Which handheld gimbal should I get for a6500?

[Dave Maze]

Im about to buy a full a6500 kit. Is the Zhiyun Crane V2 the most current gimbal from Zhiyun? 

Any other recommendations? Im about to get it. What are your thoughts on all the offerings out there? 

[mercer]

Just curious, why do you want the a6500? I had it back in January and although it's a great camera, I got the dreaded overheating warning in 45 degree weather. It never shut off, but it was too much of a red flag for me. Did you know the Zhyiun Crane can carry the weight of the 5D3... so I assume it would work with the 5D4 as well... just saying. 

[scotchtape]

I think even using GH5 with lenses around 1200g total is about the limit of what crane can really handle effectively.  I mean, I've tried it with my D750 and it's just not designed for that kind of weight.

[Dave Maze]

5 hours ago, mercer said:

Just curious, why do you want the a6500? I had it back in January and although it's a great camera, I got the dreaded overheating warning in 45 degree weather. It never shut off, but it was too much of a red flag for me. Did you know the Zhyiun Crane can carry the weight of the 5D3... so I assume it would work with the 5D4 as well... just saying. 

I'm about to overhaul an entire YouTube channel where we will be shooting and uploading daily. It will be a narrative and I need to have great AF, small size for gimbal. I'll be using the SmallHD Focus on top of the camera with the gimbal. Once I add that monitor with a mic it becomes pretty heavy. 

Also I need everything in 4k and I want to go straight from camera to computer without any transcoding. I would have to transcode all the 5D4 footage and the extra weight would really suck since I'm going to be shooting all day everyday. 

Also, it's half the price! :P

[OliKMIA]

21 minutes ago, DaveAltizer said:

I'll be using the SmallHD Focus on top of the camera with the gimbal. Once I add that monitor with a mic it becomes pretty heavy.

That might be a little bit tricky to balance your gimbal with this weight on top of your camera. Try to keep everything as low as possible to maintain a lower CG.  Also, the monitor and mic may block some gimbal motion, be aware about that.

That being said, the Zhiyun Crane V2 is a great unit. Make sure you get the V2, same price as the V1 and the V2 is just reaching the store at the moment.

[scotchtape]

Why wouldn't you just mount the monitor on the handles and use a thin hdmi cable... also the mic...

[Dave Maze]

5 minutes ago, scotchtape said:

Why wouldn't you just mount the monitor on the handles and use a thin hdmi cable... also the mic...

Ya I can do that too ?

I could get one of these for the monitor 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1032337-REG

 

just clamp it onto the handle. 

[lwestfall]

It's hard to beat the Crane and the a6500 for a relatively affordable and compact stabilized autofocus high-detail rig. (Which has never overheated for me with the high-temp setting on - I just ignore the warning icon.) And yes, your setup will work. My similarly hefty and jerry-rigged Zhiyun Crane V1 setup actually balances and articulates quite well, even with a Breakthrough X4 ND 6-stop ND filter and the lens hood on that hefty 18-35/1.8 lens and with my Church Audio Ugly 2 Preamp and CA-14 Cardioid Mics mounted on top of my a6500 with 3M Extreme Mounting Tape. With the Arca Swiss plate under my a6500 it's easy to switch between my RRS QR tripod mount QR and the gimbal's SunwayFoto DDC-60LR QR Clamp, and I like keeping a Cullmann 50081 Magnesit Copter Multi-Tripod at the base for setting the gimbal down or using it as a little boom. I just hooked my recently obtained USB cable up too, and it's nice to have smooth Clear Image Zoom and Record controls handy. I too have thought of attaching a SmallHD Focus (and my LED light panel) to the handle. Thanks for the idea for that clamp arm.

[Dan Wake]

is it possible to do manual focus on the lenses when the camera is on the gimbal? I'm curious I never had a gimbal. how do you do focus?

[Dave Maze]

1 hour ago, Dan Wake said:

is it possible to do manual focus on the lenses when the camera is on the gimbal? I'm curious I never had a gimbal. how do you do focus?

Ya you totally can. I've been shooting full manual for years now on MoVIs. Having good AF is great but not needed. 

[Dan Wake]

2 hours ago, DaveAltizer said:

Ya you totally can. I've been shooting full manual for years now on MoVIs. Having good AF is great but not needed. 

thx a lot for this info, it's awesome for me because I own a canon 7D MK1 and I really wish to buy a gimbal. maybe may I ask you also to suggest me a product please? I have not hurry to buy it so it's ok also if it's a model annunced but not already on the market.

[Dave Maze]

10 hours ago, Dan Wake said:

thx a lot for this info, it's awesome for me because I own a canon 7D MK1 and I really wish to buy a gimbal. maybe may I ask you also to suggest me a product please? I have not hurry to buy it so it's ok also if it's a model annunced but not already on the market.

I think the DJI Ronin M is your best all around gimbal for the price. You could easily have a 7D on there and put a monitor on the handles so you can check your focus manually. 

[Mark Romero]

I have the a6300 and the Zhiyun Crane (version 1) and the Sony 10-18 f/4 lens. I don't have a monitor or mic mounted on it though.

The drawbacks to the a6300 / a6500 when shooting 4K are...

1) The dreaded overheating issue, and 

2) Very dim monitor that is highly reflective (not a problem I guess if you are using an HDMI monitor, I guess), 

3) Not the friendliest codec around (you will most likely be transcoding 4K XAVC S into something else for editing, whether it is through your NLE's built-in optimize media function or something else),

4) If you want to maximize dynamic range, you are going to really want to shoot SLOG 2 or something very flat and really want to grade it.

So it is certainly doable, just if you are doing it every day, maybe you want something that is a little easier to work with???

(Don't get me wrong: the 4K footage can be beautiful. Just kind of a hard camera to work with.)

[Mark Romero]

The crane is a nice gimbal. Yoiu will need to calibrate it once you get it. It's easy to do. Then you will want to adjust the motor strength. Off the top of my head, I think I get the best results from setting motor strength to lowest, but if you are putting a mic and a monitor on there, then maybe medium would be best for you???

I use the dual handle grip thingy and it is pretty ok (maybe not $100 ok but still pretty ok). I have it set up so that when I hold the dual grip straight up and down, the main stem / handle of the crane is at an incline forward about 30 degrees or so. This seems to me to help take out some of the up and down bobbing motion you get from walking.