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Manfrotto 393 (Bogen 3421) tripod head is meant for big lenses. It is gimbal type of head similar to Wimberley Sidekick, which allows you to track subjects in all directions smoothly and still well balanced. It has predefined friction for horizontal movement (can be changed if needed) and then adjustable friction for vertical movement. This kind of head is ideal for tracking moving subjects like birds or other animals. Manfrotto says that this is mainly for monopods e.g. sport shooters with heavy teles but it can be used with tripods as well. Price seems to be around 150 euros currently.
Picture 1. Sigma 70-200 + 1.4x TC mounted to Manfrotto 393
Picture 2. Notice heavy duty steel used. Label on side says "Inspired by Graziano Ferrari" so you can think this as a design classic. My usage I've planned to use this one with lens shown above but also with my future tele lenses. I'm planning to get either Nikon AF-S 300/4.0 or Sigma EX 100-300/4.0 HSM lens and this head is ideal for those. I'm mainly targeting the usage for bird shooting so lets see how that will go. Below you can find my first bird shots with this head taken with Nikon 70-300 lens (click to enlarge).
Nikon 70-300 @ 300mm, 1/90s
Nikon 70-300 @ 300mm, 1/80s
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© 1994-2010 Janne Hämäläinen, All media included in these pages are owned by Janne Hämäläinen unless otherwise stated. Nikon logo used with permission of Nikon Nordic. Sigma logo used with permission of Sigma Corporation of America.