GH2 The simply massive Varavon Birdycam review.

Not true. That link leads nowhere. It's not a massive review, there is no review. Not even a very short one. Not 9 parts. It's actually 0 parts. No GH2 or BMCC or 3 lenses. There is no camera and no lenses. More like air camera - similar to air guitar. Nothing to see, folks.
 
I'm slowly making my way through these so thank you for posting your experiences! Really helpful considering that there's not much info out there.
 
Yes, thank you - the new link delivers. I've been watching the gimbal revolution, and I agree that it could be a game changer. My only question has been whether the present incarnation of the gear is ready for prime time - I'm way, way over being an early adopter of gear... I want something that works well. Your review has gone a long way to making the case for the Birdycam being quite serviceable, so thank you very much for that comprehensive review. I am still not 100% ready though, personally. For one, the issue of having an arm+vest seems to me important to solve, for another, it seems it should be easier to set the PID. But it's close, definitely. I'd say another year or so and I'll be ready to take the plunge - although I wouldn't mind if the price was below $1K, which it will one day get to (maybe 2-3 years?).
 
I think the newer gimbals out there, particularly the birdy and the ronin are very useable right now. My tests were a little extreme because that's the way real life shooting is. I think the software is definitely lagging behind. It should be much easier, too much trial and error and too little info how to get the pid dialed in. But I think the gimbals are pretty good right now, I'll never go back to steadicam and I generally hate shooting from a shoulder rig, the ergonomics are always horrible.

If I want a moving camera shot, if its slow and intense, I'll probably use a slider or slow tripod moves, if I have intricate moves or follows or action- gimbal. I'll work on getting the gimbal attached to the steadicam arm. I think it's doable, just another thing to do. Also it's a lot of fun using these and I think they do open new creative possibilities that were not really available for many of us because of set or crew limitations.
 
Just to clarify for those who might not be very familiar with the Varavon product line, the review refers to BirdyCam2 (which I deduced from the battery comment under the first vimeo video). One thought that occurs to me, is that while it's absolutely true that lighter smaller and more nimble is quite desirable, once you can reliably hook it up to a vest/arm, the weight issue might be alleviated, which might put the DJI Ronin back in play, and since the BirdyCam2 is limited in what cameras it can take, there may be little choice but to take the Ronin for a bigger cam.

I also liked the Tunnel series of videos, quite informative - good job, Kevin!
 
I never used the EasyRig. Using a vest and an arm I can get very good coverage, including very low angles - I don't know if you could have the same flexibility with the EasyRig.
 
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