Dji ronin rs2 gimbal

I ordered one right after seeing it announced. I like the build quality and it's much lighter than the original S. The axes locks and gearing to balance the tilt axis were much needed and are much appreciated.

So far, my biggest complaint, and I hope they fix this with firmware, is that I'm really disappointed in "Sport Mode". It is nowhere close to being aggressive enough compared to the original S. The original S was almost instantaneous with its responsiveness in Sport Mode. You could rip and throw that thing all around with really, really good accuracy and speed. Sport Mode on the S2 behaves like a normal gimbal set to its defaults: it's lagging behind what you want it to do.
 
I am jealous of all you S2 buyers but I am way too stingy to upgrade my S at this time.

That's weird about sport mode, Run&Gun. Could that be customizable in the app?
 
Does anyone know of a zoom rocker that you can use with the Ronin-S to control the DJI focus motor when you connect it to your zoom ring? I can do it with the focus wheel but it's hard to get a consistent speed with feathered start/stop to the zoom
 
ahalpert said:
I am jealous of all you S2 buyers but I am way too stingy to upgrade my S at this time.

That's weird about sport mode, Run&Gun. Could that be customizable in the app?
Click to expand...

I run the “normal” profiles with zero dead-band and 100 speed/responsiveness and Sport Mode isn’t anymore noticeably responsive/aggressive to me(but is on the original). I’ll dig-in and see if maybe they have made parameters customizable for Sport Mode on the S2. Maybe they slipped a nice little surprise in there(but I doubt it).

Otherwise, it is a very nice gimbal.

And something else I did. So I wouldn’t have to steal the tripod/extended handle of the RS2 to use as the handle for the ‘briefcase handle’ attachment(which is DJI’s design/intention), I bought a rubberized handle with a 1/4-20 stud from Camvate to use just for that. Less than $13 from Amazon(same $ as B&H, but shipping is way quicker, now).

51cDno2PJWL._AC_SX679_.jpg
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B014WIO2MC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Run&Gun said:
I run the “normal” profiles with zero dead-band and 100 speed/responsiveness and Sport Mode isn’t anymore noticeably responsive/aggressive to me(but is on the original). I’ll dig-in and see if maybe they have made parameters customizable for Sport Mode on the S2. Maybe they slipped a nice little surprise in there(but I doubt it).

Otherwise, it is a very nice gimbal.

And something else I did. So I wouldn’t have to steal the tripod/extended handle of the RS2 to use as the handle for the ‘briefcase handle’ attachment(which is DJI’s design/intention), I bought a rubberized handle with a 1/4-20 stud from Camvate to use just for that. Less than $13 from Amazon(same $ as B&H, but shipping is way quicker, now).

View attachment 141069
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B014WIO2MC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...

Reminds me of berkey systems stuff. Where are they during all of these DJI third party opportunities?
 
ahalpert said:
I am jealous of all you S2 buyers but I am way too stingy to upgrade my S at this time.

That's weird about sport mode, Run&Gun. Could that be customizable in the app?
Click to expand...

Run&Gun said:
I run the “normal” profiles with zero dead-band and 100 speed/responsiveness and Sport Mode isn’t anymore noticeably responsive/aggressive to me(but is on the original). I’ll dig-in and see if maybe they have made parameters customizable for Sport Mode on the S2. Maybe they slipped a nice little surprise in there(but I doubt it).

Otherwise, it is a very nice gimbal.

And something else I did. So I wouldn’t have to steal the tripod/extended handle of the RS2 to use as the handle for the ‘briefcase handle’ attachment(which is DJI’s design/intention), I bought a rubberized handle with a 1/4-20 stud from Camvate to use just for that. Less than $13 from Amazon(same $ as B&H, but shipping is way quicker, now).

View attachment 141069
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B014WIO2MC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...

ahalpert said:
Is the motion/steadiness noticeably smoother/better than the original?
Click to expand...

Dove in a little bit and there does not appear to be any customization for Sport Mode. It works just like the original S, meaning it's an ON or OFF setting, only. And I misspoke, I can tell a difference between a normal mode with dead-band at 0 and the follow speed at 100, it's just that the Sport Mode on the RS2 is not aggressive/fast enough. I was (poorly) trying to say that I thought that the normal mode on the original set to 0 and 100 seems to be about the same as the Sport Mode on the new one. It probably all ties into their new algorithm and smoothness is the priority. Personally, I'd like to have the option for instantaneous responsiveness when I want it. But this is probably a fringe use case, compared to what people are using them for most of the time.

I'm going to try to take it outside and play around with it more this afternoon, but so far it at least feels nicer to use and is definitely easier to balance. Although the learning curve is a little steeper with this one, just because of the extra stuff, like the touch screen and RavenEye(which had no manual/documentation for about the first week).
 
Yeah, my pupil got a Ronin-SC a couple months ago and I was so jealous of her axis locks as I showed her how to set it up
 
ahalpert said:
Yeah, my pupil got a Ronin-SC a couple months ago and I was so jealous of her axis locks as I showed her how to set it up
Click to expand...

That is definitely one of those underrated/under-appreciated features, UNTIL you actually use it. Kind of like VeND in the Sony Fs7 and such.
 
Did anyone get the 3D focus system with their RS2? I have questions...

Specifically, I wonder how well it works with an ultra wide (12mm full-frame) at close distance (.2x magnification). It seems to me that the TOF sensor would have to be angled slightly downward at such a close distance to actually hit the object in the center of the frame. Whereas it should be closer to parallel with the camera when shooting an object a few feet from the camera. But if the lidar system has a wide enough spray, then the difference in angle shouldn't matter.

Can anyone shed light on these issues and on using it with wide-angles generally?
 
ahalpert said:
Is the motion/steadiness noticeably smoother/better than the original?
Click to expand...

I haven't noticed any real differences in smoothness, just ease-of-use - which is vastly improved.

One area that is problematic is the remote focus control (for Fuji lenses at least) through the integrated control wheel on the gimbal handle. Even set to the lowest speed possible (5/100), it's still WAY to fast in moving through the focus range on Fuji lenses, making it almost unusable - even the tiniest push can send you to the far end of the focus range. The external focus wheel on the Ronin-S was far more moderate (and therefore infinitely more usable) at this.
 
ahalpert said:
Did anyone get the 3D focus system with their RS2? I have questions...

Specifically, I wonder how well it works with an ultra wide (12mm full-frame) at close distance (.2x magnification). It seems to me that the TOF sensor would have to be angled slightly downward at such a close distance to actually hit the object in the center of the frame. Whereas it should be closer to parallel with the camera when shooting an object a few feet from the camera. But if the lidar system has a wide enough spray, then the difference in angle shouldn't matter.

Can anyone shed light on these issues and on using it with wide-angles generally?
Click to expand...

I’m set-up with a stock notice on B&H for it. They’ve been pretty much un-available since the get-go(probably such small quantities that they’re gone in minutes). I did see a few on Amazon before Christmas , for $100+ over MSRP. No thank you...

B&H is expecting stock in one to two weeks. There are two verified buyer reviews posted on Dec 21st and Jan 3rd, so they have had at least two in-stock and sold recently. Some clown on Amazon is selling at $100 over list with delivery stated for end of Feb to middle of March.
 
Grug said:
I haven't noticed any real differences in smoothness, just ease-of-use - which is vastly improved.

One area that is problematic is the remote focus control (for Fuji lenses at least) through the integrated control wheel on the gimbal handle. Even set to the lowest speed possible (5/100), it's still WAY to fast in moving through the focus range on Fuji lenses, making it almost unusable - even the tiniest push can send you to the far end of the focus range. The external focus wheel on the Ronin-S was far more moderate (and therefore infinitely more usable) at this.
Click to expand...

I think it must just be an issue between the RS2 and Fuji. It seems to work fine on my Canon 5D4. Not that my eyes are good enough to actually pull focus on a FF camera with a finger wheel on a one-handed gimbal while moving through space and looking at a tiny screen.
 
Run&Gun said:
I think it must just be an issue between the RS2 and Fuji. It seems to work fine on my Canon 5D4. Not that my eyes are good enough to actually pull focus on a FF camera with a finger wheel on a one-handed gimbal while moving through space and looking at a tiny screen.
Click to expand...

That's my exact problem too and why I most often am still using AF and moving the focus box around.
I can't tell on a 5" Shinobi monitor in bright daylight if I am manually nailing focus, especially in 4K.
Fuji AF is wonky sometimes but it's better than trying to nail it all manually and not being able to tell if I am actually sharp.

I have not yet downloaded the X-T3 FW 4.0 to see how much that improved the AF, I know it's faster but not sure if it's any more accurate?
 
I used the RS2 on two shoots for the first time this week and I think I'll be buying one myself to replace my 5-year old Ronin-M.

My biggest gripe with the single stick gimbals are that they're upside down - in that I think gimbals should always be in underslung mode like the original Ronins/MOVIs. To me the physics feel more natural that way AND for me I mostly use gimbals for wide and ultrawide camera work which to my liking the camera height should be around waist high, but since the single stick gimbals are upside down that puts the camera height about shoulder to head high when standing in a neutral position.

I didn't have enough time with the gimbal ahead of time to find a nice underslung configuration before my shoot which lead to operating in all sorts of hunched over positions to get the shots I was after.

When I buy mine the first thing I'm gonna do is build my own ring so I can more easily get the camera, controls, and external monitor where I want it to be. I came across this video last night and it was an amazing resource on building out some custom DIY options:


(this guy just started his channel, but I can already tell it's gonna be a "must subscribe" for any gimbal user)
 
chris f said:
My biggest gripe with the single stick gimbals are that they're upside down - in that I think gimbals should always be in underslung mode like the original Ronins/MOVIs. To me the physics feel more natural that way AND for me I mostly use gimbals for wide and ultrawide camera work which to my liking the camera height should be around waist high, but since the single stick gimbals are upside down that puts the camera height about shoulder to head high when standing in a neutral position.
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I feel the opposite. One of the biggest problems with gimbals (such as the original Movi) has been their difficulty in achieving eye height level walking tracking shots which Steadicam or shoulder mounting has always been able to easily achieve in terms of proper height (though a bit more difficult with shoulder mounting if the camera operator is taller or shorter than the talent). To me waist level shots are more of a specialty shot if say you're trying to convey a character is larger than life or an authority figure or something thematically inspired, but for the most part, eye level is where it's at.

Of course, having the option to do various heights easily is ideal.

I do suppose the focal length of the lens does have an effect on camera height as far as simulating eye level. The wider the lens, the lower the camera would be to line up with the eyes, but I don't imagine it would be nearly as low as waist level.

I just remember when I first started seeing Movi and Ronin footage online it always bugged me how low the camera height was and how it was always looking up at the talent due to the limitations of the design of those gimbals. People were raving about how awesome these new gimbals were, and this was just another thing that made me think, "Footage looks like crap." There were some ways to get higher such as I believe it was called briefcase mode on the Ronin, but no one seemed to be doing that, I'd guess because it was not as easy to do as normal mode.

I have wondered before with regards to shoulder mounted tracking shots how often it is on bigger sets to have different cameramen of different heights to do different shots depending on the height of the talent.


Steadicam can achieve waist level, but eye height tends to be the most common choice.

 
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It's only for ultrawides - ultrawides benefit from a low-angle because of the crazy keystoning that happens when they're tilted down.

I totally agree - I love my Ronin-S for holding from beneath and reaching eye-level or shoulder-level. This is most often how I use it.

But I was on my 12-24 the other day and at 12 the camera definitely wanted to be at waist level to be closer to the base position (untilted). I think Chris was just talking about wides

But what fun is a gimbal if you're only using it for wide-angles!
 
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