Picking a gimbal?

housetwelve

housetwelve

Member
I know reviews online are almost endless, but as a small woman with minimal upper body strength, I don't find them particularly useful.

Here's the deal: recently the motors on my old Helix Jr. died. Their support has been non-existent, so buying a new (and improved) Helix Jr. isn't the most appealing thing right now. Additionally, I never was able to get my RED to balance on it, so I might not be opposed to getting something that can handle the Scarlet. I liked how natural the Helix Jr. was to use, the handles are close together and being able to keep my elbows tucked in is a huge help, and buying another one means I don't have to learn something new.

But since this is an opportunity to get something potentially better, I just want to see if anybody had useful experience to share. I'm looking for something to support 8-10 pounds, no budget.
 
Everyone seems to like the ronin and ronin m. I personally gave gimbals a shot and it ended up making me fall in love with steadicam all over again. I shoot on a steadicam pilot which is perfect for that weight class.
 
I've considered going back to my steadicam too, but I think I abandoned for a pretty good reason. The vest is obnoxiously large on me. I've never been able to adjust it in such a way that didn't allow tons of play in the shoulder area, which I found very distracting. Maybe more practice could help, but having 2 hands on a gimbal just seems way simpler.
 
If you still have your vest, try loosening the center chest column while wearing it and then compress the shoulders down and tighten the column. I've found that to be the best way to illiminate space in the shoulders so that the weight of the steadicam is distributed more evenly.
 
I would also suggest calling the Steadicam factory and describing your concerns, they may be able to help. Feel free to drop my name...might help depending on who you talk to! ha.

I've been wondering if there is starting to be any "churn" in the gimbal user group with some returning to Steadicam if they already were invested. I do feel that the future lies in a combination of technologies but that gimbals are simply not a mature concept. I recently bought my first one, the smaller Zhiyun Crane-M for my RX100iv and there is so much room for improvement with the ergonomics and control interface. Still kinda fun though!
 
housetwelve said:
I've considered going back to my steadicam too, but I think I abandoned for a pretty good reason. The vest is obnoxiously large on me. I've never been able to adjust it in such a way that didn't allow tons of play in the shoulder area, which I found very distracting. Maybe more practice could help, but having 2 hands on a gimbal just seems way simpler.
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Obvious question but are you using a vest designed for women? I seem to recall Steadicam or someone Steadicam related introduced vests tailored to a woman's body fairly recently? You're right, fit is everything.
 
housetwelve said:
I had no idea anybody designed a vest for women.
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The Steadicam Fawcett Exovest is said to be a very good solution for female Steadicam ops http://www.tiffen.com/steadicam_fawcett_exovest.html
Here's an Easy Rig vest designed for women http://nofilmschool.com/2016/11/cinema-flex-first-easy-rig-vest-designed-female-dps http://easyrig.se/product/easyrig-cinema-flex-vest
The Steadicam Operators Handbook has all kinds of good information about how women can deal with Steadicam vest fit and technique https://www.amazon.com/Steadicam-Op...or's+Handbook+by+Laurie+Hayball,+Jerry+Holway
A useful piece on female Steadicam Operators https://opticalsupport.com/2016/04/...g-the-world-of-the-female-steadicam-operator/
This thread has some good advice for a female Steadicam Op http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=22969

While I own two gimbals and like them, overall, the Steadicam type device can do a lot of things a gimbal cannot but they take more skill and practice and are sometimes physically much larger. I am intrigued by using a Steadicam vest and arm with a gimbal, that would seem to have some cool possibilities.

Good luck
 
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@puredrifting: I recently purchased the Wondlan Skywalker gimbal. I also have a Wondlan Steadycam (LE304), and they offer an adapter so you can mount their gimbal on their steadycam unit. I'm ordering the adapter and look forward to trying out the combo...hoping its a match made in steady-footage-heaven---no weight on the arms...but I am wondering how well the movement of the camera can be controlled.
 
mrveronn said:
@puredrifting: I recently purchased the Wondlan Skywalker gimbal. I also have a Wondlan Steadycam (LE304), and they offer an adapter so you can mount their gimbal on their steadycam unit. I'm ordering the adapter and look forward to trying out the combo...hoping its a match made in steady-footage-heaven---no weight on the arms...but I am wondering how well the movement of the camera can be controlled.
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I guess you'll find out. Definitely post some footage/tests and let us know. I have the Letus Helix Jr. Magnesium with the encoded motors, it supports the C100. I am looking forward to trying out the Letus EXO 17 with it when they release it. http://www.geardads.com/gimbal-support-letus-exo17/
 
I bought a Helix Magnesium with encoders a few months ago and had to return it because it just didn't work with my 12lb setup (even though it is rated much higher).

I finally this past week solved my Gimbal woes by discovering that the market for a used Movi M15 has bottomed out (actually I bet it will go lower). I picked up one with a Pelican case, and loss of extras for $1900, and I've seen them go for less. Movi M15s were mostly bought by pros with big budgets and those same pros are upgrading the the Movi Pro all at once. This means that the used M15s are trickling down for great prices.

The Movi M15 is much, much lighter weight than the Ronin (or most any gimbal on the market) and can be used in inverted mode, allowing you to have very similar ergonomics to what you had with the Helix. Good luck with whatever you go for.


housetwelve said:
I know reviews online are almost endless, but as a small woman with minimal upper body strength, I don't find them particularly useful.

Here's the deal: recently the motors on my old Helix Jr. died. Their support has been non-existent, so buying a new (and improved) Helix Jr. isn't the most appealing thing right now. Additionally, I never was able to get my RED to balance on it, so I might not be opposed to getting something that can handle the Scarlet. I liked how natural the Helix Jr. was to use, the handles are close together and being able to keep my elbows tucked in is a huge help, and buying another one means I don't have to learn something new.

But since this is an opportunity to get something potentially better, I just want to see if anybody had useful experience to share. I'm looking for something to support 8-10 pounds, no budget.
Click to expand...
 
I was considering a used M15, but I've never seen them priced that low! I even considered a new one with the massive price drop, but I'd prefer to find a kit with accessories included.

@puredrifting Thanks for the links! The vest + gimbal combination definitely is interesting, and options are always good.
 
housetwelve said:
I was considering a used M15, but I've never seen them priced that low! I even considered a new one with the massive price drop, but I'd prefer to find a kit with accessories included.

@puredrifting Thanks for the links! The vest + gimbal combination definitely is interesting, and options are always good.
Click to expand...

People are selling them "like new" for $2,800 all over the place and a few have sold recently on eBay for $1900. In fact, earlier this month one had ZERO bids at $1600!!! I emailed the person who listed it and they said they wouldn't relist for that price because they had no idea there would be so little interest. The catch 22 I guess is, by talking about this, it will probably drive the market up!

Good luck!
 
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