In this video, the host conducts a hands‑on review of three camera gimbal heads—Wimberley, Leofoto, and ProMedia Gear (Katana). The gimbals are first placed in a freezer to simulate extreme Arctic temperatures, then examined for smoothness, stiffness, and overall functionality. The host compares specifications such as price, weight, and payload capacity, and evaluates safety‑related design features like locking nuts and accessory brackets. Build quality, finish durability, and spin performance are assessed both cold and at room temperature. Real‑world testing follows, with each gimbal balanced using heavy camera rigs (Canon R3, Canon 600, Sony A1, etc.) to gauge handling under load. The conclusion recommends the ProMedia Gear as the best overall value, citing its smooth operation, safety mechanisms, lighter weight, and US manufacturing, while noting the Leofoto’s stiffness in the cold and the Wimberley’s safety concerns. The video ends with typical channel promotion and a call to action for viewers.
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Hello and welcome to another episode of Jeff and Angie Photography WTF Stop. So today I'm going to run a review on 3 gimbal heads: the Wimberley, the Leefoto, and the Promedia Gear gimbals. Right now I have all 3 of them in my freezer trying to get them down to extreme Arctic cold. So stay tuned and you will find out how they perform. Alright, so before we get started, I just want to remind you about the Build Expo that B&H is putting on for their 50th anniversary in New York. If you're gonna be there, send me a message. I'd love to meet up with you. Oh yeah, and don't forget to subscribe to our channel. With a monthly membership of $1.99, you can have access to everything photo chat room, early access to all videos, member shoutouts, and priority reply to your comments. So don't forget. Subscribe now. All right, so here we have the Wimberley, the Lefoto, and the Promedia Gear. And while they're brewing in the freezer, we'll talk a little bit about their specs. We've got the Wimberley that comes in at $595, weighing in at 3.15 pounds. Lefoto coming in at $498, And weighing in at 2.2 pounds. ProMedia Gear Katana is at $650 and weighs in at 2.4 pounds. All right, let's go grab these one by one out of the freezer and see how well they perform. All right, so here are all 3 of the gimbals packed in the ice chest with ice. So we can see how they performed. All right, so here we go. I got gloves so I don't get frostbite down here in South Texas because these gimbals are pretty cold. All right, number one out of the box is the Wimberley. Go ahead and Put it on the tripod here. Loosen it up. Still pretty smooth. Loosen this up. Oh yeah, Wimberley does well. So there's the Wimberley. Still got a little frost on it. Alright. Leofoto is next. It's a little frosty too. These gimbals don't go from sub-zero temperatures to So, here's the leaf photo loosened up. It's a little stiff coming out of the freezer. Let's check this one, loosen it up. Yeah, it's a little stiff. A little sticky. Oh, that unscrewed it. Yeah, it's definitely stiff coming out of the freezer. All right, now for the ProMedia gear. Put this one on. Tighten it up so I can get it tight. Loosen it up. Spins like a champ. Flows like a champ. So there's all 3 of the gimbals out of the freezer. The Wimberley, And the Promedia gear did well. The LeFoto was a little sticky, but it's still usable. Alright, so next we're gonna go over safety features. So on the Wimberley, you loosen this nut and you slide it up and down to adjust it. But if you're out and you're carrying this over your shoulder And you bump this and it's loose, it flies right off, camera gear and all. So that is one of the things I don't like about this one. And it also does not have anywhere to attach any type of flash accessories, GoPro, anything like that. This one has the same type of safety issue, but this nut is either tight or loose, and off it goes. And it— there's not much from tight to loose. There's tight, there's loose. So yeah, that one is definitely no. This one you have to actually bump it a couple times There's tight, and there's loose. About half a turn on that one. This one is not even a quarter turn, an eighth turn. Whoop. Get it back on there. Tighten it up. All right, ProMedia Gear has solved this problem. With 2 little nuts right here. It does not come off. Lee Photo does not have a spot for the nuts, and Wimberley does not either. So that is my 2 least favorite things about these 2 gimbals. Another thing I don't particularly like about this gimbal is that when this nut is loose, you can actually see, you can actually get stuff inside there. Grit, grime, dirt, what have you. These are not that way. Neither one of them. When it's loose, it's in place. When this one's loose, it does not come in or out. So let's do a couple close-ups and I'll show you exactly what I meant. All right, so here is the Wimberley. See, there's nowhere there for the nuts or some kind of mechanism to hold it on. And then this, when it is loose, see that space between there? Right there? That's a good spot to have grit and grime get in there. And Leafoto, they don't have the spot for the screws or safety mechanism. And here is the Allen wrenches that I was, or Allen nuts that I was referring to earlier for the safety. See, when it goes up, it stops. Keeps your gear on your Gimbal head. Another good thing on the Wimberley that's comparable to the ProMedia Gear is that they have a good finish on their gimbals. It holds up well to wear and tear, whereas the Lee Photo is like a hot-dipped, and you can see That over what little use this gimbal has had, it's taken a beating. And my Katana Junior, this gimbal is probably six years old, maybe older, and it's anodized, and it is in really good shape. It's It's got one little nick right there, one right there, and then of course here where the cameras go in and out. But for being as old as it is, it's definitely held up well. All right, so now we're gonna give them the, the spin test. Oh, let me hold it down a little better. I'm in the grass. There we go. Nice and smooth like butter. The Wimberley, it feels choppy, gritty, and it does not flow nearly as well as the ProMedia gear. That one spins really good. Let's try this one out, see how this one spins. Hmm, I guess that's as loose as it gets. It does not spin as smooth. All right, let's do the— this And this one? That one's nice and smooth. And the Promedia gear is the smoothest and loosest of all of them. Tighten these up. All right, now I'm gonna go get some cameras, put them on them, and I will be right back. And just like that, poof! And just like that, we've got cameras on the ProMediaGear gimbal. We got the Canon R3, the Canon 600. This is the heaviest setup we own. On the Lee Photo, I've got the A1 and the 600 Sony. This is the next heaviest payload. And on the Wimberley, I've got the lightest gear. I've got the other A1 with the 400. Not a lot of difference, but a little. All right, so So let's start with the Wimberley. The Wimberley, I got, I got all of them balanced already. I did that off camera. To get them balanced, all you do is move them up and down. Typically this is in the center of your camera, and then you will move your tripod foot forward, backwards. Till you get it to where it will stay where you put it. And I do have to say that with the camera and lens on this gimbal makes it smoother than without a camera. But it is very smooth, and this one would cost $595. So now we're going to move on over to the Lee Photo. Oh, and this one has a payload of 100 pounds. Lee Photo comes in at $498. It is the least expensive out of the 3 tripods— I'm sorry, gimbal heads. And it is quite smooth. Once you put a camera on it. Although when I move it up and down, I do feel a little chop inside here. It feels clicky. And when it goes round and round, it feels pretty smooth. And it too performs well once balanced. This payload is 55 pounds. Comes in at $495. And the ProMedia Gear has a payload of 50 pounds and it comes in at $695. It is the most expensive out of all 3 of them, but when you take into consideration that it is only $50 more than the most popular gimbal on the market, and this one has safety features and accessory brackets. It's worth every penny in my opinion. So once you get it balanced, it, it works well. And it is smooth even with the camera on it. So out of these 3 gimbals, I would recommend the ProMedia Gear. I think that it has the best bang for the buck. It's made in the USA, best finish, um, One of the lightest. It weighs in a pound less than your Wimberley, and on hikes, that pound will feel like a lot of pounds at the end of the hike. I guarantee it. But overall, of course, my choice is ProMedia Gear. I think it wins hands down. Hope you enjoyed this video. Don't forget to like. And subscribe and ring my bell so you too will get notified the next time I post a video. Have a great day. Go out and click that shutter. Share your photos on social media and tag me in them so I can see them. Talk to you later. Bye. Bye.
