Which gimbal?

A

alohype

Veteran
Hi guys,
I am considering getting gimbal that will support FS700 (for use with some much lighter dslr as well). What would you recommend to get or for which one to wait until it will be available?
Dji Ronin is great price, but unfortunately quite heavy.
Letus Helix seems like a great option, it's lighter and with reverted (normal) position. I am not really sure how is it with it's availability in Europe.
Other ones? Movi (expensive), Defy, BeSteady... etc.?
 
alohype said:
Hi guys,
I am considering getting gimbal that will support FS700 (for use with some much lighter dslr as well). What would you recommend to get or for which one to wait until it will be available?
Dji Ronin is great price, but unfortunately quite heavy.
Letus Helix seems like a great option, it's lighter and with reverted (normal) position. I am not really sure how is it with it's availability in Europe.
Other ones? Movi (expensive), Defy, BeSteady... etc.?
Click to expand...

Varavon Birdy. Hands down. You may not have heard of it because Varavon marketing sucks, but I promise you within the next few months if you get any other gimbal you might question your choice. Varavon has only barely started to ship to the states, and there's only a 1 or 2 users state-side right now, but... the gimbal is the real deal. It does not use off the shelf components like the ALEXmos controller that DJI Ronin uses or any number other gimbals use. This is a ground up design that easily outclasses the Movi M5 in almost every way.

It's extremely compact, it folds up in a small backpack, it carries batteries and accessories really well, the quality of the motors are... pretty darn amazing. It's goddamn smooth. As far as I'm concerned, right now there's only 2 gimbals that will potentially give you a near flawless result. The Movi M5/M10 and the Varavon Birdy which only does up to about BMCC / FS700 weight. Almost no one knows about this gimbal, which is hilarious considering how insanely well made it is.

Oh, and did I mention it can use an Android phone / tablet to give you pan / tilt control? It's a free app that works over bluetooth to control your gimbal... yeah, you read that right. You don't have to buy an extra controller or any other gear... you can FREAKIN CONTROL THE GIMBAL OVER AN APP.

Whatever you do, at least check it out before you make your decision. At 2500, you can't possibly ignore this as a possible gimbal solution for cameras under 4lb

 
L1N3ARX said:
Varavon Birdy. Hands down. You may not have heard of it because Varavon marketing sucks, but I promise you within the next few months if you get any other gimbal you might question your choice. Varavon has only barely started to ship to the states, and there's only a 1 or 2 users state-side right now, but... the gimbal is the real deal. It does not use off the shelf components like the ALEXmos controller that DJI Ronin uses or any number other gimbals use. This is a ground up design that easily outclasses the Movi M5 in almost every way.

It's extremely compact, it folds up in a small backpack, it carries batteries and accessories really well, the quality of the motors are... pretty darn amazing. It's goddamn smooth. As far as I'm concerned, right now there's only 2 gimbals that will potentially give you a near flawless result. The Movi M5/M10 and the Varavon Birdy which only does up to about BMCC / FS700 weight. Almost no one knows about this gimbal, which is hilarious considering how insanely well made it is.

Oh, and did I mention it can use an Android phone / tablet to give you pan / tilt control? It's a free app that works over bluetooth to control your gimbal... yeah, you read that right. You don't have to buy an extra controller or any other gear... you can FREAKIN CONTROL THE GIMBAL OVER AN APP.

Whatever you do, at least check it out before you make your decision. At 2500, you can't possibly ignore this as a possible gimbal solution for cameras under 4lb

Click to expand...


Ok, don't take this the wrong way but do you have any info about this product? Im assuming that you have used it with a fs700 since your giving an indication that will give a "near flawless" result.. the FS700 is 3.25lb alone (body only) So you would be very limited to what kind of lenses you could use and no accessories to add. So far I have seen nothing that indicates that this would work with a Sony fs700.. People are even complaining when pairing it up with a black magic cinema camera cause the camera is to heavy. Could you please post some footage with gimbal and fs700?

I could and hope to be wrong but that thing does not look like it will hold my fs700.

Alohype:
So far I'm interested in these two:
*DJI ronin, from what I know it is robust and can handle weight, but it is also heavy unfortunately. Attractive price 2999$ (would want to wait until they release longer arms that would fit a fs700 better)
*Gremsy H14, great support, weights only 5.29 punds (2.4kg) thats almost 2kg less than the ronin and can handle almost as much as the Ronin. But it is more expensive and lands on 4900$ (Already have longer arms that fit the fs700)
http://www.gremsy.com/en/products/detail/page/27-gstabi-h14

For me the weight might be a deal breaker having in mind you will want to add extra accessories, follow focus, monitor, transmitter etc. plus there might be times when you will need to use heavier cameras than your fs700. Buy something that also will help you in the future, not just in the moment.
 
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freshTEA said:
Ok, don't take this the wrong way but do you have any info about this product? Im assuming that you have used it with a fs700 since your giving an indication that will give a "near flawless" result.. the FS700 is 3.25lb alone (body only) So you would be very limited to what kind of lenses you could use and no accessories to add. So far I have seen nothing that indicates that this would work with a Sony fs700.. People are even complaining when pairing it up with a black magic cinema camera cause the camera is to heavy. Could you please post some footage with gimbal and fs700?

I could and hope to be wrong but that thing does not look like it will hold my fs700.

Alohype:
So far I'm interested in these two:
*DJI ronin, from what I know it is robust and can handle weight, but it is also heavy unfortunately. Attractive price 2999$
*Gremsy H14, great support, weights only 5.29 punds (2.4kg) thats almost 2kg less than the ronin and can handle almost as much as the Ronin. But it is more expensive and lands on 4900$
http://www.gremsy.com/en/products/detail/page/27-gstabi-h14

For me the weight might be a deal breaker having in mind you will want to add extra accessories, follow focus, monitor, transmitter etc. plus there might be times when you will need to use heavier cameras than your fs700. Buy something that also will help you in the future, not just in the moment.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Exactly, I want to buy something very solid that will last for long. Ronin looks like one - it's built like a tank and it will be versatile: let it be fs700, red or some other camera it'll take it. That weight is a killer that's why I am considering Letus Helix as well. It looks solid as well. Unfortunately I didn't had a chance to try any of them. How about you? What could you say about quality of Helix, Ronin if so?
 
freshTEA said:
People are even complaining when pairing it up with a black magic cinema camera cause the camera is to heavy.
Click to expand...

The Birdy handles the BMCC really well, in fact it seems to perform better with BMCC weight than a lighter camera. Who's complaining? What complaints have you seen about the Birdy not sustaining the Blackmagic Cinema Camera? The very, very few that have tested this combo out have said it handles it amazingly well. There's review footage with the actual 2.5K attached and it looks great.

I have not tried or seen footage with the FS700, that's why I just mention to look into it. It may not be what you're looking for. But I promise you the birdy is a far superior gimbal than the Ronin.

The only reason I'm thinking it may pair up with the FS700 is because it handles the the 3.7lb EF mount BMCC amazingly well.
 
alohype said:
Thanks! Exactly, I want to buy something very solid that will last for long. Ronin looks like one - it's built like a tank and it will be versatile: let it be fs700, red or some other camera it'll take it. That weight is a killer that's why I am considering Letus Helix as well. It looks solid as well. Unfortunately I didn't had a chance to try any of them. How about you? What could you say about quality of Helix, Ronin if so?
Click to expand...

Well I'd be a D*** if I acclaimed anything without trying it^^ But I do believe the ronin will get you were you wanna go as far as stability goes, seen enough footage in order to take a chance on it. But its hard to tell if any stabilisation have been added in post when looking for footage also. But yeah I would def recommend that you go for the longer arms when they are released.

Letus I was interested in but the footage that I have seen so far haven't been good enough. Micro vibrations in the few that I have seen.. but it might end up being a awesome product in the end. but then I'm also torned on a decent way to attach my monitor on the letus... I know you can put it on the left handle but I just don't know...

At the moment I'm leaning towards Gremsy H14.

But I'm with you, it is not an easy choice...
 
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L1N3ARX said:
The Birdy handles the BMCC really well, in fact it seems to perform better with BMCC weight than a lighter camera. Who's complaining? What complaints have you seen about the Birdy not sustaining the Blackmagic Cinema Camera? The very, very few that have tested this combo out have said it handles it amazingly well. There's review footage with the actual 2.5K attached and it looks great.

I have not tried or seen footage with the FS700, that's why I just mention to look into it. It may not be what you're looking for. But I promise you the birdy is a far superior gimbal than the Ronin.

The only reason I'm thinking it may pair up with the FS700 is because it handles the the 3.7lb EF mount BMCC amazingly well.
Click to expand...

"But I promise you the birdy is a far superior gimbal than the Ronin." dude... are you serious... Your promising me that birdy is a superior gimbal.. How can you even make that statement? Im assuming you have gone through extensive tests on both of the gimbals in different scenarios? You have tested the bmcc with a lens on the birdycam? Cause you said that its a great solution for cameras under 4 lb, the bmcc alone is 3.8 lb, that leaves you with 0.2 lb for a lens... looking for complaints, you don't have search that hard, its on B&H. Im not saying your wrong but at the moment your making no sense
 
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I've worked with 3 gimbals so far. The Movi, the Defy G5 and now the Ronin. The Ronin is by far my favorite. It's super easy to set up and balance and the OIS software makes fine tuning it a breeze. They are all heavy after you shoot for extended time, even with a light camera mounted. The Ronin comes with a well thought out complete package. Everything is in the box. Plus, I'm sure the device customer support far exceeds the birdycam.
 
wallrc said:
Have you considered the new Came 8000? It would handle an fs700. Comes out next month.

http://www.came-tv.com/preorder-came8000-gimbal-for-bmcc-and-red-camera-p-566.html
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Just one glimpse at the photos of it and I'm like: "ow hell noooo" (same goes to Birdy, I am sorry :( ). Those thin cables sticking out and cheap plastic covers put me off instantly. If Helix will be available in Europe I am gonna chose it, if not I will go Ronin. That H14 seems worse when it comes to build quality. What's nice is that it has that controling app.


freshTEA said:
But I'm with you, it is not an easy choice...
Click to expand...
Exactly!
But so far many people are praising Ronin. It seems that Dji will storm the market again... :)

freshTEA said:
Well I'd be a D*** if I acclaimed anything without trying it^^
Click to expand...
;) Thanks!
 
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for all gimbals which are able to carry a FS700 plus Odyssey I guess you will have to get a carrying solution like steadicam arm or easyrig. I shoot quite often handheld just with base plate, loupe, 7Q and standard lens and at the end of the day I can feel all my muscles. I agree that weight is an important factor and it's a disadvantage of the DJI Ronin. But even with lighter gimbals I don't think that you will be able to carry the system for longer shootings. I am planning to buy one too but I will still wait a little. Every month will lower prices and give more options. And here's also an important accessory:

kurzhantel_set_20_kg.jpg
 
Clermond said:
for all gimbals which are able to carry a FS700 plus Odyssey I guess you will have to get a carrying solution like steadicam arm or easyrig. I shoot quite often handheld just with base plate, loupe, 7Q and standard lens and at the end of the day I can feel all my muscles. I agree that weight is an important factor and it's a disadvantage of the DJI Ronin. But even with lighter gimbals I don't think that you will be able to carry the system for longer shootings. I am planning to buy one too but I will still wait a little. Every month will lower prices and give more options. And here's also an important accessory:

kurzhantel_set_20_kg.jpg
Click to expand...

im not available at the moment, I'm busy making pushups!
 
Very happy with our FS700 setup flying on the Defy G12. In fact we like it so much we just picked up a G2 gimbal as well. Biggest complaint is the weight of the entire FS700/G12 rig, but you are going to have that no matter what gimbal you choose. Balances very easy (after much practice :) ). I do wish it could fly in some of the configurations I am seeing from other gimbals now like the inverted mode and vertical modes. Hoping for this to be added here in the near future.
 
I would request that people who have good things to say about FS700 plus a gimbal tell us what they were flying: What lens? Using Odyssey 7Q? What battery for the 7Q? Anything extra such as wireless follow-focus? What was your total weight, excluding the Gimbal. An extra pound here or there can make an enormous diference.
 
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Jim Ritscher said:
I would request that people who have good things to say about FS700 plus a gimbal tell us what they were flying: What lens? Using Odyssey 7Q? What battery for the 7Q? Anything extra such as wireless follow-focus? What was your total weight, excluding the Gimbal. An extra pound here or there can make an enormous diference.
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I can't give you any good things about any gimbal cause I have not had a chance to work with any yet.

*But what I can say is that people have been reporting that Ronin is not a 100% functional with the Fs700 until they bring out their XL-arms (this from the fs700 group on facebook by people that owns both)

*Here is someone who have been working in early stages with the Letus helix: http://www.bmcuser.com/showthread.php?10351-Letus-Helix-3-Axis-Gimbal-thoughts-Updates
A fs700 was used and you can see it in the pictures. it was said that they worked really well together, even with different lenses.

*L1N3ARX Swears that birdycam is the gimbal to rule them all ................. ....... wait .........
 
Sorry cant tell you actual weight, but on our FS700/g12 rig we are rigging the fs, and usually a zeiss 15 or 21 zf2 w speedbooster. Odyssey 7q mounted on top bar powered by sony battery plate. Still waiting for powerbar to run the redrock wireless follow focus. All rigged out its pretty substantial. We basically get 1 or 2 takes and then hang it up on the c stand to take a breather :)
 
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