Beholder MS-Pro handheld gimbal

[Redmoon_Monkey]

I recently sold my Feiyu Tech MG v2 gimbal and picked up the Beholder MS-Pro. I got the MG second hand and I don't know if it was defective but I could never seem to get it working consistently. Other little niggles here and there forced me to sell it.

Things I didn't like about it:

-inconsistent operation and instability

-pitch motor blocks left side camera ports

-roll motor blocks rear lcd

-long and bulky

-joystick control too sensitive

 

It came down the the Zhiyun Crane and Beholder MS-Pro and went with the MSP because it was more compact and seems to not block the lcd as much. The MSP is the newer version of the MS1 with many new improvements. I never used the MS1 but on paper the improvements include encoders in the motors for better precision and longer battery life, more modes, auto invert mode, and much better mounting design. This is the "OEM" version and not the one from Ikan. If you're wondering what's the difference? Well there really isn't any. They're the same thing except Ikan, as an agent/distributor, just puts their name on it and change the color of the levers. Team Rebel Design is the actual company who designed and makes them. You can find this version for a little cheaper but you may not get the warranty and support from a large agent/distributor.

The gimbal came in a plain white box with foam cutouts. There's no carrying case. Quite a bummer for something this expensive and when their competitors are including one. Atleast the charger is ready to go unlike in the MG where you'll need to provide your own high output usb charging block. Don't get too happy cause the included charger can only get the 3 batteries to 80%. You'll need a dedicated 18650 charger to get them to 100%. It comes with one set and they're suppose to be good for 8-10 hrs runtime.

The more compactness of the MSP is immediately noticeable due to the shorter handle and slimmer motor arms. I would say 3-4" shorter than the MG and ZC. While this makes it good for quickly stowing it in your bag it's not so good when you are actually using it. When you want to go two handed cause your arms are getting fatigued or for better stability, the short handle makes this awkward. The thicker handle also makes it harder to get a firm grasp as my thumb barely touches my fingers going around the handle. I'm looking to rig a second handle to the 1/4" mounting hole on the side of the gimbal handle when I need the extra stability.

After testing around the house everything seems to be working except that the camera is not sitting level with the horizon when on. I have tried recalibrating by going into that mode but I don't know if it ever completed successfully. I think the lens I'm using might be causing a slight imbalance since it attaches more to the left of the camera instead of in the center. The slight droop is on the left side. I'm trying to get a hold of a smaller and lighter lens to see if it's the issue. If not, I'll contact the seller for support.

Let me know if you guys have any questions and I'll see if I can answer them. Thanks for reading.

 

[HelsinkiZim]

Do you guys take Paypal?

[Snowfun]

My Beholder MS1 (from Owl Dolly) worked fine... for a couple of hours. Then nothing. I tried a new battery holder & batteries but, again, nothing. Good thing is it makes my Steadicam solo look reliable!

[Redmoon_Monkey]

55 minutes ago, HelsinkiZim said:

Do you guys take Paypal?

Well it did take me 30 minutes to write in between my work so any donations would be greatly appreciated.

In all seriousness I'm not affiliated with any of the companies I mentioned.

33 minutes ago, Snowfun said:

My Beholder MS1 (from Owl Dolly) worked fine... for a couple of hours. Then nothing. I tried a new battery holder & batteries but, again, nothing. Good thing is it makes my Steadicam solo look reliable!

Does it even turn on? If it does maybe you can try recalibrating it by pressing the Menu button for 6 seconds. Can't really help you beyond that.

[HelsinkiZim]

2 minutes ago, Redmoon_Monkey said:

Well it did take me 30 minutes to write in between my work so any donations would be greatly appreciated.

In all seriousness I'm not affiliated with any of the companies I mentioned.

Was cool even if you were, just kidding around!

[Trek of Joy]

Had the DS1 and couldn't stop it from drifting to the left (common problem, google it) despite spending countless hours trying to get it sorted. Took a big hit selling it used because they wouldn't replace an obviously defective unit. Beholder is dead to me.

Cheers.

[Orangenz]

13 hours ago, Redmoon_Monkey said:

I recently sold my Feiyu Tech MG v2 gimbal and picked up the Beholder MS-Pro. I got the MG second hand and I don't know if it was defective but I could never seem to get it working consistently. Other little niggles here and there forced me to sell it.

Let me know if you guys have any questions and I'll see if I can answer them. Thanks for reading.

 

Can't believe you didn't make this into a 40 minute video.

[BTM_Pix]

I have the MS-1.

The best thing about it is that its just about heavy enough to really give yourself an effective enough beating around the head to punish yourself for buying such a piece of shit without actually killing yourself.

So, it's very well balanced.

Unlike any camera that I've ever tried putting on it.

 

[Redmoon_Monkey]

10 hours ago, Trek of Joy said:

Had the DS1 and couldn't stop it from drifting to the left (common problem, google it) despite spending countless hours trying to get it sorted. Took a big hit selling it used because they wouldn't replace an obviously defective unit. Beholder is dead to me.

Cheers.

Seems they all will either drift or not stay level eventually. The MG started drifting and drooping to the left on me as well. Atleast on the beholder I can force it to hold its position so I can temporarily correct the droop but still annoying nonetheless.

I contacted support yesterday and the first thing they ask is, "is it balanced?" even though I told them it's perfectly balanced where the camera will stay in any position. And that one of the profiles will hold the horizon level so it really isn't the balancing. It seems the software is just buggy or the motors are of poor quality. Well see how it goes with their support once I send them videos of the issue.

[Redmoon_Monkey]

6 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I have the MS-1.

The best thing about it is that its just about heavy enough to really give yourself an effective enough beating around the head to punish yourself for buying such a piece of shit without actually killing yourself.

So, it's very well balanced.

Unlike any camera that I've ever tried putting on it.

 

The MS1 is the version before the Pro and reading the specs I would not recommend anyone getting it, especially not now with better ones out there. Like most first version of anything the early adopters get to be the guinea pigs.

[BTM_Pix]

1 hour ago, Redmoon_Monkey said:

The MS1 is the version before the Pro and reading the specs I would not recommend anyone getting it, especially not now with better ones out there. Like most first version of anything the early adopters get to be the guinea pigs.

If only you had a DeLorean that could hit 88mph and could get back to 2015 with this sage wisdom about unknown future products and save me from buying it....

[Redmoon_Monkey]

So I've been in contact with the seller and sent them videos of the issue. Their suggestion was to force the camera level and the gimbal will hold that position. Yes, this does work but any time you power it on or switch modes you have to redo it. So pretty much they just said 'yea, there's a problem but deal with it." I don't think I can live with that so I'm going to see if I can get a replacement or send it in to be fixed.

[Redmoon_Monkey]

Ok quick update on my situation so far. Seller suggested I try recalibrating through SimpleBGC. After trying unsuccessfully to get any of my PCs to see the gimbal and just about to give up, I tried a mini-usb cable instead of a micro and got a good connection. No where did I see say to use the mini-usb port and not the micro. Got it calibrated and the horizon was level. Even successfully lowered the follow speeds a bit as I felt they were too fast. Well I thought I was in business but this past Sunday it worked for about 3 hours and it suddenly just quits.

It powers on but no power to the motors, no response from joystick or mode button on fully charged batteries. PC won't see it anymore either so it's a dead stick. I contacted the seller again and he agreed to exchange after I couldn't revive it. Good news is, the new one powers on and works. Bad news is, the horizon and pitch level are even more off on this one. There's also a more noticeable drift. I'll try to re-calibrate it later today but this does not instill any confidence in this thing. Doesn't look like they're tested before leaving the factory either.

[Davey]

On 12/04/2017 at 5:02 AM, Trek of Joy said:

Had the DS1 and couldn't stop it from drifting to the left (common problem, google it) despite spending countless hours trying to get it sorted. Took a big hit selling it used because they wouldn't replace an obviously defective unit. Beholder is dead to me.

Cheers.

Same here. Absolute shambles of a company.