when he puts it together in the video, it looks fragile in places to me

It is not fragile. You do not even know how much tests and redesign and test again they made.

http://www.personal-view.com/deals/stabilizers-steadicams-gimbals/varavon

@Vitaliy

Thanks. If they came down 400-500 (aim for $2k) and got their production line in order, they could sell a lot of these quickly, but they are losing their window. Varavon has done a good job, but this one is confusing.

Looking forward to a pv deal on this product. Thanks as usual, Vitaliy.

any info about maximum payload? Ronin is set at an incredible 7.5Kg!

@kingmixer

I'll let you know as it'll be available as I am keeping in touch with them, we'll have special deals.

@3Kids, I concur. I was waiting for this gimbal as I understand it was gonna be $2000, then I heard $2300 then now $2550. At this price point, I might as well just get the DJI Ronin which seems much more reliable.

Although I had on pre-order the Ronin, I cancelled it thinking I would get the lighter Varavon despite the loss I would take in rentals (the Ronin is much more "rentable"). At this price though, both are so close that it just doesn't make sense to get the Varavon right now. Especially since they've announced that they will be making a larger version as well for bigger cameras. The Birdycam should have been priced below $2000. At $1700-1900 it would be ideal (which I think will be their price once the dust shuttles off)

@SeekingHeartwood thanks for posting those videos! The stabilization looks phenomenal - no jitter, shake and it seemed very level with the horizon for the most part. I noticed in one of your videos that you were using an external monitor on the top of the gimbal, but is it possible to keep the GH4's external display extended while using the Birdycam? I ask because the OLED display on the GH4 is excellent and it will keep both costs and weight down when using it. Thanks.

@killagram I'm not precisely sure what follow mode is myself since I'm fairly new to these type of gimbals but I figured it is when you pan the camera the gimbal will slide toward the direction of your pan instead of being in a fixed position when the motor is on.

I have my GH4 toward the center right of the stage for near perfect balance so extending the screen out all the way won't work.

I've already booked a high profile client and told them about the Birdycam and they loved it, so no one really gives a s***? If you're so worried about the name then that means your pitch for your services and your equipment is not convincing enough to your clients.

@killagram So far the camera has been a dream to balance. It took me a while the first time to get used to it but now I'm able to get this balanced within 5 minutes. I've been flying this with the GH4 and Lumix 12-35mm 2.8 and it works so well. I need to somehow download the software onto my Macbook to make the default follow mode faster. It's a bit slow coming out of the package but it works well. The joystick is absolutely awesome and feels really natural while moving around with the Birdycam. You can use the camera's monitor but it'll be very tricky checking your focus. I wouldn't use the monitor extended but it's still possible. It would just be harder to balance. So I'd use an external monitor just to be safe.

I also tried this with a steadicam vest and I would NOT use that combo again. You lose the dynamic movement going low or high with the gimbal and I'm not sure if the extra weight on your body will be an even tradeoff for your arms. I rather beef up my arms in the long haul :)