How Do You Use Your Steadicam/Gimbal?

Chris Harding · June 3rd, 2015, 07:23 PM

I must admit I do all my stedicam shots at 10mm cos I know everything is going to be in focus as long as I stay at least 2' from the couple. That is, of course, on my APSC sensor equivalent to 15mm full frame .. Is the GH4 not a 2.0 crop factor Noa ?? so your 12mm lens becomes a 24mm ... I accidentally left my 10-24 zoom at 15mm on one shoot and had quite a bit of soft footage ... at 10mm I know I have a DOF from 2' to infinity if I set the lens to between 2' and 3' at F3.5 and trying to adjust manual focus while the camera is on the sled isn't that easy!! Otherwise do you guys just let autofocus do it's thing??? I also do a lot of video of house interiors and when AF sees white walls and white ceilings it gets totally confused so I keep it manual always

Noa Put · June 4th, 2015, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Is the GH4 not a 2.0 crop factor Noa ?? so your 12mm lens becomes a 24mm

Yes, I find 12mm a good allround focal length except for a few occasions where a wider but fast lens would be more usefull.

Chris Harding · June 4th, 2015, 04:40 AM

Thanks Noa

So do you leave autofocus on with the GH4 ? Just wondering how good it is in low light? I tend to change distance quite a lot as I might go close to the couple and then back off to maybe 5 metres quite fast and my Sony lenses never kept up in auto ... On my APSC sensor at 10mm I'm in focus from 3' to infinity if I'm around 10' away but at 24mm .. I'm only in focus between 7' and 15' so zone focus at 24mm is not an option!!

Chris

Ian Atkins · June 4th, 2015, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Thanks Noa

So do you leave autofocus on with the GH4 ? Just wondering how good it is in low light? I tend to change distance quite a lot as I might go close to the couple and then back off to maybe 5 metres quite fast and my Sony lenses never kept up in auto ... On my APSC sensor at 10mm I'm in focus from 3' to infinity if I'm around 10' away but at 24mm .. I'm only in focus between 7' and 15' so zone focus at 24mm is not an option!!

Chris

We all have our preferred camera, lenses, etc. and the reasons behind them. This diversity of taste and opinion is what makes our products and styles unique. As long as we each have the knowledge to know why and what we are choosing, we all can respect one another's craft and abilities. That's the beauty of art!

In terms of autofocus, I tend to use manual the majority of the time, so I imagine Noa might be better able to respond. My general experiences is that in areas of great light, the GH4 does an excellent job across most lenses. Of course some are faster than others, but I've found as a whole that it is very responsive. Once contrast is off or light is low, the story changes drastically.

The beauty of the Ronin (and other similar stabilizers) is that it takes one extra worry out of the equation. I no longer have to film super wide and in slo motion just to get a stable shot. So now I can be more selective on lens selection and drive more attention to my desired shot.

Ian Atkins · June 6th, 2015, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Calabig

Any idea how the Ronin M fares in non slowmotion tracking shots? I've been considering one but the test footage that's been popping up has been disappointing. This looks good however and I'm hoping the slowmotion isn't masking anything :)

I put together this small clip just for you:

All raw footage at 60fps, no ither manipulation other than the cuts:

Password is 'ronin'

Noa Put · June 7th, 2015, 12:45 AM

The biggest advantage of these gimbal stabilizer is that they remain horizontal no matter what, you only need to work on eliminating vertical bounce because that's the only thing that is not filtered out, Chris: I use the autofocus just to set the focus once before I start to shoot and then leave it in manual after that, in such a case I need to maintain my distance to the subject. The possibility to manually adjust focus while shooting with Ian's ronin looks great because that is as far as I know not possible with Nebula 4000 like stabilizers, as soon as you touch the camera on that gimbal it goes haywire.

Malcolm Debono · June 7th, 2015, 11:43 PM

Got a couple of Ronin shots in the film below, captured with an A7S + Zeiss 16-35 on continuous AF.

Ian Atkins · June 8th, 2015, 07:19 AM

Great shots!
Did you get the thumb controller for the Ronin? I noticed you were tilting during some of the shots.

So far I have found that it is rather obtrusive to use it during the first dances. My preference so far is to use it during some prep coverage, portrait session, and late-night reception dancing.

June 3rd, 2015, 07:23 PM	#16
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: How Do You Use Your Steadicam/Gimbal? I must admit I do all my stedicam shots at 10mm cos I know everything is going to be in focus as long as I stay at least 2' from the couple. That is, of course, on my APSC sensor equivalent to 15mm full frame .. Is the GH4 not a 2.0 crop factor Noa ?? so your 12mm lens becomes a 24mm ... I accidentally left my 10-24 zoom at 15mm on one shoot and had quite a bit of soft footage ... at 10mm I know I have a DOF from 2' to infinity if I set the lens to between 2' and 3' at F3.5 and trying to adjust manual focus while the camera is on the sled isn't that easy!! Otherwise do you guys just let autofocus do it's thing??? I also do a lot of video of house interiors and when AF sees white walls and white ceilings it gets totally confused so I keep it manual always

June 4th, 2015, 04:40 AM	#18
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: How Do You Use Your Steadicam/Gimbal? Thanks Noa So do you leave autofocus on with the GH4 ? Just wondering how good it is in low light? I tend to change distance quite a lot as I might go close to the couple and then back off to maybe 5 metres quite fast and my Sony lenses never kept up in auto ... On my APSC sensor at 10mm I'm in focus from 3' to infinity if I'm around 10' away but at 24mm .. I'm only in focus between 7' and 15' so zone focus at 24mm is not an option!! Chris

June 7th, 2015, 12:45 AM	#21
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: How Do You Use Your Steadicam/Gimbal? The biggest advantage of these gimbal stabilizer is that they remain horizontal no matter what, you only need to work on eliminating vertical bounce because that's the only thing that is not filtered out, Chris: I use the autofocus just to set the focus once before I start to shoot and then leave it in manual after that, in such a case I need to maintain my distance to the subject. The possibility to manually adjust focus while shooting with Ian's ronin looks great because that is as far as I know not possible with Nebula 4000 like stabilizers, as soon as you touch the camera on that gimbal it goes haywire.

June 7th, 2015, 11:43 PM	#22
Malcolm Debono Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Malta Posts: 66	Re: How Do You Use Your Steadicam/Gimbal? Got a couple of Ronin shots in the film below, captured with an A7S + Zeiss 16-35 on continuous AF. Wedding Highlights: Ciara & William on Vimeo

June 8th, 2015, 07:19 AM	#23
Ian Atkins Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Charlottesville Virginia Posts: 128	Re: How Do You Use Your Steadicam/Gimbal? Great shots! Did you get the thumb controller for the Ronin? I noticed you were tilting during some of the shots. So far I have found that it is rather obtrusive to use it during the first dances. My preference so far is to use it during some prep coverage, portrait session, and late-night reception dancing.