Pistol grip 3-axis gimbal stabilizer

[ricardo_sousa11]

2 hours ago, Fredrik Lyhne said:

I bought from the international site so I could pay in USD which is cheaper for me. You can preorder at BH also at 996$ but the 2-hand handle is 259$ vs 199$ at http://copter-rc.com/en/

But what about customs ?

[Cinegain]

He's mentioned that earlier in the topic, he's in Norway, so he's got import duties to worry about either way, since Norway is outside of the European free trade zone. Then it actually makes more sense to pay for it with USD which currency converted is the more attractive option for him.

For EU countries within the European free trade zone the currency on copter-rc only 'appears' to be the cheaper option (EUR price from the German store is same as USD price from the Intl store (both 998), yet the conversion rate is 1.00 EUR =1.11794 USD (so the EUR price would be more like 892.75 EUR than 998 EUR, but I think that that added 100 bucks fairly go to European stockage, handling and franchise fees anyways)), but there you'd have the almost certain risk of import charges which would blow the price over the pilotfly.de price (VAT alone, +20% ~ 200 EUR (excl. add. logistical/administrative costs and possible customs fees (could be around 5%, haven't looked it up)). For those within the European free trade zone therefor it would make sense to buy it from them through their German office.

[Michael Ma]

6 hours ago, Cinegain said:

2nd batch has -10% discount. International on: http://copter-rc.com and within the EU: http://pilotfly.de .

At least for the H1+, for the entire time, it has had 10% discount.

[jase]

I am also in the market for a compact monopod to mount sth like a Beholder MS1 on it in order to be able to have a lowcost jib. I saw a video here of someone who did it, but cant find it anymore  Anyways, any recommendation what kind of monopod i should choose so that it is able to carry a gimbal including my rx100 iv so that it not breaks/bends when using it fully extended?

[ricardo_sousa11]

Found this, keeps looking amazing :

 

 

[Cinegain]

Yup. And more... hai!

 

[Michael Ma]

1 hour ago, Cinegain said:

Yup. And more... hai!

 

I think it's 90% technique and 10% improvements to the gimbal (in terms of motion).  Dave Dugdale has always been trying to stabilize his vertical motion with a pistol grip gimbal, and this video shows you his technique that lets him run with smoothness.  I think people watching these videos thinking they will be getting a huge improvement for vertical stabilization will be disappointed.   There essentially is no improvement for vertical stabilization except improved holding options with the new attachments. The battery and balancing when you switch lenses and cameras issue is no joke though on the H1+ and the improvements on the H2 are very welcome.

[Cinegain]

Yeah, it's a team effort. You've got to be a crouching tiger, you can't just bounce up 'n down like that and expect tech to compensate for your lack of understanding, skill and finesse.

That said. I do believe here the puzzle pieces fall together quite nicely with this one to the point I'd finally be comfortable getting one. I bet you'd be getting nice motion after a single week, opposed to months or more with a traditional mechanical stabilizer. That is... if you're willing to work with the gimbal stabilizer opposed to the mindset where you'd expect it to do the job for you.

[ThomHaig]

Hey everyone,

Got my Beholder MS1 through the other day. I'm impressed with it so far, especially given the cost. It's very easy and fast to set up, changing lenses whilst out wouldn't cause too much of a problem. I also like that it's a generic type of battery, making buying extras to be very inexpensive. It also seems to be very solidly built.

I've also learnt that shooting anything with dampening to the vertical bounce is really tough! Interesting to see that guy's technique with the pilotfly. He seems to be holding an attachment that's parallel to the ground (like you'd hold a briefase) and not vertical (like you'd hold a lollipop) which I can imagine would naturally dampen some vertical movement. Is that grip part of the H2, or something he's fabricated?

In an attempt to iron out some of the vertical bounce, I looked into adjusting the PID settings (this is where things get very specific to my situation), which is when I hit a brick wall: all the guides out there say you need to access a mini-usb port, which is behind a plastic cap. The cap I have is metal (with an additional button that controls inverse mode) and once the bolts are removed, the cap doesn't seem to come off! I have no idea if there even IS a usb port under there! Has anyone else run into this problem? Is it something they've implemented in a more recent version? Would be great if anyone here can share these experience in changing PID settings for any of the beholder products. Pics attached to show what I'm on about.

[Cinegain]

Couple of new H2 videos...

 

I really like those shots in the last video where he moves the camera and tilts.

[Cinegain]

Ooh, I'm always curious about what Dave thinks, especially since he likes small set-ups like me.

 

[jase]

I pulled the trigger for the Beholder MS1 - should complement my RX100 IV pretty good. The H2 looks even more awesome, but is bigger and a few hundred bucks more, so...

[Cinegain]

Hum, Dave got me thinking now, The GX80 with the H2? That would keep things nice 'n light/compact and the 5-axis... and a tilty screen that's useful, also inverted.

Dang, imagine taking a nap in january and just now waking up... things change so fast, man. Which kind of is a good point Dave makes... maybe wait till NAB. Who knows what everyone's coming up with. But this sure will do.

[MountneerMan]

Would any of you invest in a consumer level steady cam now that we have such affordable 3 axis gimbals?

My thoughts were always that I do not want a "cheapo" 3-axis gimbal and for the money to get a good one I could get a REALLY good steadycam + tripod + monopod + fluid head and a decent slider and this set-up would be more versatile but it now looks like you can get pretty decent gimbals for quite cheap now.

Also side related question has anyone used a mnopod-steady cam combo? are they any good or just gimmicky? 

 

[ricardo_sousa11]

5 minutes ago, MountneerMan said:

Would any of you invest in a consumer level steady cam now that we have such affordable 3 axis gimbals?

My thoughts were always that I do not want a "cheapo" 3-axis gimbal and for the money to get a good one I could get a REALLY good steadycam + tripod + monopod + fluid head and a decent slider and this set-up would be more versatile but it now looks like you can get pretty decent gimbals for quite cheap now.

Also side related question has anyone used a mnopod-steady cam combo? are they any good or just gimmicky? 

 

You'd end up carrying a lot of heavy gear/troublesome gear to achieve the same effect.

I myself have been holding off so far, I tried a came tv single last week and it didnt work with my nx1 (not even with a pancake lens), but I guess that unit was broken or something. But I might jump in and get a Pilotfly H2 + NX1 + Sigma 18-35mm combo, it should be killer. I want to travel as light as possible, and with the least gear as possible...time you spend mounting your tripod/monopod/sliders/shoulderigs/steady cams and all that is time you could be filming, just the though of having to mount everything already makes me not want to go out and film....but thats just me :p

[Mckinise]

On 4/3/2016 at 11:27 AM, ThomHaig said:

Hey everyone,

Got my Beholder MS1 through the other day. I'm impressed with it so far, especially given the cost. It's very easy and fast to set up, changing lenses whilst out wouldn't cause too much of a problem. I also like that it's a generic type of battery, making buying extras to be very inexpensive. It also seems to be very solidly built.

I've also learnt that shooting anything with dampening to the vertical bounce is really tough! Interesting to see that guy's technique with the pilotfly. He seems to be holding an attachment that's parallel to the ground (like you'd hold a briefase) and not vertical (like you'd hold a lollipop) which I can imagine would naturally dampen some vertical movement. Is that grip part of the H2, or something he's fabricated?

In an attempt to iron out some of the vertical bounce, I looked into adjusting the PID settings (this is where things get very specific to my situation), which is when I hit a brick wall: all the guides out there say you need to access a mini-usb port, which is behind a plastic cap. The cap I have is metal (with an additional button that controls inverse mode) and once the bolts are removed, the cap doesn't seem to come off! I have no idea if there even IS a usb port under there! Has anyone else run into this problem? Is it something they've implemented in a more recent version? Would be great if anyone here can share these experience in changing PID settings for any of the beholder products. Pics attached to show what I'm on about.

I have not messed with my new Beholder MS1, but I had one a few months ago and I just removed that plug to access the port.

[Fredrik Lyhne]

9 hours ago, Cinegain said:

Hum, Dave got me thinking now, The GX80 with the H2? That would keep things nice 'n light/compact and the 5-axis... and a tilty screen that's useful, also inverted.

Dang, imagine taking a nap in january and just now waking up... things change so fast, man. Which kind of is a good point Dave makes... maybe wait till NAB. Who knows what everyone's coming up with. But this sure will do.

Strange that he didnt mention the 2-hand handle which I think is one of the most important features. Not only for stability when running and walking but also for fatique. 

There might be an updated version of H1+ soon also so if youre not in a hurry... I will getting mine next week so if there is anything you want to know thats not been mentioned by reviewers just let me know. 

[Lightlightlight]

I just bought and received the H2. I have no idea how to use it. Never used one of these before. So my initial commentary is the H2 looks well made but gives zero instructions on how to get started. I get the concepts and have used steadicams and glidecams before but this is totally different. Clearly I'm not running as it should as I keep getting fluttering on the motors with an A6300+10-18mm. Where is the manual? 

[Cinegain]

On 7-4-2016 at 5:43 PM, ricardo_sousa11 said:

You'd end up carrying a lot of heavy gear/troublesome gear to achieve the same effect.

I myself have been holding off so far, I tried a came tv single last week and it didnt work with my nx1 (not even with a pancake lens), but I guess that unit was broken or something. But I might jump in and get a Pilotfly H2 + NX1 + Sigma 18-35mm combo, it should be killer. I want to travel as light as possible, and with the least gear as possible...time you spend mounting your tripod/monopod/sliders/shoulderigs/steady cams and all that is time you could be filming, just the though of having to mount everything already makes me not want to go out and film....but thats just me :p

I think everyone would want to use the Sigma... I'm just afraid it will push the possibilities weight & balance wise... you can shift the center of gravity only back so far... the question has been asked on their FB a couple of times and not sure anyone got a reply on that confirming or denying the compatibility.

On 7-4-2016 at 10:46 PM, Fredrik Lyhne said:

Strange that he didnt mention the 2-hand handle which I think is one of the most important features. Not only for stability when running and walking but also for fatique. 

There might be an updated version of H1+ soon also so if youre not in a hurry... I will getting mine next week so if there is anything you want to know thats not been mentioned by reviewers just let me know. 

True, I think it's just not of importance to Dave, since he likes his set-up small and not attracting too much attention. But yeah, it would be worth to atleast mention. Exciting you'll be getting yours soon, saw they were a little overwhelmed with how well this is received and are trying as hard as possible to meet demand but can't avoid 3-4 weeks delays for some.

On 7-4-2016 at 11:02 PM, Lightlightlight said:

I just bought and received the H2. I have no idea how to use it. Never used one of these before. So my initial commentary is the H2 looks well made but gives zero instructions on how to get started. I get the concepts and have used steadicams and glidecams before but this is totally different. Clearly I'm not running as it should as I keep getting fluttering on the motors with an A6300+10-18mm. Where is the manual? 

Yeah, that's pretty typical Chinese practices unfortunately, I recommend sticking around on their Facebook to ask questions. Dave mentioned contact through Yanherlin is pretty good, just know that he uses his channel and Gmail userhandle (yanherlin at gmail) for Pilotfly: https://www.youtube.com/user/Yanherlin ). Thought they had a set-up video, but I guess I'm mistaken. I guess you could kinda figure what Yoshihide is doing here:

-- they now also feature a drone-capable version of the H2, with 2nd arm (no open side) and lockdown mode bracket called the T1... (click img > 'Full size')

-- FB info regarding GH4 + Sigma 18-35mm compatibility update:

Quote

Sébastien F. Thanks a lot for theses great shots... Do you think that the H2 can work with a GH4 + Sigma 18-35? I cannot get the info...

Irena S. Am not sure but I have that lens and a metabones speedster at home, so will give it a try over the weekend and update you.

[..]

Irena S. I gave it a shot w that combo. No luck. Too front heavy. Cant get the included plate to go back far enough to balance. Since it is a standard arca swiss plate, it may be possible w a longer plate that allows to mount the GH4 further back on plate, but don't quote me on that.

 

[ThomHaig]

On 07/04/2016 at 4:46 PM, Mckinise said:

I have not messed with my new Beholder MS1, but I had one a few months ago and I just removed that plug to access the port.

Thanks for letting me know! It's weird... if it will come off, it seems to really want to be prized off... Might see if a pallete knife or something will do the job. Let me know if see a difference with your new MS1 when you get the chance, please!