Alpha Beta Omega
Veteran
I made my own dual handle and to me it makes the Crane easier to operate so go ahead and get the handle.
Zhiyun Crane
- Thread starter jb.
- Start date
puredrifting
Major Contributor
I've had my Crane for a good six months now, still single handle, still loving it, it's such a useful, inexpensive tool. I really want to fly the Fujfilm XT-2 on it, that is the next frontier for me eventually.
hopkins802
Well-known member
I just got the Crane and love it. Using it with my A7sii and mostly the sony 28mm. I also use it with the nikkor 24mm. It's decent with a small 50mm as well.
Alpha Beta Omega
Veteran
I've shoot with the 16-35 and A7SII on my Crane and it works fine. But I switched to a Batis 18 instead to not have to rebalance the Crane as I had to with my Sony 16-35 at different focals. The Batis 18 is lighter and a bit shorter so I see this a better option.
Alpha Beta Omega
Veteran
I'd say both the 16-35 and 18 are sharp but my Batis looks very detailed. I appreciate the F2.8 and form more than any sharpness advantage on the Batis 18.
In general any gimbal is going to perform better the further you are away from max payload.
It's like a pickup truck. It's going to perform better with a few bikes in the bed than it would with 2000 lbs. of gravel in the bed.
That said, I use my A7RII and 16-35mm on the Crane occasionally... it works ok. I much prefer the A6500 and 35mm f/1.8 on there though.
It's like a pickup truck. It's going to perform better with a few bikes in the bed than it would with 2000 lbs. of gravel in the bed.
That said, I use my A7RII and 16-35mm on the Crane occasionally... it works ok. I much prefer the A6500 and 35mm f/1.8 on there though.
Samuel H
Major Contributor
Thanks
Angry Leprechaun
Well-known member
Has anyone here used or talked about the Moza Air? Looks just like the Crane but comes with the dual handle, can hold up to 5.5 lbs, and is just $599. The dual handle remote's an extra $200 so it's pretty much the same as the Crane with the bluetooth remote and dual handles. Batteries last about 4 hours but I don't remember how long the crane's lasts.
http://www.newsshooter.com/2017/03/...dheld-gimbal-for-mirrorless-and-dslr-cameras/
http://www.newsshooter.com/2017/03/...dheld-gimbal-for-mirrorless-and-dslr-cameras/
puredrifting
Major Contributor
I see a fundamental shortcoming with this product (when operated with the dual handle mode), the same shortcoming that helicopter based gimbals like the Ronin and Ronin-M have. The camera (on this gimbal with the two handle setup) hangs DOWN below the handles. This means if you are shooting people walking or doing activities and want your camera at roughly eye level/head level with your talent, guess where you are going to be holding the gimbal in order to get your typical eye-level shot? That's right, with your arms up above your head, with all of the blood draining from them, muscle fatigue almost instantly setting in. Sod that. Assuming you are photographing people, the single handle approach works better and is much less fatiguing. I screw in a 1/4 20 to 5/8" spud on my Crane into the bottom so I can place it on a light stand with a 5/8" receiver for balancing and resting. When I am shooting, if we are doing long takes, I can rest the 5/8" spud on my waist or on my belt, reducing arm fatigue and shakiness.
This is the same reason I just bought the Letus Helix Jr. Magnesium to fly my C100, I will be shooting a whole film with a musician talking to the camera with the two of us and a crew walking all over a city in South America. Shooting this project with a helicopter gimbal would be almost impossible, my arms, shoulder and back wouldn't handle it for long takes. I will still be challenged shooting it with the Helix Jr. but it's do-able with resting in between takes. But the Letus Helix Jr. thanks to it's clever design, places the camera much closer to eye level while your arms remain at a comfortable level where you can even brace your elbows into your sides/chest. If you've shot much with a gimabl or Steadicam, a huge key to actually using it effectively is reducing fatigue as much as possible. Gimbals that suspend the camera down, below the handles are contrary to this goal.
I am pretty sure you can also shoot with the camera above the handles, so you don't have to hang the camera below if you don't want to.
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puredrifting
Major Contributor
Ahh, good to know, that would work much better for photographing people in walk and talks than underslung. My comments still stand for helcopter gimbals. It would be interesting to see a comparison of the same shots, shot by the same person, both with the single handle and these duals. Personally, I think it is a placebo effect using the two handles with a small and mirrorless camera, I doubt it is much steadier but who knows? Someone should do a test. Obviously for a heavier camera, or like on the Helix Jr., two handles are steadier but on a 1.5lb camera, not sure if it matters?
Angry Leprechaun
Well-known member
I found one test but I think they're both using the single handle. Really seems like there's no difference, just curious if one is anyway better than the other. Only reason I want the dual handles is so I can mount an external recorder to it and both of these only have mounting options on the bottom without the dual handles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrHDEO5c1Kk
ozmorphasis
Well-known member
Don't pretty much all helicopter gimbals let you just flip it? In the case of the ronin and ronin M the camera remains upside down if you do that, which means you still have to flip the image in post, but plenty of other gimbals (Came two handed models, etc) let you flip the handles and the gimbal itself also flips so that the camera is now higher but still right side up. That's what the Crane allows as well, seamless flipping from underslung to over-the-handle camera position.
Not sure that that particular feature sets the letus apart as much as it did before the recent crop of gimbals began letting you effortlessly flip it over. On the other hand, the fact that you can easily set the letus down on any flat surface is pretty great!
I'd love to hear your report on the Letus as you work with it more.
Thanks,
O
I think if you had to shoot like this for 3+ hours, the dual handle would be a lot less stressful on your arms than flying a 5 lb package for 3+ hours with a single arm.
Alpha Beta Omega
Veteran
Even something light like the Crane and camera is fatiguing when you have to go smooth and keep the thing steady and two hands helps a lot. Plus to me at least it makes for better movement when shooting.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Will report back as soon as I get some time on it. This was the main reason I bought it, we are shooting on the streets for many hours at a time, having to bring a stand to put the gimbal down onto versus just setting it on a table or the ground is huge.