbal head. Based on that review and price point I decided to give this Gimbal head a try. Even though it is heavier then the Wimberly, it does the same job and for much much less money. I have used it for bird photography on the back waters of the Mississippi, and it has met and surpassed all of my expectations. It swings so smoothly, and is a pleasure to finally get good, sharp, keeper captures. I have an older....20years old...tri pod and this head fit right on with no problems. It is heavy on the tripod, but I think that this extra weight stabilizes the platform, and enhances the performance of my camera system. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for that extra edge in capturing sharp, clear, wall hanger images. It is extremely easy to use, and really has no learning curve to over come. Other owners of this Gimbal head complain that the rubber control knob in the center of the bracket is easy to lose, but I have not experienced this as of this writing. I sincerely recommend this to all serious hobbyists and aspiring professional photographers. It will make all your other tripod heads gather dust on your equipment shelf...mine are.