Fotopro WH-30: has been with me for a year now and everything has been fantastic.
I have had the privilege to use the Fotopro WH-30 Gimbal Tripod Head for a year now and I have nothing to say except it is a superb gimbal unit to be had as a wildlife photographer. Mounted on my Fotopro TS-85c professional carbon fiber tripod is a great match and the stability they both provide is just perfectly enough for me to take fantastic captures in low light conditions and shots required distance and neck-breaking shooting angles in the wild. I have taken this gimbal to the mountains, rivers, streams, and ocean; exposed it to long heavy rain, river and stream flowing water, salt water, sand, and mud, the gimbal worked just perfectly well. Of course the materials used to build the gimbal can always get broken just like anything, so wear and tear is another issue.
So far, during the whole year of using it, mechanical issues in the wild were learning experiences and they were sorted out just right and i was able to continue with my shooting activities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Fotopro WH-30
Material: High grade aluminium
Lock Hole: UNC 3/8″
Length: 245mm
Width: 85mm
Height: 220mm
Weight: 1.35kg
Max. Load Capacity: 25kg
PACKAGE CONTENTS
Gimbal Head Parts
FEATURES
The heavy duty WH-30 head is specifically designed to support a large telephoto lens. The lens can be adjusted easily. In addition, the WH-30 Gimbal Head will be more stable and quicker to operate than a traditional ball head. The strong bracket provides support for your photography equipment.
Weight Release Knob and Rotation Knob: big enough to fill one’s hand to turn precisely.
Like most gimbal tripod heads, they are coloured black. What I like about this gimbal is that its knobs and quick release levers are coloured gold and that gives me the visual advantage in finding them quickly as the colours reveal them especially in the hide which is dark and during the late afternoons. Well, it is also a beautiful design. Some of my friends protested on the gold colour, they prefer to have everything black. All my adventure equipment are chosen with specific colours in order for me to easily spot them when I am packing and unloading in the wild which when you just drop something on the ground it immediately disappears because of grass, dead leaves, and other things that can camouflage it.
Back side facing the photographer, knobs and levers well exposed.
Adjusting height, panning, moving up and down, can be easy; there is a knob to control the movement so that the weight does not over power the gimbal making the camera and lens fall to eight back or front side. Turn to the left and right, 360 degrees, the locking know tightens perfectly and allows a smooth rotation. The mounting rack and plate can be adjusted to move up and down using a quick release lever to dad more height when shooting high up.
Mounting Rack Side: the golden knob locks the plate in place and unlocking can be easy as the mechanism is spring-loaded for it to loosen quickly.
Over all, the Fotopro WH-30 has been a great gimbal to have in my wildlife photography; taken to the most difficult terrains and exposure to any element, the gimbal worked like a buffalo, it was part of such Joys of Birding. But like any buffalo it needs maintenance, a little bit of oiling and some grease can make some parts function properly again and when there is over tightening, work it out with a penetrating oil. Sometimes washers wear out, so they must be replaced.
Thank you Fotopro and Infinity Plus for having me and for continually supporting my wildlife adventures. To have and know more about the product please contact me on my Facebook page Joys of Birding.
