Manfrotto 393 Heavy Telephoto Lens Support For Monopod, Niche market

More suited to a sturdy tripod than a monopod – great item as you would expect from manfrotto and easy to use.

It supports heavy lenses very well and once positioned correctly to the balance point it is highly flexible. The one drawback is the lack of portability of the setup. The need to detach lens from the tripod head is a little annoying as you have to find the balance point again which can be time consuming. I have seen it used in the back of jeep and it looks to me that this is the best way to use the product.

This is an extremely well made robust support and extremely good value for money. I am using it with a nikon 400mm f2. 8 a very heavy beast and it does the job admirably.

There are many types of gimble of different makes used to support large, heavy, lenses. This one is just called a lens support and is a lot cheaper than the others (unusual for manfrotto products). It may be cheaper but it is well made, robust and does the job. Several other photographers have looked at this item when i have been out in the field and they have been very impressed with it. I have found it to be very good value for money compared to the other makes. I have used it on both my monopod and a tripod. It is easy to carry and the lens adapter slides in with ease and is secured by a small button. The whole thing operates as smooth as silk and i would not consider using my very long lens now without it. This is an outstandingly good product.

This is a great support , robust and easy to handle , can carry any monster lense up to 500 mm , good velue for the money.

Although it’s rather heavy, this is a sturdy, safe piece of kit and much cheaper than some of the alternatives.

I purchased this as i could not justify the cost of some of the other gimbal heads. It works very well, is great value and is very well made. I have used it with a monopod and tripod and it works well on both. It may not be as well refined as some others however it does the same job for much less outlay. Best to use it with the support at the bottom and not as pictured.

Key specs for Manfrotto 393 Heavy Telephoto Lens Support For Monopod:

• Make sure this fits
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• Friction base which enables the bracket to pan on Monopod
• Also can be used on a tripod
• Two rubber hand grips plus rubber protection prevents damage to lens when tilted maximum
• Variable centre height adjustment in three steps.

Comments from buyers

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Excellent for use with a heavy lens and excellent for wildlife photography.

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Good, but could be better.

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Saw this on someones set up and loved the look of it

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I ordered this lens support after much research and review scanning, as i needed a gimble or something that was portable, easy to use and sturdy for field work chasing birds and wildlife as i am lucky enough to have a couple of very heavy fixed aperture lenses. Initially the reviews i had read on this product put me off as the item seemed very heavy and cumbersome however eventually i took the plunge and ordered from amazon. The issues listed in the reviews have not proved to be the case in my experience, yes it is another piece of kit to lug around, but if you like me are always chasing that perfect 100% in focus shot of birds and wildlife that are so difficult to get, even with vibration reduction and af tracking then this is the piece of equipment you need. This coupled with a nikon d800, 300mm f2. 7x convertor makes the package complete and will guarantee you absolute perfect shots, it also provides wide versatile manoeuvrability even when tracking moving subjects. The sacrifice to weight is something you will need to just live with, i am not the youngest and fittest of people and don’t find in too onerous. The results i have achieved using the support are clean, sharp and 100% in focus and as a result i couldn’t recommend it more highly. Best used on a lightweight tripod and mounted with the camera opposite to as shown in advert.

Like many other reviewers, i’m mystified as to why manfrotto market this as a monopod head, or why the marketing picture suggests that a lens should be hung from this head; the bottom line is that with the lens mounted on a tripod in the standard manner – i’m using the weighty nikon 600mm f/4 lens – this kit is superb. It’s very well made and is perfect for my job which is photographing wildlife and cricket.

Easy to use, strong and stable. Just back from the photography show at the nec and this was the being used by all the stands for heavy lenses.

I have found this piece of equipment to be very solid and well made, which makes it heavy and does take up a lot of space when packed for a shoot. I also find that the locking lever for the plate is very close to the body, and can be a little bit tricky to undo. I can put up with these minor issues, as it holds my lenses really steady. The biggest lens i have used is the sigma 150-500mm with a 2 x converter. I would recommend this for someone who does not have a big budget for the more expensive gear.

Solves a lot of problems with my long lenses.

Bought this after going for a 600mm canon prime lens. Only when you get one of these lenses onto your usual tripod do you realise just how bad a design a monoball is with this amount of weight. Once you mount the lens and camera on this head it feels as light as a feather. I like the feature of the safety lock so when you undo the locking cam the lens and camera cannot go earth bound at a tremedious and worrying speed. I have no hesitation at reccomending this product and look forward to producting some stunning work.

Supersonic delivery well inside forecast. Works better than advertised and is a very economical alternative to more well known ‘gimballing’ camera mounts. Recommend both the kit and the supplier to anyone. Get this kit now, it’s exactly what you need.Have a look at some web sites at alternative modes of use i. E with both brackets in the lower configuration. Using it the way it is usually pictured is silly.

I wanted a product so i could be more manouverable with my big lenses eg:400-500 lenses. So being an amateur photographer and a pensioner. Price was a relevant factor. My friends have commented how more sharper my pictures are. I can even track flying wildlife getting sharp shots. I use a tripod and monopod with this item no problem with both.

Bought on the recommendation from a friend – i was using a ball head on my tripod which resulted in a couple of near catastrophes. The head arrived promptly and was very easily assembled. On my first trials i’ve been very impressed with how it safely holds my big lens camera in whatever position i set it to, yet it’s always ready to grab and move in to position with no need to un-lock or un-tension handles etc.

Works brilliantly perfect for what i wanted and so easy to fit and use i use mine on a tripod for wildlife.

Very good for panning on my tripod.

Really pleased with this product. Adjustability means that i can balance equipment to provide stable platform whilst allowing quick movement to track wildlife. Note: i use it in the u shape configuration, not that frequently shown (with equipment suspended) mounted on a tripod. Could benefit from some type of increasing friction at extreems of elevation with really heavy lens. Great value for money (particularly compared to alternatives).

Very robust support for a recent telephoto lens i had purchased (which weighed in at 3 kg) at a reasonable price. Have used it twice with my monopod and very happy with its general mobility in use as well as a secure support. Only complaint is the rubber protection ring around the gearhead that fixes the unit to your monopod, and is there to protect your camera/lens/scope from damage when in a more vertical position – this works loose so easily when carrying the whole thing around in the field that after two trips it has already gone missing. Having looked in general for manfrotto spares to replace it, i have only found it sold in conjunction with the metal gear head (which i don’t need) at a cost of over £30. If the seller can come up with a replacement i would be happy to pay for one at a reasonable price for the part.

Was about to push the boat out and buy a side kick when i stumbled on this. For some reason amazon and manfrotto call it a monopod head – i am sure it could be used for that, but is great on a tripod. I have an old nikon 500mm f4. 5 mf lens so find it much easier to use upside down. If you handle one – ‘upside down’ will be obvious, instead of hanging the lens from the mount as it shows in the photo, you put the mount underneath. The gimbal works exactly the same, but you can focus the lens without trying to avoid the head. Only downside is it is cumbersome to carry about as the tripod has a heavy 8′ wide top, but to be honest if you are carrying a 500 or 600mm lens you are hardly likely to be jogging along. Off to find a shopping trolley to lug this and the 500mm around in. Any advice gratefully accepted?.

I bought this to fit on to manfrotto 190cxpro3 tripod, for use with my nikon d810 and nikkor 80-400mm lens. The 80-400 is my largest lens and will be the only one that requires the use of this support. The 393, i suspect, is built with much larger lenses in mind. I will mainly be using it for wildlife photography from bird hides. First impressions are that it is well made and sturdy. It is not as heavy as i thought it might be, but of course it is fairly bulky. I have used it once, up to now, and it seems to do the job well. I prefer to use it un the ‘u’ configuration, as that seems more stable to me; unfortunately, i cannot use it in this configuration with my mb-d12 battery pack attached to the camera. The battery pack limits the movement of the footplate, meaning it cannot be balanced in the ‘u’ configuration. Although this is an annoyance, its not a showstopper.

The advertising picture is deceptive, suggesting the lens is hung upside down – it certainly doesn’t need to be. However this is a fabulous, easy to use piece of kit. Using it with a monopod it makes manoeuvring a six kilo 600mm lens so easy – not quite a flick of the pinkie but no effort required to tilt or rotate. It’s one of the best bits of kit i’ve ever used.

I was a bit dubious about buying this odd-looking device, but when i looked at the price of a wimberley tripod head, i realised that i couldn’t justify spending that much on a camera support. And i’m glad i chose this one instead. It moves very smoothly, it balances my incredibly heavy camera and lens perfectly, and it’s rock solid. I’ve shot at 400mm at 1/8th of a second in windy conditions and still got pin-sharp images. I have no idea why manfrotto market it as a monopod support – mine is mounted on a tripod – as it’s a bit big to sit comfortably on my monopod. But i haven’t tried using it that way, so maybe it’d work ok. One word of warning though – this thing weighs a ton. Be prepared for a good workout if you use it to stalk animals through the woods.

Having tried the opteka gh2 gimbal head and unfortunately had to send it back as it jammed up, i decided to take time and look at the lensmaster gimbal and also the manfrotto 393 head. I decided to opt for the manfrotto 393 after reading the many good reviews on the product, the lensmaster looks good and i have no doubt performs well , but being a user of other manfrotto tripods, monopods and heads, i decided to opt for known quality. As i only plan on using this type of head occasionally, such as at rspb bempton or other locations where i am trying to capture birds in flight, i did not want to spend a fortune on a gimbal head – i think this is a real bargainadmittedly, it is not the most elegant of gimbal style heads but it is no heavier than others and performs really well. It is extremely well built, well engineered and does the job. I use mine on a cxv3 carbon tripod and certainly don’t use it in the way the photograph shows , rather with the lens in the cradle not suspended as shown. Setting the friction is quick and simple using the two wheels on the side of the cradle, takes seconds. The head comes with a solid plate with two screws for each of 1/4 and 3/8 inch screw threads so will adapt to any lens / scope combination. It does require a tripod with a 3/8 inch screw to fit onto unless you purchase an adaptor ( elsewhere on amazon)i currently use mine with a either a leica scope or a canon 50d/100-400 l series with extenders but it would certainly take the weight of some of the much heavier prime lenses out there ( i am saving up for one. )overall – highly recommended and one that will last for ages.

Does the job,but heavy and adjustment is awkward and a bit clumsy,.

Very solid and accurate product, easy to use, etc.

Saw this on someones set up and loved the look of it, description is misleading about the sliding mounting plate as to whether or not it is included, i was told by other users it wasn’t, i opened the box and it was, i had however bought another but its fine because once set up you don’t want to detach it all, now i have both cameras ready to slide into the bracket. This product is a god send but you must have a good heavy duty tripod to get the best results. I do a lot of moon shooting and bird of prey shooting and i am sure my photos will benefit from the use of this product. Do not hesitate to buy, you will not be disappointed.

Sent back bearing failed within 2 weeks. Lesson learnt seen this manfrotto on utube. . Not cheap but a lot cheaper than many others.

Bought for use with a nikon d90 and a sigma 150 – 500 zoom. This combination weighs a ton – i can hand hold it for a while but i have been rather unhappy with the quality of the resulting pics. The 393 does exactly what it is claimed to do. Once i had set the system up so that the body / lens combo was balanced it was possible to align the camera on a sitting bird with almost no effort at all. I was able to let go of the camera and have it remain pointing exactly where i had left it – just as the other reviewers have said. The only down side was that the mount requires a screw larger than that on my existing tripod which meant that i had to wait until i could get an adaptor before i could use the 393.

It says monopod head but i would think it would be too heavy for a mono pod however it is great on a tripod. Very smooth action in any direction. Big and heavy but good value for the price.

It is heavy and a little cumbersome to carry,so walking long distances with it for me is out of the question. 8 well and allows panning as well as vertical manouvering as i stated it does what is says i am happy with it so far.

Like many others who photograph wildlife, i sometimes found that moving animals and birds had moved too much when i was composing my shot and before i could press the trigger. This was especially so for birds which could be unpredictable either when feeding or in flight. Researching gimbal heads i was concerned that i didn’t want to spend too much as it wouldn’t be on my tripod all the time but i did want something which would be fit for purpose. There are various helpful videos of this gimbal head on youtube and they helped me make the plunge. This head is bulky and heavy but i have trekked quite a way with it on my tripod and didn’t feel it was too bad, but then i am one of those photographers who likes to carry every lens etc ‘just in case’ and ends up using just one or two. Excellent for use in bird hides etc, i was delighted with this purchase. My tripod (a velbon) has a removable centre column so i have found it easier for me to buy a second column (£20) and leave my pan head attached to one and this gimbal head attached to the other which suits me perfectly and makes things much quicker to adjust, depending on what i am photographing. This gimabl head, being a manfrotto, is very well built, easy to adjust and gives me so much more scope with my wildlife shots than i had before. I’ve also found it useful when photographing the moon as, when using a long lens (i use a tamron 150-600 on a full frame body nikon d810) the moon moves in the frame surprisingly quickly and the gimbal head has made tracking it much easier and more stable. One point of note is that you do need a sturdy tripod as this is a heavy piece of equipment.

Easy to use on a monopod, gives you that little more flexibility in a steady movement when panning for a shot.

This is a basic unit built to manfrotto’s robust standards. It supports the camera and lens at the point of balance well, and is easily adjusted. This is not a head for a light tripod and consideration has to be given to the total weight when combined with a camera and associated gear. I rate the 393 as good value and adequate for my needs.

Fabulous well made head it is more for a tripod head than monopod i would say as it is solid and quit heavy. But if you order this do not buy the plate as amazon reccomends its not needed as manfrotto supplys it with the head. Exellent head for the money.

Very pleased with my purchase, they were competitively priced and arrived on time and well packaged so very pleased with it.

Next (and expensive) step up is the wimberley. This piece of kit makes operation of a 4kg lens easy, just follow the instructions and you will have a well-balanced set up. May be useful to buy extra mounting plates, amazon put these as options in the ‘frequently bought.

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Niche market

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