Movi v Defy v BeSteady v Rock-Steadi - Are there others? What's the difference?

traviswears

traviswears

Well-known member
Anyone have any inside scoop on the differences between these brushless systems?

Looking to pick up one of these units but unsure which as not many are out in the wild. Most are up for pre-order. Main purpose would be utility-use in the field during commercial work and then to possibly replace renting a Kenyon Labs gyro while doing helicopter aerials.

Would be neat if these companies did a rental system, where you could rent it for a weekend and then apply the rental fee to the purchase price, in order to test a few of these against each other.
 
I'm not so sure about helicopter work. At NAB, the producers of one of these rigs--I think it was Movi--said "You still need to run it through stabilization software for the high-frequency component." So I would talk to them about helicopter work. Might work--I don't know.
 
Jim Ritscher said:
I'm not so sure about helicopter work. At NAB, the producers of one of these rigs--I think it was Movi--said "You still need to run it through stabilization software for the high-frequency component." So I would talk to them about helicopter work. Might work--I don't know.
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Good to know. Thanks. Guess nobody else has much info on these rigs either. I saw a few more in my searches today. They're everywhere but not many actually have production models out for review.
 
I have bought the BeSteady One and will be arriving sometimes end of September I believe. Then I will also but rigging this unit up with a copter. So, if you willing to wait, I will be uploading some footage in October I guess.
 
kicap said:
I have bought the BeSteady One and will be arriving sometimes end of September I believe. Then I will also but rigging this unit up with a copter. So, if you willing to wait, I will be uploading some footage in October I guess.
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Yeah, am super stoked to see the footage. Are you shooting from quadcopter/drone or a helicopter?
 
The MoVI M10 can be adapted to helicopter flying with one extra part. By far it is the first to announce and is the costliest.

There are many others who have announced their plans a few others waiting to jump into the fray.

Before I buy, I would like to know:
1) if the company is a reputed one and will be around to provide the parts and other support when I need.
2) Whether the company has got its own manufacturing as opposed to assembly in a garage.
3) Videos without any stabilisation in post and reviews by a few reputed guys
4) Unique feature vis-a-vis competition and
5) ofcourse Price
 
indiawilds said:
The MoVI M10 can be adapted to helicopter flying with one extra part. By far it is the first to announce and is the costliest.

There are many others who have announced their plans a few others waiting to jump into the fray.

Before I buy, I would like to know:
1) if the company is a reputed one and will be around to provide the parts and other support when I need.
2) Whether the company has got its own manufacturing as opposed to assembly in a garage.
3) Videos without any stabilisation in post and reviews by a few reputed guys
4) Unique feature vis-a-vis competition and
5) ofcourse Price
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1- No parts to be replaced in most cases. They are all built with ready available parts (carbon booms etc...)
2- No company manufactures anything...all made in China even the controllers.
3- youtube/vimeo is full of non stabilized vídeos. Most of the times just by watching the results you can´t tell the difference between the rigs.
4- All gimbals have the same features...most of them have the same controller boards
5- Price can be worlds apart from 2000 to 15000. Watch vídeos and decide. Like Steadicam the most important thing is balance. Once you get to understand these systems you will find it easy but not everybody bought Steadicams. Don´t even think those systems are just turn the power on and it is working...very far from that. Good luck with your choice.
 
kikojiu said:
1- No parts to be replaced in most cases. They are all built with ready available parts (carbon booms etc...)
2- No company manufactures anything...all made in China even the controllers.
3- youtube/vimeo is full of non stabilized vídeos. Most of the times just by watching the results you can´t tell the difference between the rigs.
4- All gimbals have the same features...most of them have the same controller boards
5- Price can be worlds apart from 2000 to 15000. Watch vídeos and decide. Like Steadicam the most important thing is balance. Once you get to understand these systems you will find it easy but not everybody bought Steadicams. Don´t even think those systems are just turn the power on and it is working...very far from that. Good luck with your choice.
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1,2 and 4 of your statements are completely wrong, why are you spreading such misinformation?
 
I have the MoVI and love it. I will probably pick up a Phoenix A50 by PhotoshipOne eventually to try it out as well. I've had other gimbals by PhotoshipOne that were good.
 
Indeed. Nearly every gimbal is running the same software written by Alex Moskalenko. The motors and controllers are mix and match from a few vendors. If you blow the motor or controller, you can buy it from any number of retailers.

One can make something unique in regards to the frame. But many are using the same components as already stated.

Just be sure the motors and frame are sized properly to accommodate the weight of the camera.

[edit] That's not to say Movi or the others are not doing something custom.
 
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vincent thomas said:
Im getting lost here..
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As are we all Vincent. These are early days for this technology. The issue is that there is little meaningful information about these units. Until these units are out for a while, we really won't know how well each unit holds up and how good the companies will back their products. Sure, they all work. But how well. Which one is best for a particular camera? Will these companies be here next year? How well will the companies support the product? How long do the motors last? They are open frame. Are they suscepticble to damage and dirt? Are they properly sized or do they burn up?

It's early adopter days. If you want one now, you just have to read as much as you can, make a decision, and take your chances.

If you read the RC copter and drone forums, you will see that there is still much work being done for the larger camera systems. New motors and controllers have recently come out for the RED/Epic sized cameras. So the development goes on and the units get better.

One distinction Movi has over other systems is that it incorporates GPS. Accelerometers can get a bit lost in high vibration/movement environments and GPS sensing helps correct this. But do you need that kind of precision? I don't think I do. How bad do gimbals perform without the GPS correction? I haven't read anything that provides any detail, so it is hard to judge.

Another distinction Movi has over the cheap units is that the controllers and motors are custom. So you must go to them for replacement parts. But if your business can afford to spend $15k on this technology, that is probably a good thing, not a bad thing.
 
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