C300: c300 mkii with DJI RS 2?

Did you ever decide if the 2 produces smoother footage? What camera do you use on it anyway?

I haven't used it on a real shoot since I got it, but playing with it at home, it seems pretty darn smooth. With the briefcase handle on, I took off running down the driveway at full speed and while it wasn't as smooth as a flying drone, it seemed smoother than the original S. I think it's a combo of the capabilities of the RS2 and also using the briefcase handle or just not holding it straight up & down. But I've said before that I see better results when holding it at an angle as opposed to vertical, when just holding it with your bare hands. The briefcase handle really helps when shooting low(er).
 
I ordered the Zhiyun Crane 3s Pro. Did a lot of search on this system and it looks promising (I hope). They say 14lbs payload is what this system can carry. it should arrive first of next week and I will do a bit of testing starting with the Canon lens 18-80 Servo without the grip - weight 2.6 lbs. C300 mkii bare bones is around 4llbs and with grip etc... around 6lbs. well under the 14lbs. If all goes well I will jump up to the next lens that just under 5lbs.
 
I ordered the Zhiyun Crane 3s Pro. Did a lot of search on this system and it looks promising (I hope). They say 14lbs payload is what this system can carry. it should arrive first of next week and I will do a bit of testing starting with the Canon lens 18-80 Servo without the grip - weight 2.6 lbs. C300 mkii bare bones is around 4llbs and with grip etc... around 6lbs. well under the 14lbs. If all goes well I will jump up to the next lens that just under 5lbs.

Beside that’s gonna be a really heavy system the 18-80 might add too much weight on the front. Adding a counterweight gets it even heavier. I don’t see that working . I fly a R5 on the Lab3 and that’s quite a lot to carry all day. If you really want the 18-80 I’d go for a Ronin and a Easy/ReadyRig. I’ll probably switch to the RoninS2 for the R5. It has 1kg less and that’s making a difference
 
Beside that’s gonna be a really heavy system the 18-80 might add too much weight on the front. Adding a counterweight gets it even heavier. I don’t see that working . I fly a R5 on the Lab3 and that’s quite a lot to carry all day. If you really want the 18-80 I’d go for a Ronin and a Easy/ReadyRig. I’ll probably switch to the RoninS2 for the R5. It has 1kg less and that’s making a difference

I was thinking the same thing. It's not just the raw weight, but the overall size/length and weight distribution.

But what sounds lightweight, gets heavy FAST on a one handed gimbal. With my original S carrying a 5D/III w/16-35 and smallHD Focus 5, it was a beast.
 
I was thinking the same thing. It's not just the raw weight, but the overall size/length and weight distribution.

But what sounds lightweight, gets heavy FAST on a one handed gimbal. With my original S carrying a 5D/III w/16-35 and smallHD Focus 5, it was a beast.

Huh? Wont the center of gravity always be right at the center of the plate after you've balanced it? I'm not sure your argument about size/length and distribution make sense to me

Also, what if New_Zealand is just way more jacked than us? ;)

In all seriousness though, I find the sony 28-135 and A7SIII on Ronin-S with focus motor and ikan 7" monitor to be a pretty heavy load to fly. Although now I have an extra side handle that may make it easier. And the rig he's talking about is substantially heavier I think
 
Huh? Wont the center of gravity always be right at the center of the plate after you've balanced it? I'm not sure your argument about size/length and distribution make sense to me

Also, what if New_Zealand is just way more jacked than us? ;)

In all seriousness though, I find the sony 28-135 and A7SIII on Ronin-S with focus motor and ikan 7" monitor to be a pretty heavy load to fly. Although now I have an extra side handle that may make it easier. And the rig he's talking about is substantially heavier I think

Because you may not be able to center the center of gravity if there is a lot of weight in the front or back and it's a long set-up or you are able to balance it, but the movement is then obstructed, because you had to slide it so far forward or back that it causes a mechanical/physical obstruction.
 
Because you may not be able to center the center of gravity if there is a lot of weight in the front or back and it's a long set-up.

If you cant balance properly, I don't think I would fly the rig in the first place. Sure the motors will work to compensate, but you'll end up with a worse result, no?

But yeah I agree with you, if your weight isn't centered, it's going to suck way more.

Looking up numbers - I think the rig he's talking about is 2.5lbs more than my a7siii/28-135 set-up. Maybe 2 lbs with a lighter monitor and mount.

That weight is going to suck fast. Probably fine for a few quick shots. Maybe with enough arm muscle you could do it for duration. But the difficulty with which you shoulder the weight will impact the stability of your flying. I burned through my arms in like 2 hours of frequent shooting with that rig and was starting to waver more. Seems like a C70 or an R7 with the 18-80 would be nicer. Or using a support rig
 
If you cant balance properly, I don't think I would fly the rig in the first place. Sure the motors will work to compensate, but you'll end up with a worse result, no?

But yeah I agree with you, if your weight isn't centered, it's going to suck way more.

Looking up numbers - I think the rig he's talking about is 2.5lbs more than my a7siii/28-135 set-up. Maybe 2 lbs with a lighter monitor and mount.

That weight is going to suck fast. Probably fine for a few quick shots. Maybe with enough arm muscle you could do it for duration. But the difficulty with which you shoulder the weight will impact the stability of your flying. I burned through my arms in like 2 hours of frequent shooting with that rig and was starting to waver more. Seems like a C70 or an R7 with the 18-80 would be nicer. Or using a support rig

Yeah, that's just what we were kinda throwing out there as a heads up/something to think about. Slightly off-topic, but that's why I run extended wedge plates on my VCT tripod plates for my heads that run the full length of the plates, so that I can balance pretty much any camera set-up that I throw on them. And because the 17-120 is so front heavy on my F55, I actually have to slide my F55 back on it's shoulder mount to balance it on my head. But if I ran heavier batteries or they were farther back, it would balance without having to make the secondary adjustment.
 
Sort of random but Ronin-S related: fox nfl is using an a7riv with gm 24-70 on Ronin-S with 1080p transmitter for special moments with shallow DOF: https://www.engadget.com/amp/fox-sp...k-with-sony-mirrorless-cameras-200048816.html

It sounds like they've been doing this for pre-game stuff but now they're doing it for endzone celebrations as well

Pretty robotic moves in the clip they show. To some extent it's a fast jarring "sports" type of movement so its appropriate but I still dont think the static tilt angle (joystick-operated, which could be more fluid anyway) makes sense. Also maybe they should use a 24 f/1.4 if they really want bokeh here. Otherwise it's cool. And they do a good job of following unpredictable fast-moving action

I wonder if they're blurring the background in part because the stands are empty
 
Last edited:
Yeah, that's just what we were kinda throwing out there as a heads up/something to think about. Slightly off-topic, but that's why I run extended wedge plates on my VCT tripod plates for my heads that run the full length of the plates, so that I can balance pretty much any camera set-up that I throw on them. And because the 17-120 is so front heavy on my F55, I actually have to slide my F55 back on it's shoulder mount to balance it on my head. But if I ran heavier batteries or they were farther back, it would balance without having to make the secondary adjustment.

The shoot I did for Macys and Make a Wish a few weeks ago, that's the exact rig I used, F55 with the 17-120. Massively front heavy.
 
Last edited:
The crane 3s has a second handle. It’s great not only for stabilizing and having the weight in two hands but also for holding the gimbal in a low and much more easy position when you are not shooting. But the whole system is very heavy also when you are in a good shape. Compared to other earlier models the 3s has more space for balancing a longer system. You you even find images with a RED and a long cine lens. Have in mind that it’s not as spacious as it seems. If you tilt the system the camera will touch the roll motor easily
 
Sort of random but Ronin-S related: fox nfl is using an a7riv with gm 24-70 on Ronin-S with 1080p transmitter for special moments with shallow DOF: https://www.engadget.com/amp/fox-sp...k-with-sony-mirrorless-cameras-200048816.html

It sounds like they've been doing this for pre-game stuff but now they're doing it for endzone celebrations as well

Pretty robotic moves in the clip they show. To some extent it's a fast jarring "sports" type of movement so its appropriate but I still dont think the static tilt angle (joystick-operated, which could be more fluid anyway) makes sense. Also maybe they should use a 24 f/1.4 if they really want bokeh here. Otherwise it's cool. And they do a good job of following unpredictable fast-moving action

I wonder if they're blurring the background in part because the stands are empty

Saw this the other week. Maybe the Saints game. Not a huge fan of the super shallow DoF in this context, BUT the AF is damn good. I only saw it screw up once or twice. Some of the slow-mo replays I saw, no person was going to focus that fast or precise at that shallow DoF. It was pit-bull on a hambone. Yes, it did look slightly mechanical, because of the speed and abruptness, but it was in focus.

I'm fine with this for "art", but don't like it for instant replays during the broadcast. It doesn't fit. It doesn't match.

There's no way I'd do moves with the joystick. That's the DEAD GIVEAWAY on so many gimbals. I'd just operate in Sport follow mode.
 
The shoot I did for Macys and Make a Wish a few weeks ago, hat's the exact rig I used, F55 with the 17-120. Massively front heavy.

That's why I had the custom zoom grip(my avatar pic) created for me, specifically for that lens on my F55 and C300 when shooting for extended periods.
 
There's no way I'd do moves with the joystick. That's the DEAD GIVEAWAY on so many gimbals. I'd just operate in Sport follow mode.

Yeah, joystick probably not the right choice for this. With high smoothness low speed etc you can get more subtle movement from the joystick. But that would kill your responsiveness for this situation. Mostly I use the joystick for doing a constant speed pan or tilt that I know will be edited in after the move has already begun

But one of the joys of the Ronin-S (and I guess the other brand gimbals now too?) is the various modes at your fingertips. I think my most common is pan follow and joystick tilt, both because my pans usually need to be more responsive and because tilting the grip can get rough on your wrists. Maybe that's what he was doing. It all depends on the use case tho.

They could probably just do the same rig on a real steadicam couldn't they
 
Sort of random but Ronin-S related: fox nfl is using an a7riv with gm 24-70 on Ronin-S with 1080p transmitter for special moments with shallow DOF: https://www.engadget.com/amp/fox-sp...k-with-sony-mirrorless-cameras-200048816.html

It sounds like they've been doing this for pre-game stuff but now they're doing it for endzone celebrations as well

Pretty robotic moves in the clip they show. To some extent it's a fast jarring "sports" type of movement so its appropriate but I still dont think the static tilt angle (joystick-operated, which could be more fluid anyway) makes sense. Also maybe they should use a 24 f/1.4 if they really want bokeh here. Otherwise it's cool. And they do a good job of following unpredictable fast-moving action

I wonder if they're blurring the background in part because the stands are empty

To me, it looked like a cutscene from a video game like Madden.
 
I didn't like or not like it. It was fine. It looked artificial. I'm sure if it becomes normal that feeling will fade.
 
I ordered the Zhiyun Crane 3s Pro. Did a lot of search on this system and it looks promising (I hope). They say 14lbs payload is what this system can carry. it should arrive first of next week and I will do a bit of testing starting with the Canon lens 18-80 Servo without the grip - weight 2.6 lbs. C300 mkii bare bones is around 4llbs and with grip etc... around 6lbs. well under the 14lbs. If all goes well I will jump up to the next lens that just under 5lbs.

Did you test it with 18-80?

Here is a quick review of the system:

 
Back
Top