What gimbal would you suggest me (mostly for rigging)

M

M.R.

Active member
Hi all,

most reviews I see are about how lightweight, compact or easy to setup they are. While easy setup is nice, the other criteria aren't very important for me.
What are the best gimbals in 2021 (they don't have to be new) for these criteria.

Criteria
Load capacity around 3kg (or more of course)
Best stabilization, also stabilization that eliminates micro vibrations/jitters.
Has the option to Pan/Tilt/Roll fast. Like whip pan fast. If not possible tell me which are the fastest ones.

Nice to have
Separate controller, to control from a distance. (Smartphone is ok, controller is cooler)
Setup movement pattern (all axis) that you can trigger.
Battery or it has separate batteries, or you can charge it while using, or the internal battery lasts really long
360° Roll
Easy setup (I read for instance a Letus Helix Jr. is more tricky to setup (micro jitters))

Not important
Lightweight
Compactness

Budget around 500 (of course lower is better)

Thanks!
 
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DJI Ronin and Zhiyun Crane are the two top players. They all perform similar comes down to payload capacity and features. Decide what camera and lens you want to fly then find the gimbal that can handle it. Note you should also take into consideration how much weight you can hold.
 
I have a weebill-s and I enjoy it. Definitely lightweight and compact. Not sure it can manage 3kg but it probably can. It can do everything else you mention, I believe. Smartphone control only. The joystick feel and function is far inferior to my ronin-s. But other than that and the 3 custom modes I can create on the ronin-s, I'd say that I prefer the weebill-s and I have more fun with it
 
ahalpert I was just about to ask what you guys think of the Ronin S. I saw a spec comparision chart between Ronin 2 / MX / M / S. The S has 360° movement speed on all axis, which seems quite fast. Certainly when compared to the older M and MX models. What makes you like the Weebill S more?

The Ronin S seems to go for less than half of my budget range.
How does it compare to the newer models?

It seems I wasn't really clear on the lightweight and compactness, as I see you both mention it.
Updated list beneath.

Criteria
Load capacity around 3kg (or more of course)
Best stabilization, also stabilization that eliminates micro vibrations/jitters.
Has the option to Pan/Tilt/Roll fast. Like whip pan fast. If not possible tell me which are the fastest ones.

Nice to have
Separate controller, to control from a distance. (Smartphone is ok, controller is cooler)
Setup movement pattern (all axis) that you can trigger.
Battery or it has separate batteries, or you can charge it while using, or the internal battery lasts really long
360° Roll
Easy setup (I read for instance a Letus Helix Jr. is more tricky to setup (micro jitters))

Not important
Lightweight
Compactness

Budget around 500 (of course lower is better)
 
My latest gimbal is a DJI RSC 2.
I'm sure there are better gimbals out there, but at this lower budget level it does what I need it to do.
I'm mainly using it with lighter weight cameras like my new GH5M2.
 
'mostly for rigging' - im not sure what this means.. but it could be for on cars or something.. then you will need a xyz stabiliser too like a flowcine arm or one of its little brothers from china.

as gimbal use increases you may notice a lack of horizons on cornering ruins the whole effect.

the movi series (m10 now cheap) had gps looking after the horizon whereas the early ronins did not. Im not sure where we sit now but check for cuts in promo vids just as a bit of corning g comes into play..

ive got a movi pro and it is pretty good but I hate the batteries and the attitude of the americans
 
M.R. said:
ahalpert I was just about to ask what you guys think of the Ronin S. I saw a spec comparision chart between Ronin 2 / MX / M / S. The S has 360° movement speed on all axis, which seems quite fast. Certainly when compared to the older M and MX models. What makes you like the Weebill S more?

The Ronin S seems to go for less than half of my budget range.
How does it compare to the newer models?

It seems I wasn't really clear on the lightweight and compactness, as I see you both mention it.
Updated list beneath.

Criteria
Load capacity around 3kg (or more of course)
Best stabilization, also stabilization that eliminates micro vibrations/jitters.
Has the option to Pan/Tilt/Roll fast. Like whip pan fast. If not possible tell me which are the fastest ones.

Nice to have
Separate controller, to control from a distance. (Smartphone is ok, controller is cooler)
Setup movement pattern (all axis) that you can trigger.
Battery or it has separate batteries, or you can charge it while using, or the internal battery lasts really long
360° Roll
Easy setup (I read for instance a Letus Helix Jr. is more tricky to setup (micro jitters))

Not important
Lightweight
Compactness

Budget around 500 (of course lower is better)
Click to expand...

the weebill-s is significantly lighter than the ronin-s. that accounts for much of the reason I enjoy using it. of course, I've also rigged it up differently, which exacerbates the weight difference. on my ronin-s I have a focus motor (which i now use to drive zoom whilst autofocusing instead of pulling focus manually as I used to). I've also got a side handle and a larger monitor than I use on the weebill-s.

As a result, I can comfortably use the weebill-s in "POV" mode where the unit freely rolls as well as pans and tilts in conjunction with the operator's movements. I'm not sure if you can do this on the ronin-s. You probably can. But I wouldn't do it because it would be too much strain on my wrist. I actually strained some muscles or tendons or something in my forearm when I first got the ronin-s because I used the trigger too much. You have to reach your index finger around the back and squeeze the trigger to lock the direction of the gimbal. I did that a lot at first, and squeezed hard due to the weight of the unit. I developed chronic pain in my forearm over the summer and had to ease up on my gimbal usage. The pain didn't go away until winter when I was working less. Now, I use the trigger much less but also find that it's not as necessary to use it as I first thought. That whole experience left me wary of straining the weak parts of my arms (wrist, etc). Working biceps = good. Straining wrist or back = bad. Be careful!

Another thing that I do with the weebill-s that I do less often and less boldly with the ronin-s is I will mount it to a monopod and hoist it up, sometimes with 6+ feet extension. The lighter weight and lower center of gravity make me feel more safe and secure in doing so.

The weebill-s can also be quickly reconfigured to mount its handle in an underslung position, which can be quite convenient.

That being said, I'd say that a slight edge for stability and smoothness goes to the ronin-s. And the joystick operation and result is night and day between the two of them. The ronin-s is far superior in that regard. With the ronin-s, I can also pan and tilt using the joystick and using the motion of the handle at the same time (if I program it to do so), which I find useful for feathering a pan or tilt by starting it with a slight move of the joystick and then continuing it with a handle movement. Unless that capability exists on the weebill-s and I just haven't discovered it, then you're left with using either handle movement or joystick but unable to combine the two. I also like that the ronin-s has a tall handle column because it gives the camera a further boost in height, allowing me to hold my arms lower while bringing the camera up to shoulder or head level, where I often want it. Even though the rig is heavy, its shape helps reduce carrying strain.

I don't notice much jitters with either unit. But if that's a great concern, then supposedly the ronin-s 2 (rs2) has some sort of supersmooth mode for long lenses. I've heard that the stability/smoothness or the rs2 is not that different from the original ronin-s. but it's possible that that mode accomplishes something with long lenses. I dunno, I've never used the new rig

The rs2 is also compatible with a host of new accessories and toys and controllers. You may find superior remote control options. I've done a lot with smartphone remote control of both my units, but it has its drawbacks. I sort of felt like the accessories for the new unit were a money pit. If there were something there I really needed, then they might be a great investment. But given that I was already getting what I needed with my OG ronin-s and that the stability/smoothness was supposed to be similar, I decided to stay put. One standout feature of the new one, however, is that it's a bit lighter.

You can charge the ronin-s with a usb-c battery, which I have done. Not sure about the weebill-s but I don't think so.

both my units can execute whip pans in the appropriate mode. the ronin-s might be a bit faster but I've never tested them together to really find out

I don't sense immense performance differences between recently-released gimbals from various brands. I think I would choose more based on features. zhiyun and dji are, of course, the sector leaders. but there are other brands to consider as well
 
morgan_moore
yes with rigging I mean for example car, but will mostly use it to rig on to slower moving stuff.
Do I still need a XYZ stabiliser arm if it's for slower moving objects? Like a bicycle for example?


ahalpert
Thank you for your thoughts / experience / review on both Ronin S and Weebill S. That makes the Ronin S a far better choice over the Weebill for my type of use.


The Zhiyun Crane 3S was coming on my radar recently!
Anybody has any experience with it?
How does it compare to Ronin S / Ronin RSC2 ? (in terms of spec it can of course handle more load, and has more room for larger camera setups)
 
I've the Crane 3S floating a FX6 and it can handle long and heavy lens like the 28-135 / 100-400 (note: you can not do a full 360 as the lens is too long... not that you would want to anyway). Absolutely no issue with the payload or jittering as the motors are very strong (you don't even have issues with balance with external extending zooms). I've really not used it much and I I'm in no way proficient with it. I am surprised how much "gear" you get with it for so little $. Unfortunately (for me) the onboard controls lack full LANC support so I don't get PZ zoom control on the 28-135 (have to use their motors for this). The only things I'd rate it down for is that:
- It gets heavy quickly handheld... if not using the underslung hold
- the zoom motor will not drive lens with a stiff zoom ring (eg the cheap sony 24-240, other lens are fine)
- seems to have good control support for a wide rage of cameras but not for cams like the FX6 - you need to check their compatibility list of what functions are supported
 
M.R. said:
morgan_moore
yes with rigging I mean for example car, but will mostly use it to rig on to slower moving stuff.
Do I still need a XYZ stabiliser arm if it's for slower moving objects? Like a bicycle for example?
Click to expand...

For sure. even a shopping trolley going over a (hard) pea needs stabilising in xyz

Forget hard mounted gimbales and even springs like things IMO

but.. he human arm is an excellent stbiliser..

a shopping trolley cayying a human holding a stabiliser going over a pea would not need xyz

Id use a human wherever possible for xyz stabilisation..

in a wheelchair, on a trolley sitting on the back of a bike whatever.
 
I found a few solutions for the pea.

I've been seeing package prices for around 200 for Ronin S and Ronin SC packages. Seems interesting as at the moment the 3 Kg payload is not needed.
Also some older M and MX packages. Is there any advantage to the older M and MX? Spec sheet wise they seem a lot slower.

How does the Letus Helix compare?
 
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