Jump to content

Which gimbal for run and gun film making?


JazzBox
 Share

Recommended Posts

Dear all, 

I sold some things I had in order to raise some money for a gimbal that it is quick to balance and easy to operate. 
I mostly shoot with GH4 and G7, I had a MiniSturdyFlight, very good pistol gimbal, but I search something that could hold also a C100 MkII... 

What about Ronin M? Is it easy to balance? Does it need and external monitor or it is possible to see the camera's LCD?

Have you some suggestions? 

Thank you very much! ;) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

Is that ever going to work with a C100? Going from a Ronin-M to a Beholder DS1 is quite the stretch there...

Although, I did see a Pilotfly H2 being set-up with a Sony FS5, so who knows.

O7bwGkn.jpg

Not sure if you'd want to be walking around like that, though. Do you even lift bro? :tounge_wink:

Dunno, for gimbal work, I'd probably stick to A7/GH-series or something. OR... if you must have that Canon swag, go get a Canon XC10/15.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Cinegain said:

Is that ever going to work with a C100? Going from a Ronin-M to a Beholder DS1 is quite the stretch there...

Although, I did see a Pilotfly H2 being set-up with a Sony FS5, so who knows.

O7bwGkn.jpg

Not sure if you'd want to be walking around like that, though. Do you even lift bro? :tounge_wink:

Dunno, for gimbal work, I'd probably stick to A7/GH-series or something. OR... if you must have that Canon swag, go get a Canon XC10/15.

:joy:
So, with GH4 (and probably GH5 I will buy) what would you buy? A Ronin or a DS1 (or similar) gimbal? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, JazzBox said:

:joy:
So, with GH4 (and probably GH5 I will buy) what would you buy? A Ronin or a DS1 (or similar) gimbal? 

That Pilotfly H2 would work pretty sweet, no? Single pistol grip, or configure it with the optional handlebar. Mount it onto something and remote control it. Came-TV has some similar stuff.

But my memory is pretty decent, so I remember you posting the following:

On 28-10-2015 at 6:28 PM, JazzBox said:

I was thinking to buy the Nebula, then I tried the MiniSturdyFlight from SturdyShots, a nice 3-axis gimbal built in Italy. 
This is the first shot I made with this little monster :)
(Not all the shots are with it, some are handheld)

 

... that seemed to have worked out pretty well? So what exactly calls for this wanting to change things up? More stability and weight distribution with two handles?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a lot the Ronin M with a 1Dx II. With the extension rod I got a good balance of the 1Dx II so that when I switch lens I only need to adjust the dove tail that takes between 30 sec and 2 minutes (16-35 2.8, 50 1.2, 24 1.4). A full camera rebalance like moving from a C100 to a GH4 it is much more time consuming. My first balance took me like 40 minutes.

The Ronin M works really well but be aware that it gets heavy quickly and you always need to carry around the support to rest the ronin during takes if not you will be dead after 15 minutes or soo…. I wish there was a way to put the ronin m down without this stupid tripod.

IMO is almost impossible to use it without and external LCD because you tend to use the gimbal at waist level so you cannot really see well the on camera lcd.

The ronin m supports a upside-down mode and there the camera tends to be at eye level but you need a camera that supports live image rotation because the camera will be hanging top down. The 1dx II supports this feature (although the overlay info are still upside-down). It is still hard to see the lcd but for an emergency is doable.

I power the external lcd from the ronin m to save some battery weight and having a single button to turn on screen and gimbal is a plus for me.

You will need to research a bit on the C100 II on the ronin m because I belive it has a bit of a problem with the C100 viewfinder but not sure the current status when using the extension rods.

I think a pistol grip style is already too hard for a GH4 + lens weight and is for sure a no go for a C100, it is already hard with two hands…

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 16/10/2016 at 9:08 AM, JazzBox said:

What about Ikan DS1? Better or worse then Ronin M?

From what I have personally experienced the DS1 is simple to balance but quality control is poor - and after sales service even worse.

Mine still sits in its case months after not being able to fix the common 'slow spin to the left' problem.

My advice is to get an old fashioned Glidecam type unit and learn to master it. I used to have a Hague MMC and could dance around corners in the wind with it after a year.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 16 ottobre 2016 at 11:38 AM, Cinegain said:

That Pilotfly H2 would work pretty sweet, no? Single pistol grip, or configure it with the optional handlebar. Mount it onto something and remote control it. Came-TV has some similar stuff.

But my memory is pretty decent, so I remember you posting the following:

... that seemed to have worked out pretty well? So what exactly calls for this wanting to change things up? More stability and weight distribution with two handles?

You remember well: I just loved my MiniSturdyflight, but it can carry 1.3-1.5 Kg, so no bigger combo then GH4 and Olympus 12-40 or similar. 

Every time I wanted to switch to a CY Zeiss I had to mechanically rebalance it and it was quite annoying. 

miniSturdyflight quality is very good and it is stabile, but I'd like to find something that is easier to balance when switching lenses and possibly something that could carry an eventual bigger camera. 

7 hours ago, cojocaru27 said:

have a look on the new beholder EC1, apparently it solved the old DS1 problems and it takes a lot more weight.

Thank you!

13 hours ago, gt3rs said:

I use a lot the Ronin M with a 1Dx II. With the extension rod I got a good balance of the 1Dx II so that when I switch lens I only need to adjust the dove tail that takes between 30 sec and 2 minutes (16-35 2.8, 50 1.2, 24 1.4). A full camera rebalance like moving from a C100 to a GH4 it is much more time consuming. My first balance took me like 40 minutes.

The Ronin M works really well but be aware that it gets heavy quickly and you always need to carry around the support to rest the ronin during takes if not you will be dead after 15 minutes or soo…. I wish there was a way to put the ronin m down without this stupid tripod.

IMO is almost impossible to use it without and external LCD because you tend to use the gimbal at waist level so you cannot really see well the on camera lcd.

The ronin m supports a upside-down mode and there the camera tends to be at eye level but you need a camera that supports live image rotation because the camera will be hanging top down. The 1dx II supports this feature (although the overlay info are still upside-down). It is still hard to see the lcd but for an emergency is doable.

I power the external lcd from the ronin m to save some battery weight and having a single button to turn on screen and gimbal is a plus for me.

You will need to research a bit on the C100 II on the ronin m because I belive it has a bit of a problem with the C100 viewfinder but not sure the current status when using the extension rods.

I think a pistol grip style is already too hard for a GH4 + lens weight and is for sure a no go for a C100, it is already hard with two hands…

Thank you! 

Maybe I have to learn to shoot with a Glidecam... But I think that it would be quite difficult for lateral movements following the subject from the side...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Davey said:

The DS1 is simple to balance but quality control is poor - and after sales service even worse.

I second that. 

IKAN has zero customer service!

However if you still want to buy an IKAN I recommend OwlDolly.com I have gotten great service from them!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe I'm going for a cheaper pistol grip one... 

Any experiences with Came Single, Zhiyun Crane, Pilotfly H2? Any better then Ikan DS1?

Or do you suggest the good old Glidecam (HD200 or 4000)?

p.s.: I mostly want to shoot tracking shots with that, since I'm quite happy to precede and follow actors with my shoulder rig.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Super Members

I had the Zhiyun Crane, good stuff. Right now Im testing an upcoming gimbal from them and they are definitely consistent in regards to quality. Works out of the box with minimal effort.

The Zhiyun also has an app, an external remote and cables to trigger various types of cameras as optional extras.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you!

It is a little bit more difficult to find (here in Europe) then Ikan DS1, but it seems to have a more serious customer service...
On the other side DS1 seems also good... someone says it is noisy and a little shaky, but I saw some clips and they seems quite similar...

I really don't know what to do :) 

Anyway I cannot afford C100MkII, so I will go with GH5 when it will be ready and GH4 for now. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • EOSHD Pro Color 5 for All Sony cameras
    EOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs
    EOSHD Dynamic Range Enhancer for H.264/H.265
×
×
  • Create New...