Zhiyun Cran V2 question

[Turboguard]

So the new V2 of Zhiyun Crane is out and it has a max load of 3.9lb. Ive asked the question before but I’ve been looking for my first gimbal for a long time now and with this update I wonder, can it handle my Bmpcc-speedbooster-sigma art 18-35mm?

The total weight of the three is 2.9lb so I have 1lb to spare, but am afraid it’s gonna be, like before, too front heavy with the lens. I do wonder if attaching it by the speedbooster might help? Please advice.

 

thanks!

[cantsin]

A front-heavy setup will never work with the Zhiyun or any other similarly constructed gimbal. There's no way you can balance the long and heavy Sigma zoom on it, except if you buy a larger Gimbal like the Movi. (Sorry to be blunt.)

[Turboguard]

Just as I thought, and don’t be sorry! Thanks for your answer!

[Jonesy Jones]

7 hours ago, Turboguard said:

So the new V2 of Zhiyun Crane is out and it has a max load of 3.9lb. Ive asked the question before but I’ve been looking for my first gimbal for a long time now and with this update I wonder, can it handle my Bmpcc-speedbooster-sigma art 18-35mm?

The total weight of the three is 2.9lb so I have 1lb to spare, but am afraid it’s gonna be, like before, too front heavy with the lens. I do wonder if attaching it by the speedbooster might help? Please advice.

 

thanks!

Well, with a whole pound to spare you may be able to attach some offset weight in the opposite direction. Might be too cumbersome, but theoretically could work. 

[Vladimir]

On 8/2/2017 at 5:56 PM, cantsin said:

A front-heavy setup will never work with the Zhiyun or any other similarly constructed gimbal.

that statement has no connection with actual situation)

[silvertonesx24]

On 8/2/2017 at 9:56 AM, cantsin said:

A front-heavy setup will never work with the Zhiyun or any other similarly constructed gimbal. There's no way you can balance the long and heavy Sigma zoom on it, except if you buy a larger Gimbal like the Movi. (Sorry to be blunt.)

That isn't true. You can just add weight to the rear of the gimbal to compensate

[cantsin]

Well, the OP specifically asked about the Blackmagic Pocket + Speed Booster + Sigma 18-35mm.

(a) This is a much more front-heavy setup than anything shown on the pictures above. (The lens and the Speed Booster have a combined weight of more than 1kg, the BMPCC body weighs only 350g.)

(b) One should avoid using an external field monitor with the BMPCC because of its weakly constructed HDMI port that not only breaks easily, but also breaks the camera's mainboard when it's broken. So any setup that completely blocks the camera display is not an option.

You guys should be a bit more careful with accusations of falsehood.

[andrgl]

21 minutes ago, cantsin said:

The lens and the Speed Booster have a combined weight of more than 1kg

No it doesn't. It's under 1kg, closer to 980g. And that's with the EF-BMPCC metabones adapter; would be probably lighter with the passive Nikon version.

[cantsin]

9 minutes ago, andrgl said:

No it doesn't. It's under 1kg, closer to 980g. And that's with the EF-BMPCC metabones adapter; would be probably lighter with the passive Nikon version.

My bad, it's indeed 810+170g (made a miscalculation). But still, this is far more than anything shown in the pictures above, and I see no solution of reasonably balancing this on the Zhiyun while still having visual control of the recorded image. (I actually happen to be an owner-operator of the BMPCC, the Pocket Speed Booster, the Sigma 18-35mm - in fact, this is my bread and butter camera/lens setup - and the Zhiyun Crane.)

[Vladimir]

36 minutes ago, cantsin said:

You guys should be a bit more careful with accusations of falsehood.

its totally accurate. instead you should be a bit more better at remembering your own words. You didnt said a word about "specifically" OP setup (it was about front heavy setup and zhiyun crane, thats it). Should i quote you again?)

And specifically for OP i can advise to add a cage to his setup and get same balance that was posted. Oh, and a cage also fix weak hdmi port problem...

of course im also advising to test any setup before any decision)

[cantsin]

11 minutes ago, Vladimir said:

its totally accurate. instead you should be a bit more better at remembering your own words. . Oh, and a cage also fix weak hdmi port problem...

Only one word: No. It can alleviate it, but not take away force on the HDMI port. If you don't believe me, read Blackmagic's forum and BMCuser where it's consensus that one should avoid using the BMPCC HDMI port in the field (and resort to a BM Micro Cinema camera if one needs external monitoring).

16 minutes ago, Vladimir said:

its totally accurate. instead you should be a bit more better at remembering your own words. 

I wrote in my initial reply that a front-heavy setup won't work with the Zhiyun. This is of course completely correct, since all you suggest is to get rid of the front-heaviness through balancing measures.

 

My god, what a kindergarten here.

[Vladimir]

1 hour ago, cantsin said:

I see no solution of reasonably balancing this on the Zhiyun while still having visual control of the recorded image.

 

On 8/2/2017 at 5:56 PM, cantsin said:

There's no way you can balance the long and heavy Sigma zoom on it, except if you buy a larger Gimbal like the Movi. (Sorry to be blunt.)

1. balance it with cage and tilt crane 45 degree

2. balance it with a little monitor

3. mount it backwards and shoot with crane tilted 45 degree

here's calculation for 1, 2 option on a proven setup (last picture) tamron 24-70/2.8 + sigma mc11 + a7sii + smallrig cage: 825+125+630+250 (bmpcc setup actually can be less front-heavy having 580g to balance it as it need to be)

before some more bs i'll give a little notice: my own setup (first pic) is very like OP's setup (in terms of weight distribution): sankor+helios+speedbooster~900g +x-t2 500g (and also im added some weight in front to balance it so crane can be fold easily).

And have no problem with visual control at all (crane not even powered on)

.

[Inazuma]

I know the stated max load is 1200g but do you guys think it would be possible for it to handle 1500g?

[Gregormannschaft]

11 minutes ago, Inazuma said:

I know the stated max load is 1200g but do you guys think it would be possible for it to handle 1500g?

They officially updated the max load to 1800g recently, after a firmware update. So, definitely yes.

[Inazuma]

Yipee!

[jonpais]

Regardless, a single-handed gimbal like the Crane is going to work best with a lightweight wide angle prime. It will be easier to balance, easier to keep your subject in focus. Using an 18-35mm f/1.8 is just silly in my opinion. i fail to see why you'd want to use a super heavy APS-C zoom lens like the Sigma on a gimbal anyhow, since you won't be zooming while you're filming. The advantage of using a SB and full frame or APS-C lens on a small sensor is for shallow depth of field, and it's difficult enough as it is to keep a moving subject in focus, especially with a single operator, no focus puller. For that particular focal length, a Leica 15mm f/1.7 or Sigma 30mm f/1.4 are much better options, and the Sigma has the advantage of being not only fast, but it will cost some $1,100.00 USD less than a Metabones XL + Sigma Art. 

Edit: The Samyang 12mm f/2 or Laowa 8.5mm f/2 might also be good inexpensive alternatives for flying on a gimbal.

[manueldomes]

Can't comment on this particular gimbal, but I have resorted to exclusively using my Olympus 12mm on my pistol grip gimbal for the same reasons stated above. Since I shoot on a Gh5 and usually output 1080p, I can always zoom in or crop in the timeline if necessary. No recalibration required and the setup is a lot less tiring for your arm than using a heavy lens.

[jonpais]

There's also ETC on the GH5, with less image degradation than reframing in post. 

[manueldomes]

True, though most of the time I find the cropping leeway quite sufficient. The last shot in my reel below was shot on a pistol gimbal with the 12mm and pinches in to a medium angle during the shot.

 

[Vladimir]

used x-t2 and Crane here with 18-55 and speedboosted anamorphic 50mm : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYl9sntfxG4 (some good example of usage from 19:20)

crane is a great compact and affordable tool for many applications (of course if your "bread and butter" includes more than just some gears... some thinking process or a bit of imagination for example ))