3-Axis Gimbal Stabilisers List

[Clive McLaughlin]

I just compiled this and thought I'd post in case it was useful to those doing searches. Any others I've left out?

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 don't even own one, but would like to which is why I've got this pricelist! Any recommendations?

CAME 7500 looks way more trouble that its worth judging by youtube users!

[Jim Martin]

You might want to point out the load ratings for the different units.... for example, the Movi M5's capacity is not the same as the Ronin (5lbs vs 16lbs respectively).

"Just sayin"....

Jim Martin
EVSonline.com

[Walter Brokx]

Nor is the weight of the units itself.
Movi M5 weighs 4.75lbs (max payload 5lbs)
Movi M15 weighs 5.4lbs (max payload 15lbs)
DJI Ronin weighs 9.26lbs (max payload 16lbs)

[Clive McLaughlin]

Updated:

Freefly Movi M5 $3995
Letus Helix $3975
DJI Ronin $2999
The Ghost V2 $2995
Defy G2 $2600
Besteady One $2779
Birdycam 2 $2375
CAME 7500 $1200
Allsteady-5 $1399
Allsteady-7 $3999
Flyonix F25 £2995

[Eric Gulbransen]

I only have experience with two of the eight on the list, the DJI Ronin and the Letus Helix. Here's a few cents that help I hope:

Yes, the DJI Ronin costs $3,000. Period. Ships free from NY.
No, the Letus Helix does not cost $4,000. A Letus Helix setup equal to the stock DJI Ronin costs $5,337 plus shipping.

The DJI Ronin comes with:

- the DJI Ronin
- remote control transmitter
- two batteries
- bluetooth connectivity
- second user capabilities (meaning someone can run the camera remotely as you move with it)
- charger
- camera mount
- 15mm rails adapter (including not one but two sets of rails that inter-connect for extra length)
- sexy black plastic case with cool red precision-cut hard foam interior that houses all the Ronin pieces very nicely.


The Letus Helix comes with:

- the Letus Helix.



Everything else (that you need) for the Letus Helix is considered an "Accessory":

- battery/charger/mount ($332 for one, or $475 for two batteries)
- bluetooth capabilities ($99)
- second user capabilities ($99)
- 15mm rail adapter ($84)
- "heavy duty" camera plate ($99 - an FS700 requires a heavy duty plate)
- case ($399)
- you need to buy your own remote control transmitter ($125?)


$5,337 for the Letus Helix VS $2,999 for the DJI Ronin.

In my opinion the advertized $3,975 price of the Letus Helix is a bogus number.

*ac·ces·so·ry - noun
1. a thing that can be added to something else in order to make it more useful, versatile, or attractive.

...yes, the battery that powers it makes my Letus Helix far more attractive. The charger too.



The $399 case that the Letus comes in is a standard Pelican 1600 ($136 retail), with apparently $263 worth of precision-cut foam interior which does house all the Letus Helix pieces very nicely.


I bought the Ronin first. It is built like a tractor. I had connectivity problems with the bluetooth, which I later learned were related to the new operating system on my mac pro and iphone. My laptop, which still had the older os, connected fine. Strangely, once connected successfully to the old laptop, the Ronin then connected fine to the mac pro AND iphone. Although the Ronin worked flawlessly as a gimbal, the pan motor whined with my A7S mounted to it. I spent two days online, on the phone, researching and troubleshooting. Most said the power settings were too high. I dialed them all the way down, all the way up, left them in the middle, ran auto settings, balanced, balanced more, balanced again, adjusted settings again, and so on. Nothing I did had any affect on the whine of the pan motor. It was always just as loud. The Ronin worked very well as a stabilizer. Smooth shots came easy, even for my wife who wore heels when she tried it. Easy to use, easy to setup, easy to balance, even easy to understand the interface of the control program. I called the retailer I bought it from, mentioned my trouble and their first reply acknowledged what sounded like a well known issue with the brand - no customer support. I returned the Ronin and ordered the Letus Helix.

The Letus Helix is smaller than the Ronin. Lighter too. As much as I didn't mind the extra weight of the Ronin, I do appreciate the smaller and lighter Letus. The other added bonus of the Letus Helix design is that you can put it down, anywhere, where the Ronin and other gimbals of similar (suspended from a helicopter) design require that you not only carry the gimbal as you move, but somehow the stand to suspend it from too - unless your shot ends back where it started. I don't know, to me the whole purpose of a multi-axis gimbal is having the freedom to move. Being tied to a stand is a bummer to me. I love the stand-less characteristic of the Letus Helix. Is that worth $2,000 more to me? No. But when you add the fact that the Letus Helix is smaller, lighter, operates closer to your body, fits through doorways easier, goes seamlessly from horizontal mode to briefcase mode and back again without compromising the shot in the least, you can put it on the ground AND you have very attentive customer service at your fingertips? Then yes, it's worth $2,000 more. ..and I haven't even mentioned the (accessory) 4 axis capability yet.

...but I haven't mentioned a few other things yet either - like the fact that the Letus Helix does not have an iphone app - only Android. The Letus Helix is also harder to setup, harder to balance, harder to adjust in the application - which isn't made by Letus at all. Basecam Electronics makes the app. It's not made specifically for the Letus Helix, so it's not as user friendly as the Ronin system which was very easy to understand. I was using the Ronin gimbal successfully thirty minutes after the UPS guy dropped it on my doorstep. The Letus Helix, not so much. But I remain confident that I made the right choice - just not to shot with this weekend apparently...

Sitting level on a desk my Letus aims left, balanced, with the factory settings and a light weigh A7S mounted to it. In briefcase mode it aims high. And with my FS700 mounted, and balanced, it goes haywire. I'm sure the problem is my incompetence but that's my point. Same user, different gimbal, I struggle with the Letus Helix.

[Ade Towell]

the Birdycam is going for $1995

[Eric Gulbransen]

turns out I dorked up the adjustments on my Letus Helix. Like I said the user interface is not as easy as the Ronin's to comprehend. Anyway Ken at Letus just spent an hour with me on skype, reinstalling firmware and going through the whole program with me. Great patience he's got, if I didn't break him nobody can. That's priceless

[Iris Zhang]

Nebula 4000 Lite $699.
Nebula 4000 Lite First Impressions And Hands On Review | Erik Naso

[Iris Zhang]

This depends on the camera weight and volume. Then you could select a different type of stabilizer.

[Walter Brokx]

A week ago FreeFly released new firmware for the MoVI, calles Akira (love that movie :-p):
Akira

Offering timelapse and GPS/MIMIC targeting, making it a more versatile machine.
(And improved stabilization algorhythms.)

I guess the competition will try to follow this as well.
Although I haven't seen any other manufacturer making a MIMC yet:
Freefly MIMIC for M?VI ? Versatile Gimbal Controller

Or did I miss something?