The new Jobu Design Black Widow Jr.3 (BWG-JR3) is a miniature full-size gimbal head designed for smaller telephoto lenses below the size and weight of a 500mm F/4 lens.

The JR3 or Junior 3 is, hence the name , the third installment from Jobu Design of their smallest “Junior series”. The differences between the old JR2 and this new JR3 are vast.
At first glance it looks very much like the bigger Heavy Duty 2 (HD2) just in a much smaller scale and weight.

The first thing caught me by some surprise was in fact how small this head is. Immediately I could recognize the same no-nonsense approach to material and function as seen in the larger “Heavy duty” and “Pro” gimbal also made by Jobu Design.

The large rubberised knobs on both pan and tilt axis is a joy to use and are both used to control drag. Adjusting for just the right amount is easy although the sweet spot is easier to nail on the bigger models. The quick release is the standard Arca-Swiss mount and thank god for that. The appropriate plate is available anywhere and the system is miles better than the Manfrotto equivalent.
The swing arm is adjustable via three positions for a perfect balance. Although it is a bit trickier to hit the right setting eventually you´ll hit just the right configuration.

The  Jobu Design Black Widow Jr.3 is as mentioned before very compact. It weighs just around 800gram only the half weight of the BWG-PRO I´m using on regular basis. It´s close to half as tall and not nearly as wide.

In use the Jobu Design Black Widow Jr.3 feels and acts great. The tilt is as always with Jobu Design super smooth. Using the Sigma 50-500mm OS HSM was a joy and the head functioned as advertised. I could easily track birds in flight even with this relatively “slow” lens. Panning was good although not as smooth as tilting which fits my needs well. Thanks to the small size of the JR3. the whole rig was easy to maneuver and I could imagine it being a dream kit for photographers who´s using any lens smaller than a 300mm F2.8 lens.

Conclusion
I like the Jobu Design Black Widow Jr.3. Small and nimble yet able to supply great support for lenses up to 300mm F2.8. The head was surprisingly smooth allowing for fast operations yet small enough to fit in any backpack. Great for the photographer who travels light and wished to keep the overall weight down. And it comes with a reasonable price tag too.

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Author

Nature lover turned 36, Avid Nature Photographer and fan of all things living. Every second spend outside with or without a camera is a second for me to grow and learn. Got question, requisitions or just in for a chat shot me an E-mail or connect me on Facebook or Twitter

9 Comments

  1. Tobias Reply

    A big thanks to Jobu Design for allowing me to review this head.

  2. Thanks for the review. I’m eagerly anticipating the arrival of my jr.3; ordered yesterday. As someone who is relatively new to bird photography and has only a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 at his disposal, the jr.3 just made sense at the time of purchase. But at $349, though, I’m starting to think that I should have just threw down another $100+ and purchased one of the cheaper full-sized gimbal, like an Induro, older Jobu Pro model, or Calumet-Photo brand gimbal (just $399, but holds up to 26lbs).

    Thanks

    • Got it yesterday. Took it out for a spin today.

      I don’t regret buying it at all. It’s light, it’s smooth on all axes, locks tight and is incredibly petite. Perfect for what I’m using it with and for. Bought it with the (4.5″) Jobu Surefoot Lens Plate.

      • Tobias Reply

        I´m glad you find it satisfactory. As with the rest of the Jobu Design lineup the products are top-notch.

        Tobias

  3. Hi Tobias, would this head work for video? I use a Canon 7D with a 400 f5.6 and i’m trying to find something suitable to keep the camera both steady and smooth enough for shooting video, which is proving difficult with this lens since it lacks IS. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

    • Tobias Hjorth Reply

      Hi Jack

      Thank you for the excellent question. Unfortunately as with most gimbal they are generally unsuitable for videography – This is no different.
      You would be much better of with a true video head. Manfrotto makes the awesome Manfrotto 504HD availiable at B&H Photo HERE

      Tobias

      • Thanks very much for the info Tobias, and I trust your recommendation. What I don’t understand though is how they can look so perfectly smooth and yet not be suitable for video?! Is it the resistance for panning? What is it specifically that makes gimbal heads unsuitable? Would it be a good compromise if I was doing photos and video, or is it just a bad idea for video altogether?

        • Tobias Hjorth Reply

          I understand your concern. The thing is that gimbals are simply too fast. With cinematography you want slow and smooth panning and tilting. That requires a certain amount of resistance and drag that a gimbal won’t deliver. A good gimbal like the Jobu Design Black Widow Jr. 3 requires with little energy in order to move. Just touching it gently would be seen on the video you’re shooting especially with a longer lens.

          The video-head would probably be a better compromise to photo and video than the gimbal as the video-head is somewhat suitable to still photography as well.

          Tobias

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