I know the Movi etc are probably toe expensive for our market but I see quite a few cheaper competitors about.

The CAME 7000 is less that $1000

CAME 7000 3 Axis Gimbal First Impression and Demo Video - YouTube

Anyone use one or tempted?

I have seen some wedding videographers pulling some impressive controlled moves with it but I do have to say it looks too bulky to drag along, great if you have are a 2 or 3 man team but when you shoot solo it looks to cumbersome to use. You also need to place it aside safely which is not always easy in a venue and it looks like it can be easily damaged if someone would trip over it.

They look great! I would love to have one for weddings. They are somewhat bulky, but they shots you can get with them definitely reflect high end work.

They also seem less tricky to setup. You say bulky - but whilst being wide, its actually shorter that a regular stabilizer, and I'm always accidentally bumping the bottom of my Laing P04 off things. I image it would be a lot better ergonomically with two hands either side.

I would like to try one at a wedding, that's for sure. With bulky I mean that my blackbird I can attach to my backpack if needed but I don't see that happening with such a 3 axis stabiliser.

Can you actually see what you are filming? I guess a cam like the GH4 that has a swivel LCD would allow you to get an image of what the camera sees but it will still be pretty tiny?

I have a 7" LCD on my stedicam with a sunshield on it too and without that I would have no idea whether I'm framing correctly or not.

One assumes that a wide lens is used with just zone focus and you cannot move and play with focussing at the same time??

Chris

You can attach a monitor (and sunshield) to a gimbal, so it could be a similar setup as your steadicam. You would have to get a remote focus (and possibly a focus puller) to be able to focus during the shot, so pretty unlikely at a wedding. Are you able to change focus while you're flying your steadicam alone?

Daniel, your comments about the focus also applies to regular steadicam type stabilizers and loads of us on here use them at weddings. You just keep a fixed distance from the subject.

Clive, I agree and do that with a blackbird stabilizer now. I was responding to Chris's question about focusing. I would love to have a gimbal. The dji ronin looks fantastic since the dropped the price.

Just reviving this thread since it's taken my interest again.

CAME have now released the 7500 which is basically just the 7000 except pre-assembled rather than what was basically a DIY kit.

Its considerably cheaper (half the price of a Ronin) - but it seems theres a reason. Youtube is full of videos of customers having difficulties with it. Put me right off.

There doesn't seem to be much in between these price ranges.

Have to say I'm quite keen now on the Varavon Birdycam 2.

Varavon Birdycam 3 Axis Gimbal Stabilizer First Look - YouTube

Here are prices of the main ones:

Freefly Movi M5 $3995
Letus Helix $3975
DJI Ronin $2999
The Ghost V2 $2995
Defy G2 $2600
Besteady One $2779
Brirdycam $2375
CAME 7500 $1200

I think you get what you pay for with these kind of devices, what I also would consider is warranty if something would malfunction, there is quite some electronics involved and at such a price I would expect good customerservice if the thing would stop working.

Right on Noa

For weddings you certainly don't want to have something go crazy with the electronics at a on off event like a wedding. Also is $4000 a justifiable price to pay for a unit that just gives footage that rather impresses you instead of the bride. It will need a little bit of room in a crowded wedding reception much the same as a stedicam so honestly how much footage will you use it for at a wedding to make it pay for itself and will the bride really and truly notice your fancy footage ...whether you get the first dance on one of these rigs or just handheld I doubt whether a bride would care.

We tend to go over the top on the technical side at weddings with 6 cameras, 4 shooters, sliders, stedicams and now a gimbal rig or two at a huge capital investment and more than likely the only people all the gear will really impress are members of DVInfo and your mates ...yet the bride is paying you for her wedding which you could have done to her delight on a two camera shoot and a LOT less money out of your pocket!!

Chris

Chris you said mouthful there - just who are we trying to impress?

having said that I'd still like one - I was going to grab the came 7500 and take the risk but I haven't decided yet

For me, its a case of, once you have one of these setup, then thats it.

The motors mean it isn't so temperamental in terms of going off balance.

My steadicam, no matter how tight all the knobs are can still be moved by the slightest knock. Theres about 5 different parts that can be moved, throwing balance completely off.

These things do all the work for you.

The follow feature is also nice - the camera will tilt up if you turn the frame that way, and same on the pan.

No more gently coaxing your steadicam with delicate fingertips.

I consider myself an experienced steadicam operator, but even I have messed up shots since my fingertip coaxing wasn't as gentle or accurate as intended leading to abrupt movements etc...!

I'm also tempted by the CAME 7500...

I have read somewhere that you have to rebalance that Came quite often when used throughout the day, not sure where I picked that up. Some things to consider when using that thing; my blackbird for instance I can place wherever I want with the included kickstand, the came looks like something you don't want to be leaving behind on the floor so it has to be placed back on a stand which is on a fixed position which would make it a bit impractical to use, especially if you shoot solo. It would be a great to use outdoor during the photoshoot though, no more worrying about too much wind.

I'm hiring a friend who has one to shoot a wedding with me in Oct. Curious to see how well it works.

He'll be the third shooter, and will be getting all the creative stuff with that mostly.

Waste of money unless you have a big team in my opinion. Just more things to take care off.

Waste of money unless you have a big team in my opinion. Just more things to take care off.

It is one more thing to take care off, but you could say that about anything you purchase for weddings. My team is only two people.

I've been using a DJI Ronin for the last five weddings and there are definite pros and cons.

It definitely helps me keep my (for lack of a better term) steadicam work very polished. I was using the blackbird before and I could get great shots with it, but my skill level was very hit or miss. I would sometimes get that swaying motion that's hard to get rid of once it starts.

At the reception it's easily accessible and quick to set up. For dancing footage it doesn't take a lot for me to switch from a mono pod to the Ronin. I put a quick release plate on it so I can interchange quickly.

The Ronin has an inverted mode so I can flip it upside down and get shots way above the crows that are still stabilized (typically used for dancing)

The downside is that you can't just place it anywhere, you have to have the stand with you all the time, so it's cumbersome to move between locations. The Ronin is about 10 pounds, which isn't super heavy, but once you have held it for a while my arms start to go. It also has to be put together, so I usually spend an extra 5-10 minutes when I first get somewhere to set it up.

Overall, I really enjoy using and have no intention of moving away from it.

Tangential thought... I'm yet to use a gimbal at a wedding, but we've been playing with a Phantom Vision 2 lately, and there's an unexpected benefit -- grooms and groomsmen might hate posing for photographs, but you can get them to be interested in tech toys.

So, quadcopters, gimbals, even GoPros -- I think they can help to get the males chatty and relaxed around you, on board with what you're doing...

there is also the option of combining a glidecam style stabilizer with a gimbal

BEHIND THE SCENES - 2 Axis Gimbal on Glidecam - YouTube

that's only a 2 axis but it certainly would improve footage from the glidecam

Don't you feel as if we are bleeding ourselves dry buying all this new tech to provide the "perfect" film for couples but yet only like 10 years ago they would of still paid the same prices as a tog/vog are just REQUIRED at a wedding ...

This industry isn't a good one any more in my opinion. I'm not saying it because I can't afford it, I mean I shoot weddings with a FS700 (my FS100 sufficed). I'm saying it because I feel as if we are giving too much for the money we charge. And if we up our prices, we don't necessarily get enough clients to pay our bills.