does anyone have a steadimate-s and do you like it?

[ahalpert]

considering getting one for the ronin-s. any opinions on its usefulness?

I'm also considering just getting a switch grip, although I'm not sure how useful it would be for me since I will still want to manipulate the handle controls. any opinions on that or other dual-handle grips for ronin-s?

 

[kevin baggott]

I almost pulled the trigger on it. Watched a bunch of vids on it and and went to B&H (I see you're in NYC as well ) - which has it on display and got my fingerprints all over it. I guess I didn't ultimately buy it because I would only be using it on my own films which I only do at best once a year. Bought a wheel chair instead and the moza air 2. For a grand it looks like it's worth the money. And the vids looked promising. If you get it let us know.

 

[Run&Gun]

I bought one back in the spring or summer when they were on-sale AND had a rebate from Tiffen, so I thought "what the hey...".

My take as someone that only (very)occasionally uses a gimbal and that has taken Steadicam workshop a few times(I have a friend that is an instructor and op), but is NOT a Steadicam op... It is good for long take walk 'n talk stuff. The arm is very good, but the gimbal(that attaches to the gimbal[Ronin]) does not move (as) freely like on a big rig and the "sled"(Ronin S with weights on the bottom) is very bottom heavy. I guess they expect you to do a lot of "tilting" and "panning" with the gimbal head as opposed to actually panning and tilting the whole sled on a big rig. You are also limited on you movement, because of the limited arm travel. If you are used to doing big, dynamic moves just holding your gimbal in your hands, those are out the window. I also found it much harder to precisely place the camera in 3D space, as opposed to directly hand holding it. But that is a talent/skill that I had not developed yet on a big Steadicam, either.

So to sum it up: If you need something to carry the weight for extended periods for basic walk 'n talk style stuff, it's wonderful. If you think it's going to open up more creative gimbal moves, it's probably not. Your moves become more limited. It's not a Trinity*... ; )

*There have been some guys that have rigged up a "poor man's Trinity" with some handheld gimbals and monopods and support arms and such, though.

 

[ahalpert]

So to sum it up: If you need something to carry the weight for extended periods for basic walk 'n talk style stuff, it's wonderful. If you think it's going to open up more creative gimbal moves, it's probably not. Your moves become more limited. It's not a Trinity*... ; )

*There have been some guys that have rigged up a "poor man's Trinity" with some handheld gimbals and monopods and support arms and such, though.

Thanks, run&gun - that's sort of what I had assessed: it's most useful for relieving the strain of endurance operating.

My most straining shoots are still on the edge of bearable for me. (I'm not superman - but my long walk/talk, continuous operating shoots are like 2 hours of operating on and off. On a wedding shoot, I'll do more than that but split up throughout the day and I can switch to tripod whenever I want.)

I put the Ronin on a monopod (light stand actually), that can be a lot of fun.

What I'm REALLY looking for is greater stability when shooting stuff less than a foot away (in lateral moves, for example). I bob and weave too much and usually switch to slider if I really need a smooth shot. The natural wavering of my arms is just so much more noticeable at close range.

I was hoping the steadimate could help. But maybe I just need to improve my technique

 

[morgan_moore]

Im struggling with my own larger version right now - supporting a movi pro on a streadicam arm/vest.

The story was that my first offered movi job was an 'as live studio show' following awards people up to a stage to get thier gong. (best regional marketeer double glazing sector or similar)

Clearly I couldnt hand hold the rig for a big load of shots - basically all day.

So I needed to support the mass. That was the primary function. Support the mass, save the body.

As for actual operating Id say having an arm is better for small slides (no footsteps) but its actually more of a challenge to walk smoothly as one needs to learn proper skils with the vest - trimming it (the vest) and the rolling hips forward to fly the rig forward and rolling hips back to stop the rig or put it into reverse.

On my rickshaw my system is completely awesome with the arm hard mounted to the vehicle.

For foot work im still on a journey and it is not one that Im 100% convinced by.

 

[ahalpert]

So, I just ended up getting a smallrig side-handle: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...7Ren4bBVkOLc3a__w7RCKvIUylAbYcP4aAoLFEALw_wcB

So far, I'm pleased. It doesn't cure my close-range problem but spreading out my grips seems to ameliorate it and I can probably improve further.

I think that a dual handle situation evenly spread apart from the center grip would let me be even steadier, but I need to use my left hand for other tasks intermittently (touch tracking on the smart phone, zooming the lens with the focus wheel), so I decided it was best to keep my right hand on the primary grip all the time.

I had thought that a handle coming out of the center of the unit would be best, but that position doesn't actually distribute the weight between the 2 handles in practice (the weight seemed to go on only one hand or the other). Only the side grip coming out of the base of the unit distributes the weight to both hands.