Instinct Images wrote:
A buddy of mine has the DJI Ronin gimble and it's amazing. I was blown away by how smooth the video regardless of how he moves it - from walking to skateboarding it's still perfect. Of course for about $1500 it should be. Maybe you could find one used...

I would love to have the Ronin.  I have the OSMO, and love it.  The Ronin would just add nicely along with it.  BUT, I'm not shooting video commercially, so I can't justify the cost... ;(

Zack Zoll wrote:
For a smart cookie like you, I'd research DIY options first - especially if you won't have a client watching you to impress.

Some things like crane and focus rigs really ought to be purchased. Others like glidecams can be built for a fraction of the price.

The real value in DSLR rigging is interchangeability; if you shell out for Real Stuff, you can slap X into Y and be pretty certain it'll work perfectly.

If you don't mind a little extra setup time between shots and lots of time in the workshop, you can save a ton of money by making rigging from stuff you got at the hardware store.

PVC piping is a godsend

I don't like using DIY stuff in front of clients. Also, it's been my experience that 99.99% of all these DIY photographer projects wind up costing just as much as buying the professional counterparts by the time everything is said and done plus you've wasted all the time building it.

PhillipM wrote:

I would love to have the Ronin.  I have the OSMO, and love it.  The Ronin would just add nicely along with it.  BUT, I'm not shooting video commercially, so I can't justify the cost... ;(

The few used Ronins I've seen online are still selling for $950+ which is a bit out of my price range. They are great, but I just don't want to spend that much.

Warren Leimbach wrote:
This company is just getting off the ground.  Decent, compact stuff, reasonably priced.

http://ninjadolly.com/?page_id=72

Not at all what I'm looking for.

Thyronne wrote:
Someone told me about this one.

https://www.amazon.com/FLYCAM-Handheld- … J273MGY4YZ

Does anyone have any experience or comments on it?

I do. It's basically a low cost Glidecam 3000. Three things to be aware of with this:

1. The bearings are not as good of quality as the Glidecam equivalent.

2. These have to be precisely calibrated to your camera and lens. This takes at least 30-60 minutes to really dial it in before each use. Even in between uses with the same equipment it needs to be re-calibrated a bit.

3. It takes a --LOT-- of practice to use. I can't stress that enough. I used to use the previous Glidecam, the 2000, which wasn't as fancy but pretty much the same device. Back when I started using it with a Sony VX-2000 camera in the 90's, Glidecam said that it pretty much is about 10 hours of use to get the hang of it and about 100 hours of use to be moderately adept at using it. It sort of has to become a reflex and an extension of your arm to use it. When you get good at using it, they do work great, but it does require an enormous amount of practice to get used to using one. The reason the motorized and gimbaled systems evolved was so that a general layperson could use one with little or no experience.

After I spent a lot of time working with it, I used to be able to run up and down stairs with video rolling over the hand rail and it looked like it was on a gib...it was VERY fluid. It just took a lot of practice.

Shot By Adam wrote:
I do. It's basically a low cost Glidecam 3000. Three things to be aware of with this:

1. The bearings are not as good of quality as the Glidecam equivalent.

2. These have to be precisely calibrated to your camera and lens. This takes at least 30-60 minutes to really dial it in before each use. Even in between uses with the same equipment it needs to be re-calibrated a bit.

3. It takes a --LOT-- of practice to use. I can't stress that enough. I used to use the previous Glidecam, the 2000, which wasn't as fancy but pretty much the same device. Back when I started using it with a Sony VX-2000 camera in the 90's, Glidecam said that it pretty much is about 10 hours of use to get the hang of it and about 100 hours of use to be moderately adept at using it. It sort of has to become a reflex and an extension of your arm to use it. When you get good at using it, they do work great, but it does require an enormous amount of practice to get used to using one. The reason the motorized and gimbaled systems evolved was so that a general layperson could use one with little or no experience.

After I spent a lot of time working with it, I used to be able to run up and down stairs with video rolling over the hand rail and it looked like it was on a gib...it was VERY fluid. It just took a lot of practice.

Thanks.  Good to know, I've never used any thing like this.

Michael Bots wrote:
This unit seems good enough for a low budget music video
     https://youtu.be/DEL1Yc5nFrQ?t=30
                              https://youtu.be/fyOlfKbBhcY?t=35

The question is, what is it?

Shot By Adam wrote:

The question is, what is it?

Zhiyun Crane (or Feiyu or similar) used with additional handlebar bracket?


https://gimbalguru.com/blogs/news/happy … -a6300-and
http://elproducente.com/zhiyun-crane-review/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zhiyun-Crane-3- … 1808372261
https://www.amazon.com/Official-Zhiyun- … B01F53XB8Y
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Camera-Handheld … 2029401106

Loki Studio wrote:
Mechanical stabilizers require very careful balancing with every new lens or camera combo-often 10 minutes or more.  Electric motor stabilizers do this automatically at a higher price point, with heavier loads being more expensive.  You need to get a precise measure of your camera+lens combo in grams to determine which gimbal is right for you..........

For great result with a gimbal you need to balance the payload as well to make sure the engines only need to correct to keep the camera straight because of movements you make instead of working to carry the weight of the camera.
There are indeed gimbals that balance unbalanced payloads: I haven't campaired these gimbals with the ones where cameras are in static equilibrium when the power is off and the gimbal isn't moving.
The real benefit is that gimbals require less training to move around than glidecams.

It is indeed recommend the weigh and measure your set up before choosing a gimbal or whatever.

PS.
I'm 'flying' a MoVI M5 in a MoVI ring and I love it. Yesterday I spent all day in a zodiac shooting video of ships and marine demos. The shots are stable while the boat was moving on the waves.