EDELKRONE WING PRO PRO
EDELKRONE WING PRO FREE

I’ve discovered some people trying to add motors to the movement, which is a good idea. If you are using a lightweight set of legs, then some additional ballast might be required here.

Having used this now for a few weeks, I would say that the best way of starting and stopping the movement is with two hands, one underneath where the camera sits, and one at the pivot point halfway down the arm – that is, of course, if you don’t need your other hand to pan or tilt the tripod head. I haven’t yet, but it pays to be careful. I have heard that some people have broken this. There is also a pin which locks the arms together for transport. Also, it should be noted that you can use this adjustment dial to instigate the movement, but it’s not a good idea as you’ll end up tightening or loosening the tension at the same time. Just be sure not to undo it too far, it doesn’t fall off, but there is only a limited range of adjustments. There is a way of adjusting the tension of the movement via a large dial on the bottom of the Wing in the middle. I was slightly disappointed to find that there was actually a little slack in the movement of the Wing, so you need to apply a bit of pretension manually before starting the move, nothing major, but it should be noted that it’s present and this is not a fault but a characteristic of this slider, according to Edelkrone support. It should be noted that this system was not present on the earlier models. That tries to smoothen out slight wobbles or vibrations that you can easily introduce. There is a built-in system which Edelkrone calls “steadymove”. In that case, a decent head sitting on top is also important. You won’t get a faultless movement in one go, practice is required and especially if you’re trying to tilt at the same time with an added tripod head. However, as with most things in life, practice makes… almost perfect. I do a fair amount of close-up work and whilst I don’t need a huge range of movement, I do need something that’s smooth in operation, easy to use, transport and, importantly, store. Initially, I used a set of Manfrotto 180 legs and whilst in an ideal world I would have used something a bit sturdier, it worked for my purposes. The Wing definitely has a hefty lift, something I’m glad to see, and it does need a decent tripod to support it – although if you’re realistic about what you are trying to achieve, you can get away with a well-made stills tripod. When Apple started packaging things differently, it was a bit of a novelty – now everybody’s doing it I’m afraid I’m bored with it. I won’t share the unboxing process as I’m not using the packaging and, frankly, there’s not much to report. Having ordered the Wing and their flex tilt head 2 on a Friday, I had to wait until the following Tuesday for it to be delivered from Germany to the UK at no additional cost.

EDELKRONE WING PRO FREE

What swung it for me was that they also offer an amazing after-sales service which includes a 90-day return policy, lifetime warranty and free accident insurance. I’m a real believer in that you get what you pay for and I’ve never seen a report of quality issues with Edelkrone products. I needed something more than three to four pounds, but I didn’t need the – frankly ridiculous – payload capacity of the Wing Pro. Of course, there are other similar wing-type sliders on the market, However, they have a problem with payload limits. I could’ve spent a little bit more money and gone for a motorised slider like the Edelkrone Slider One Pro, but I couldn’t justify the extra cost, especially as I was unsure how much I’d make use of it. I had spent days considering whether I actually needed one and whether or not the Wing was the correct type of slider to go for.

I’m a real fan of innovation and being in the market for a small slider I decided to take the plunge and bought a Wing.

EDELKRONE WING PRO PRO

The Wing having a maximum payload of 16lbs and the Wing Pro a massive payload of 48lbs! Last year, they decided to streamline the range somewhat and replaced these three products with two: Wing and the Wing Pro. The nomenclature reflecting the maximum load in pounds. This was when there were three product options available, the 3, 7 and 15. Several years ago, I saw the Wing demonstrated. In a way, they seem to be the Apple of the camera accessories world.

They seem to consistently come up with new exciting, innovating and well-made products, although at a price. Chris Foreman takes a look at the curiously designed Wing, a 'slider' that creates movement up to 4x its physical length. Review: Edelkrone are one of the most innovative camera gear makers out there.

Edelkrone wing pro