With all the chatter about the improved Continuous Auto Focus capabilities of the latest E-410/510 cameras, I thought a review of this ballhead would be timely in light of its ability to function as a gimbal head. In other words, you can set the ballhead in gimbal mode and it will allow smooth tracking, either horizontally or vertically, or both. It's great for shooting at moving objects like birds, cars, aircraft, etc. The GV2 ballhead was announced at the PMA show earlier this spring and just now became available. It's slightly modified from its V2 parent, in that it has a bushing on the stem above the ball portion of the head that fits into an enlarged groove on the clamping assembly. It also has a small pin on the ball, at the "south pole" that correspondingly fits into its own slot on the other side of the clamping assembly. Both serve to reinforce and stabilize the ball when in the horizontal mode. I spent all yesterday trying to capture backyard life forms in motion, but it was too hot for motion, so I'll just attach some photos of the ballhead itself.
Pro's:
Elegant design and execution--beautiful machine work, if you're into that.
Effective. It works as advertised, at least with the heaviest glass I could muster (150/F2 & 1.4 TC).
Lightweight. Not much, if any, heavier either the Ultimate or V2 versions.
Like the V2, it has adjustable tension, or drag, so it functions like a conventional ballhead.
The clamp itself has a screw release, which I find to be just as fast and convenient as any of my RRS lever release clamps, at a much lower cost.
Cons:
At $349.95 + shipping and taxes, it's not the bargain that the Ultimate version is.
Unconventional design. As an Oly shooter, one has to be somewhat of an iconoclast anyway, but there are those who will be put off by the unorthodox look of this excellent ballhead.
Although not exactly a bargain like my Ultimate version, it does combine the functions of a regular ballhead and a gimbal mount, like the Wimberly. If you were to buy a conventional high-quality ballhead and add a gimbal mount, you'd have to spend twice the cost of a GV2. I think this ballhead will be most appreciated by those who have to carry their gear far from their cars.
Rocky
Just read FL's thread about posting & realized that I forgot to mention that I bought this item direct from Acratech for $349.95, plus tax and shipping (total $391). I ordered this item on Monday afternoon and received it on Tuesday afternoon, even though I had selected the least expensive form of shipment-UPS standard Ground. My home is about 150 miles from Acratech, so my hat's off to the Acratech shipping department as well as UPS.
Acratech's website