GH5 CAME-TV Prophet -- Worst gimbal on the market?...

[Dave Draper]

We're starting this thread in this forum, as we purchased the CAME-TV Prophet to use with the GH5.

So what do we think so far?

Initially, we had high hopes for this gimbal. But upon receiving it, and using it, we are NOT impressed.

Its biggest flaw, by far, is the battery release system.

You literally have to pulverise your fingers into mince while attempting to depress the very-inset battery release tab, which is located underneath the battery, and shorter than the length of the battery itself. Even then, you're still not guaranteed to get the battery out, as it’s so tightly lodged into its plate, it just doesn’t want to budge. When you do manage to remove the battery, it flies out, because of the amount of pressure you have to exert to remove it, and if your fingers are in the way — which they likely will be — you’ll either crush them against the yaw arm, or cut them.

Currently, we're not even able to remove the battery by depressing the release tab with a flat-head screwdriver. It's just stuck in there.

Absolutely horrendous design.

I don't know what their previous battery design was -- and I don't know why they changed the Prophet's last minute -- but surely it couldn't have been worse than this?

Setup was easy enough, and the gimbal appeared to be smooth, but upon reviewing the footage, it was shaky -- not what we'd describe as "stabilised".

However, several factors could have contributed to this:

1) We were using a 50mm lens, which is a bad choice for a stabilised shot. For these types of setups, you want to go wide.

2) We were using the single-handed grip, which is going to introduce more vibration than a two-handed grip, or "ring".

3) Software calibration was off, as determined by the fact that the gimbal wouldn't remain level with the horizon, and would slowly drift to the right, even when stationary, on a level surface.

At all times, the camera was balanced as perfectly as possible.

Now we're left wondering if we should send this thing back for an exchange -- give it a second chance -- or opt for something a little more tried and tested, such as a DJI Ronin-M. Only issue is, we want that 4th Axis option...

Does anyone else own the CAME-TV Prophet? If so, please share your experiences here.

 

[Paul F]

Let's hear from others, but I don't value the 4th axis. I bought one out of curiosity. I loaded it with a weight equivalent to a gimbal, camera, and lens (I don't remember how much weight). You can see the results in the link. Look at the weights and see how they are bouncing up and down compared to the string line. Compare that to the hands and the string line line. Which is more stable? Maybe the operator needed some training, but I don't think so. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KisLK7_lQJE

There is a load between two spring arms that are connected to the hands. As the spring arms go up and down, the hands go in and out. Unless that load is exactly tuned to arms, it won't do anything good. In fact, it may exaggerate the up/down movement.

Depending on your load requirements, you might consider Zhiyun, which has a single-hand unit with a two-hand option. They have far superior software for the gimbal. I've heard no complaints about the mechanics.

 

[Dave Draper]

Let's hear from others, but I don't value the 4th axis. I bought one out of curiosity. I loaded it with a weight equivalent to a gimbal, camera, and lens (I don't remember how much weight). You can see the results in the link. Look at the weights and see how they are bouncing up and down compared to the string line. Compare that to the hands and the string line line. Which is more stable? Maybe the operator needed some training, but I don't think so. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KisLK7_lQJE

There is a load between two spring arms that are connected to the hands. As the spring arms go up and down, the hands go in and out. Unless that load is exactly tuned to arms, it won't do anything good. In fact, it may exaggerate the up/down movement.

Depending on your load requirements, you might consider Zhiyun, which has a single-hand unit with a two-hand option. They have far superior software for the gimbal. I've heard no complaints about the mechanics.

Paul, many thanks for the link.

We’re of two minds about the 4th Axis options out there, for the very reasons you mentioned above, as well as the sheer cost of some of them, such as the Jockey, which seems to be the only option for the Ronin-M, and starts at a whopping $1.2K.

Many of the review / test videos out there do show the 4th Axis to make a positive difference. However, you could argue that whoever made those video(s) simply exaggerated bad operation of the gimbal in its 3 Axis configuration to make the 4th Axis seem like an obvious choice (if they had ulterior motives), so who knows.

The heaviest gimbal load I can think of us using, off the top of my head, would be just over 2kg, but could end up being a little heavier, if we need to add a baseplate, carbon rod, and remote follow focus motor.

 

[JSFILMZ]

I have had the cametv prophet for 3 weeks now. I have taken it to Brussels and Iceland. I do hate the battery release because you have to push down on it but i think the gimbal is decent. You will definitely need to use simplebgc to tune it manually for your set up. But it can void your warranty. Here is the video i have some handheld but most with the gimbal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tZSOnY39Js