Photography News Issue 42

Photography News | Issue 42 | absolutephoto.com

83 First tests

Nest NT-520HMkII gimbal £300 Starting out in photography, most of us invest an affordable tripod which will probably come packaged with a ball-head, or maybe a three-way version. And that’s fine for most purposes, especially when you’re getting started. ‘But hey, what’s the head that guy over there’s using? It looks weird, but he seems really happy with his pictures...’. That, my friend, is a specialist tripod head; one of those things in life that just make your job a little bit easier. stop the plate sliding out by accident. From here, it was easy to find the lens’s centre of gravity through a bit of trial and error. You just slacken the tilt control until the friction drops enough for the camera and lens to start tilting on their own. A slight readjustment, sliding the plate forward or back sets things right and once you’ve done it a few times, setting up takes no time at all.

Specs

Price

£300 In the box

Nest NT-520H MkII head, padded transport case, quick release plate. Type Gimbal Quick-release plate Yes, Arca Swiss Construction Carbon fibre Max load 25kg Base Diameter 65mm Mount 3/8in Height 240mm Weight 1.336kg Contact nest-style.com

There’s also a vertical camera position control, wherein you flip a lever, raise the camera to the desired level and lock again. You can raise it through about 8cm, so it’s helpful for fine adjustment, and there’s a scale accompanying it. While the process isn’t all that scientific the scale does allow you to remember where you set a particular lens for the best stability or freeness of turn. After balancing, you release the 360º pan control and you’re ready to get shooting. Both the pan and tilt lock are large and easy to turn; although they seem to use the same rubber material as the plate locking knob, their greater size gives them much more grip. Each can be fully locked, but there’s no indication of when this is the case, so unless you can feel that the knob won’t turn any more you don’t know for sure; a couple of aligned dots, or a scale might help here, but really you just need to remember to check before mounting your lens to avoid any unexpected movement. There’s no bubble level in the head, which is an omission if youwant to set up on the level for panning, but most legs come with them now, or you can buy one to slip into the camera hot- shoe; so it’s not the end of the world. In use, the precision bearings in the pan and tilt mechanisms give a lovely smooth turn, with just the right amount of tolerance to keep long-lens movement under control. As mentioned previously, the tension can be tweaked but it seemed fine at the minimum to me. I also tried mounting a 70-200mm f/2.8 and here the rate of turn felt a bit sluggish, so it’s definitely suited to longer lenses. In terms of strength, the 10x carbon fibre really does its job and will support big loads. The maximum

After all, you can’t expect one design to do everything perfectly; you don’t wear the same pair of shoes bowling and then to walk up a mountain. And it’s the same with tripod heads. So, while you’ll find specialist panoramic heads for shooting and stitching stunning vistas or geared heads that make tiny adjustments in macro photography a lot easier, what we have in the Nest NT-520H MkII is a gimbal head, which is designed for shooting with long lenses. The NT-520H MkII then is aimed at sports, wildlife, and action photographers, and really anyone who’s shooting with large heavy glass, or using spotting scopes. The trick is how it helps you balance the lens’s centre of gravity on the gimbal arm so it can sit there unlocked but ready to go. But in use it’s almost weightless when panning, tilting or following a moving subject. To do this, you first fit the included Arca Swiss compatible quick-release plate to your lens’s tripod bracket. There are two 1/4in connectors to do it, and, at around 15cm long you have some flexibility in placing it. Screwing in both of these to the mount on a Sigma 500mm f/4 Sport (also reviewed this issue), gave a very secure fit, and the D-rings on the connector helped, too; they’re large and smooth enough to be comfortable in use, and there’s a groove (albeit thin) if you want to tighten further. The plate then slides into its groove and is tightened by a decent- sized locking knob. The only problem here is the lack of texture on the lock making it feel a bit slippery. As you’d expect, there’s also a locking pin to

In use, the precision bearings in the pan and tilt mechanisms give a lovely smooth turn

is 25kg, and it was completely untroubled by the combined 4.3kg of the D810 and Sigma 500mm f/4 Sport I used. What’s more, there was no discernible creep in mechanism when locked, so the camera could be held completely still at any angle. The metal section, which holds the plate got a bit scratched during testing, so that part will inevitably abrade, but it’s just cosmetic and shouldn’t affect the workings. Overall the NT-520HMkII had a high-quality, well engineered finish. It felt tight. Comparing shots with and without using the NT-520HMkII, the increase in sharpness was obvious, especially with the 500mm’s Optical Stabilizer turned off. What it also saves is a crick in your neck at the end of a day’s shooting, from lifting the whole weight of such a large lens. I’ll definitely be taking it on the airshow circuit this year. You’ll need a heavy duty tripod to support the weight of the head, and mounted lens, of course, but NT-520H MkII itself was quite light, and easy to transport at 1.336kg. It also comes with a padded case that can be worn on the shoulder. And in terms of price and specification it compares quite favourably with other models. KS

Top When the camera/lens combination is correctly set-up, it’ll stay balanced yet ready to swing into action at any time for smooth follow-the-subject shots. Above and below Build quality of this Nest gimbal is first class, and it looks great too.

Verdict

Gimbals are vital tools for long lens work, and once you use one you won’t want to go back. The NT- 520H MkII is a great example. It’s affordable, easy to use and gives superb results. Pros Affordable, great handling and definite improvement in long- lens pictures Cons Slight handling issues, nothing major