Film Power have a $100 reduction available. I'm wondering if they're clearing the decks for a new model, or perhaps just feeling the heat from the competition.
Micro Gimbal for GH4, BMPCC, A7s - $699 USD
- Thread starter HHL
- Start date
bboyfasteddie
Active member
Wow what the hell does built in encoders even mean? Whatever it means it sounds impressive.
According to Came-tv website it is the following (with precision and 10 hour battery life being the advantages people are talking about):
Some of the benefits of using Encoders are to: prevent motors from losing synchronization and skipping steps, provides important information about frame and camera angles, decreases power consumption (longer battery life), increases Torque, increases precision of stabilization, and more.
Some of the benefits of using Encoders are to: prevent motors from losing synchronization and skipping steps, provides important information about frame and camera angles, decreases power consumption (longer battery life), increases Torque, increases precision of stabilization, and more.
In short, real position feedback. What all non-encoder designs do is just count the steps sent to the motor for position. Most of the lesser expensive CNC machine run this way as well, and it works pretty good. But for better accuracy and encoder is really needed. Many stepper motors have this built in, but few brushless motors have this and let's face facts, these gimbals were all designed by remote control hobby people and based on RC hobby brushless motors, and in the beginning they were open sourced projects. Every one making this stuff pretty much just stole the project and gives almost nothing back, not even code. If you want the real origins, take a look way back in the RCGroups forum and you'll be able to set the transformation from servo to brushless gimbals and the dawn of creation of the control boards that most of these gimbals are using.
Sorry, just had to get that out there since once again a community project that started as free is making leaches lots of money without them giving back anything. Hope this encoder tech is given back to the open projects (the few that remain).
Sorry, just had to get that out there since once again a community project that started as free is making leaches lots of money without them giving back anything. Hope this encoder tech is given back to the open projects (the few that remain).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI6y3VtMcZ0
First video out of the Came-Single gimbal. Does not look very good at all. Hopefully with PID settings being tweaked it will improve.
First video out of the Came-Single gimbal. Does not look very good at all. Hopefully with PID settings being tweaked it will improve.
bboyfasteddie
Active member
Emm over at cheesycam's got a great write up comparing the pilotfly h1+, came-single and nebula 4000:
http://cheesycam.com/came-tv-came-single-pilotfly-h1-nebula-4000-comparisons/
Here's the video:
http://cheesycam.com/came-tv-came-single-pilotfly-h1-nebula-4000-comparisons/
Here's the video:
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Transmission
New member
It is a shame the Single can't be used inverted. Is this something that can be updated via firmware or is it a hardware thing?
bboyfasteddie
Active member
Just ordered the Came Single. I was considering the Ronin M but I think the Single might have mo' better features.
Encoders and the built-in joystick are very nice. With the 'M', the joystick is additional $$$.
I prefer the 2 handled style of the Ronin and the Came Mini. But, it looks like you can easily add handles to the Single.
I just hope it doesn't take a month to receive and they've got most of the bugs worked out (fingers crossed!)
Encoders and the built-in joystick are very nice. With the 'M', the joystick is additional $$$.
I prefer the 2 handled style of the Ronin and the Came Mini. But, it looks like you can easily add handles to the Single.
I just hope it doesn't take a month to receive and they've got most of the bugs worked out (fingers crossed!)
Looks more like on the operator.
Samuel H
Major Contributor
I made a big mistake: I researched a bit more on the came single. Now I want one. I has a built-in joystick, and the batteries last longer (and they are easily replaced).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezX9E505Lyo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs1ALzBVc88
I'm not willilng to lose a lot of money on my N4000, but if somebody is in Europe and is afraid about buying directly from China, mine has had less than 100 hours of use.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezX9E505Lyo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs1ALzBVc88
I'm not willilng to lose a lot of money on my N4000, but if somebody is in Europe and is afraid about buying directly from China, mine has had less than 100 hours of use.
bboyfasteddie
Active member
Dave Dugdale's review and comparison of the Pilotfly H1+ and Came-TV Came- Single is out.
http://www.learningvideo.com/pilotfly-h1-vs-came-tv-single/
I knew this would happen. After reading all the hype about the encoders on the Came-Single I preordered it on B&H while it was still $888. Now Dave Dugdale's review is out with some real world practical insights on both and they're starting to make me want the H1+. Specifically, I was hoping to use some really heavy Voigtlander Noktons for low light flying, but with Came-TV voiding warranties if you adjust the PID settings, I wonder if that would be a good idea. And lighter gimbal weight does seem very important with something one handed, especially if the lens+camera combo is gonna be heavier. Anyway, great review and like Dave said, I think this segment is gonna explode. I really think micro gimbals are gonna be as ubiquitous as tripods, they are just that useful.
http://www.learningvideo.com/pilotfly-h1-vs-came-tv-single/
I knew this would happen. After reading all the hype about the encoders on the Came-Single I preordered it on B&H while it was still $888. Now Dave Dugdale's review is out with some real world practical insights on both and they're starting to make me want the H1+. Specifically, I was hoping to use some really heavy Voigtlander Noktons for low light flying, but with Came-TV voiding warranties if you adjust the PID settings, I wonder if that would be a good idea. And lighter gimbal weight does seem very important with something one handed, especially if the lens+camera combo is gonna be heavier. Anyway, great review and like Dave said, I think this segment is gonna explode. I really think micro gimbals are gonna be as ubiquitous as tripods, they are just that useful.
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The reason it can't be inverted is because they built in hard stops. This means the arms cannot twist round and round and break wiring inside cables.
This to me is crucial. You see something might rotate 360 degrees one day and you don't notice. Or maybe your gimbal flops about and you arent sure if it rotated or not, or how many times...
No big deal? What if you plan to own it for years? How many accidental turns will it take before wires get damaged??
I've been a huge fan of Dave for years, but for the life of me cannot agree with him on the Pilotfly.
I pre-ordered the Came-single based on Cheesycam's review. I have a Nebula 4000 looking for a good home!
Samuel H
Major Contributor
It's not that it "might rotate 360 degrees", it's a fact that it will, many times, specially the handle. Mi initial solution when I thought this might have happened was to hold the N4000 from the big bracket and spin the handle one way and the other carefully until I find a bit of resistance (this happens with just one spin in each direction), then go for the middle point. But with time the wires get used to being spun around and this starts to be not-so-easy. If you're planning to have a N4000 for four or five years, there's a high chance that at some point you'll have to open it and re-solder the wires again.
A quick review of the Came Single...I have been using it for a couple of weeks.
What I really like:
Easy to balance. Tool-less and no need to tune the PID settings. I can balance it in a matter of seconds.
Payload capacity. It can handle a Tokina 11-20mm with a Speed Booster. (the new Tokina is a great UWA lens.)
What I really don't like:
It is not light compared to the competition. Even with a small lens on the GH4, the whole rig gets a bit heavy for single handed use. For a heavier payload, such as the Tokina, a monitor and a microphone, I end up using both hands.
Ergonomically poor handle. Given how heavy this thing is, it should have been designed with a better handle. It's just bad and it's the downfall of this gimbal. The square, oversized handle feels very uncomfortable and slippery. There is very little grip, which makes it tougher to deal with the weight. The bad handle defeats the purpose of a single hand gimbal.
Came-TV could have stacked the two batteries end to end and built a comfortable standard handle. I would think they can easily do this and replace the current handle, which is almost worthless. Maybe if enough users complain, they will listen.
I am returning the Came-TV Single until they have a better handle.
What I really like:
Easy to balance. Tool-less and no need to tune the PID settings. I can balance it in a matter of seconds.
Payload capacity. It can handle a Tokina 11-20mm with a Speed Booster. (the new Tokina is a great UWA lens.)
What I really don't like:
It is not light compared to the competition. Even with a small lens on the GH4, the whole rig gets a bit heavy for single handed use. For a heavier payload, such as the Tokina, a monitor and a microphone, I end up using both hands.
Ergonomically poor handle. Given how heavy this thing is, it should have been designed with a better handle. It's just bad and it's the downfall of this gimbal. The square, oversized handle feels very uncomfortable and slippery. There is very little grip, which makes it tougher to deal with the weight. The bad handle defeats the purpose of a single hand gimbal.
Came-TV could have stacked the two batteries end to end and built a comfortable standard handle. I would think they can easily do this and replace the current handle, which is almost worthless. Maybe if enough users complain, they will listen.
I am returning the Came-TV Single until they have a better handle.
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I think the Came Single's handle is worse because it needs to support more weight than the N4000.
The guys designing these pistol gimbals from China need to do better. Have they never heard of comfort and usability? IMO the tech is only 10% of a product. The design is 90%.
The guys designing these pistol gimbals from China need to do better. Have they never heard of comfort and usability? IMO the tech is only 10% of a product. The design is 90%.
nyvz
Veteran
For anyone interested, here's a short student film I shot on the Nebula 4000 and A7S and the Sony 28-70FE lens. It was shot in 4hrs. I need to tweak the nebula for easier fine movements but it worked alright in the end.
https://vimeo.com/134359055
I just lit and shot it, the director edited it. I'm a bit confused why she didn't use the wide shot for the hallway portion and let it play out all in a closeup which seems a bit disorienting.
https://vimeo.com/134359055
I just lit and shot it, the director edited it. I'm a bit confused why she didn't use the wide shot for the hallway portion and let it play out all in a closeup which seems a bit disorienting.