Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM

Wow, I can't believe I'm posting in this thread. I remember 8 years ago, thinking I was crazy spending $800 on my first rebel. And now, I'm reflecting on how blessed I am for being able to buy one of these lenses.

Anyway, I purchased a used copy of this lens on the forum. It arrived yesterday. I unboxed it in the UPS parking lot and took it straight to a nearby lake for a test drive (a couple hours in the mid-day Sun). I'm really happy so far and look forward to the images that I will capture with it.

Here are a couple of shots of a Snowy Egret. I'm sorry, but there just weren't any ducks to be found! Hopefully, many more shots will follow in the coming days/months/years!

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Feed me!

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There's always 1 pedantic smarty:

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #18861292
Ballheads that are good for use with a Sidekick include;

- Markins M/Q20 (note, if I am not mistaken, Wimberley's own promo shot is using a Markins head in the image) Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1. Identify by the lever panning base lock. Earlier heads had a round knob, lever was an update.
- Sirui K30x or K40X
- Most heads that have a 40mm ball or larger, but don't skimp here. This will become your ONE tripod head,. AND it also needs to be beefy enough and smooth enough to work with your Sidemount Gimbal.

I've been using a Markins M20 since about 2005 with a sidekick and prefer it to my "Full Wimberley Gimbal" in most situations due to flexibility and portability.

For a second I thought you were calling me a pedantic smarty, which I would have embraced fully, but the fact that you were pointing out I was,. w,.. wr... wr.. wrong!

I too am a new owner of this lens. Barely a month of ownership.

Here are some backyard photos:

7DII + 500mm f/4L IS II on tripod and gimbal head

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House Finch Female by Eric Patdu

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Baltimore Oriole by Eric Patdu

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American Robin by Eric Patdu

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #18861292
<snip>

- Ballhead with Sidekick half gimbal: More than likely however, this new dandy set of legs can be your new best all purpose tripod. In which case you want a sturdy ball head that can handle the double duty tasks of general photography AND holding your large lens with an accessory called a Sidekick that turns your normal head into a gimbal;

https://www.amazon.com …00-Sidekick/dp/B006NS93GK

Ballheads that are good for use with a Sidekick include;

- Markins M/Q20 (note, if I am not mistaken, Wimberley's own promo shot is using a Markins head in the image)
- Sirui K30x or K40X
- Most heads that have a 40mm ball or larger, but don't skimp here. This will become your ONE tripod head,. AND it also needs to be beefy enough and smooth enough to work with your Sidemount Gimbal.

I've been using a Markins M20 since about 2005 with a sidekick and prefer it to my "Full Wimberley Gimbal" in most situations due to flexibility and portability.

Just going to say I use a sidekick on a Kirk BH-1 ball head.

Now this works great if you are stationary, but if you want to pick the rig up (even with my relatively light Tamzooka) the head tens to slip round so the sidekick is no longer vertical. Avoidance action is to lock the lens resting on the ball and carry to keep the weight there; else dismount the lens when moving location. Now the Kirk head is quite chunky (ball is well over 40mm) so I am sure this could be an issue with most heads.

So the sidekick is a purchase that I regent and wish I had opted for the full gimbal. OK it is great to quickly swap from gimbal to ball mode and the sidekick is easier to store and lighter than carrying two heads for each occasion, but operationally in the field it is a pain.

I heard this before purchase but did not fully appreciate the magnitude of the issue. If you plan to setup and stay put and tear down before moving on then it is fine.

Jake, you ever had this issue with the Markins?

Lester Wareham wrote in post #18870390
Just going to say I use a sidekick on a Kirk BH-1 ball head.

Now this works great if you are stationary, but if you want to pick the rig up (even with my relatively light Tamzooka) the head tens to slip round so the sidekick is no longer vertical. Avoidance action is to lock the lens resting on the ball and carry to keep the weight there; else dismount the lens when moving location. Now the Kirk head is quite chunky (ball is well over 40mm) so I am sure this could be an issue with most heads.

So the sidekick is a purchase that I regent and wish I had opted for the full gimbal. OK it is great to quickly swap from gimbal to ball mode and the sidekick is easier to store and lighter than carrying two heads for each occasion, but operationally in the field it is a pain.

I heard this before purchase but did not fully appreciate the magnitude of the issue. If you plan to setup and stay put and tear down before moving on then it is fine.

Jake, you ever had this issue with the Markins?

I actually got my Sidekick quite a while before I got the "Full Wimberley"
And I also regretted it, and posted about it's drawbacks on this forum a few times.
I was going to sell it when I got a full Wimberley, but before I did get the full gimbal, a fellow forum member, Snir, (aka "Blonde" ) let me try his sidekick Markins M20 set up.

The problem, it turned out, had always been the ballheads I was trying to use the sidekick with.

Lester, I would argue (having not use the BH1) that you may be having the same problem, which is why I am picky about what heads I will actually recommend for use with the Sidekick. I have NEVER had an issue with the Sidekick in the field when it is on the Markins, and as you know, that includes abut 10 years with the 9 pound 500mm IS version 1.
Now that aid, the BH1 certainly looks like it should be capable, but I just don't know.

Are there times when the "Full Wimberley" is superior? Oh yes, but now that I have both, i find I use the full gimbal only about 24% of the time. Traveling it simply never comes with me.

I have had my 500 f/4 II mounted on a Sidekick with a Sirui K40x for just over 3 years and have NEVER had a problem with it slipping. That ballhead is heavy but very smooth and stable. I've never used any other gimbal so I can't compare anything else with the Sidekick.

I also have the same setup - Sidekick with the Sirui K40X and it has worked well. I will, at some point, get a full gimbal setup, but I think the Sidekick is a good option as well, especially for travel.

"Metamorphosis: A Dragonfly Becomes An Adult"

#macro@700mm

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Visitors in my garden

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Went birding yesterday at Legg Lake in South El Monte, CA, and spotted this common gallinule which was a lifer for me.

7D2 + 500/4 II.

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Blue darter, photographed at Legg Lake, South El Monte, CA on 7/3/19.

7D2 + 500/4 II. The 500mm does insects pretty well, I must say!

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Sometimes, you want to do the slicked-back look....

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