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DJI Ronin-M
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  • I am shooting gh4 and ronin-m. My results are good so far. It all takes a bit of practice and fine tuning via app in special situations.

    Nevertheless I was wondering how you guys handle filming with external monitor. The hdmi cable seem to put pressure on the gimbal. Also I am not sure how attach the cable along the gimbal, not to cause pressure and moving problems.

    I am also interested in how you handle walking shots,.special running. How do you minimize shaky footage in the up and down?

  • The roll issues are fixed with a firmware update, make sure you update it. I assumed mine was updated and that new updates would appear through the app, but in reality I had to download the Mac or PC software and update that way, made a big difference.

    I like it...most of my problems with it are Gimbal related in general, learning to walk correctly or smooth out the bounce, not relying on turning every shot into a long moving take, etc. I'm not totally sold on the aesthetic. I bought it because I was going to be filming from boats, and it works nicely for that. It is creeping into every other aspect of my work as well, due to its ease and flexibility of use, but I am trying to be cautious about an aesthetic that doesn't quite move me...yet. Examples soon.

  • @Vitaliy_Kiselev @HillTop1

    No problem, I put together a quick unboxing and setup video which includes some test shots at the end. Nothing glamorous, just the first few clips recorded using the Ronin-M.

    The only other gimbals I've used are the Varavon Birdycam 2, the Movi M15 and the Defy G5. They all offer nice features but in terms of $$$ to performance, the Ronin-M seems like the best bang for the buck. Unlike some other gimbals, both the hardware AND the software are solid. DJI has done a nice job creating a full package and you really get a lot with the Ronin-M. Just wish it came with a case, that would be icing on the cake.

  • @Xenocide38

    Thanks for the conformation. I knew something was wrong with the horizontal axis. I guess I should have checked dji. But I also think using a light camera like the GH4 with the 12-35 lens is a problem. I know balanced mind very very well and nothing was taking off or added after balancing and doing all the auto calibrations and stuff, it will occasionally just go into la la land. It might have being the horizontal axis problem or software issue but the problem was there.

    But even after all the problems I had, it worked quite while when it work and produced some exceptional footage. I am still gonna buy a 3-axis gimbal because they truly are invaluable tools especially if you do event shooting.

  • @Xenocide38

    Thanks for report.

    Do you have any samples made using it?

  • I picked up a Ronin-M and I really like it. It's easy to setup, easy to balance and the calibration and wireless control system is extremely intuitive. I only needed the manual at one point during the entire process.

    It's vital that you get the camera and lens setup balanced perfectly before doing anything with the motors. If you're not balanced, you're not going to get the best results and that's true on any gimbal system so do your homework and get it dialed in.

    The footage looks great, much better than what you can get with a traditional glidecam style stabilizer but not quite as good as a Movi (but hey it's a hell of a lot cheaper than a Movi)

    The only issued I've encountered so far is that my particular unit has a tendency to roll off the horizontal alignment in certain situations. It wasn't a major problem, just kind of a nuisance having to reset the roll adjustment every once and awhile. And this was with auto-roll off completely, so it should have been staying perfectly level. Maybe it's a calibration issue or a firmware issue http://forum.dji.com/thread-3811-1-1.html but I'll have to do a little more digging to know for sure.

    But everything else is working like a charm. Auto pan and tilt work exactly as you'd expect and I haven't run into any issues with the motors freaking out but again, some of those problems might be due to improper balancing. The more those motors have to fight to compensate for improper weight distribution, the more likely you are to run into problems.

    It can be especially easy to throw off the balance with cameras like the GH4 because even if you balance it perfectly and tune the motors just right, if you have the Ronin-M powered on and you flip out the LCD or pop in an SD card, or take off a UV filter or lens hood, you've thrown it off balance but the motors will still fight to keep it level so it might not be obvious that there's a balance issue.

    You've always got to check that balance before powering on the motors to make sure you're using it under optimal settings.

    So far I think the Ronin-M is a great value and definitely worth the reasonable price.

  • Rig for this

  • When this first came out I was quite exited and ready to give them my money. After hearing about one or two mishaps about it, I decided to hold off a lil.

    Last weekend I rented one to use on a live event with a GH4 and I have mix feeling about the Ronin-M. It's not very reliable at least with my experience. It works, easy to balance at least with the GH4 and the lumix 12-35mm lens. Even after doing the auto calibrate, every now and then it will fail and the motors will go crazy and the thing will be all over the place.

    The other thing that bugged me a lot was that after balancing it quite well and doing the auto calibration, the gimbal will not stay perfectly horizontal. It will be find just right after I do the calibration but after I start using using it, the front will slightly point up at like a 2-5 degrees inclined. I had to use remote to get it back straight. People who have used or own this, have you guys had similar problems?

    All in all it does work when conditions are right (and I don't know what makes it work just right) but if you plan on using this for live events, I strongly suggest to bring a back up solution.

  • Just like any other gimbal, it's not plug and play. I've found that it's important to recalibrate, auto-tune stability, etc. before every shoot. But the app makes all this fairly easy.

  • There sure are a lot of mixed reviews on Amazon and BHPhotoVideo about this model.

  • For what it's worth, I'm really liking my Ronin M. For the price of a good zoom lens, it's the gimbal to get right now. It struggled a bit in high winds out on a boat deck, but other than that one time it's performed perfectly.

  • Even though DJI strongly "whitewash" much of their image - they are Chinese (well global really now, but at the core Chinese). I could write a whole article on how some of the inauthenticity of their marketing actually damages their image (watch the Phantom 3 livestream where the "party guests" are "drinking" in Singapore for starters - actually that whole thing is pretty rough).

    That being said - perhaps the balanced inertial Mass on Yaw actually helps stabilized left to right movement and the bearings are good enough to handle the weight (never heard of a failed ronin Yaw motor) - Maybe a battery relocation kit wih a dummy smartbattery terminal might be an awesome idea for the ronin M and aerial.

  • I really wish we will see good Chinese designs in coming months.

    Classic :-)

  • On my DIY chinese gimbal I moved the battery and controller to above all motors. It allowed much better tuning because my motors and frame are weak. My frame/Motor is only good for 2.5lbs of camera gear. Moving the battery and controller made a huge difference.

    On the Ronin the motors and frame are much stronger and the battery position might actually might help offset frame adjustments when using long or heavy lenses.

    I do agree though the overall battery position would be inefficient position below yaw motor. And the Chinese will copy any design, good or bad.

  • If it was putting extra stress on the top motor we would have being hearing lots of dissatisfied customers by now. I am no design expert, but nothing on the design of the ronin made my use with it difficult beside it's weight and size.

    No one cares now :-)

    And yes, DJI is company specializing at aerial things (for crane use putting battery on gimbal at all is idiotic solution from mechanical standpoint, battery must be on the other end). This is why design is such.

    I really wish we will see good Chinese designs in coming months.

  • From design standpoint it is made even worse than cheapest Chinese gimbals, not talking about CAME :-)

    This gimbals looks exactly like the original Ronin. When I used the ronin, beside it's weight and size it work just fine. Balancing was easy, nothing about it's design was a problem to me. Like someone said above, they probably put that battery there cuz it may allow you to switch from hand gimbal to your quadcopter or car rig for stabilization or what ever you wanna use it with. If it was putting extra stress on the top motor we would have being hearing lots of dissatisfied customers by now. I am no design expert, but nothing on the design of the ronin made my use with it difficult beside it's weight and size.

  • This is a CAME killer, for sure

    From design standpoint it is made even worse than cheapest Chinese gimbals, not talking about CAME :-)

  • This is a CAME killer, for sure. And with a max payload of 8lbs, it should be able to carry even the heaviest DSLR + lens combos. I'm sure glad I didn't buy a CAME-7800 a few months ago.

    Yah me too, puts it right into competition with the cheapest gimbals. But who knows, maybe CAME will adjust their prices accordingly say maybe in the ~<$750 point or something to compete or stay afloat.

  • This is a CAME killer, for sure. And with a max payload of 8lbs, it should be able to carry even the heaviest DSLR + lens combos.

    I'm sure glad I didn't buy a CAME-7800 a few months ago.

  • Wow much lower than I thought it would be when they said under $2000. Came TV have serious competition at this price.

  • In my experience mechanical pulls with a manual lens (or AF lens set to manual) still tend to be more precise than AF algos unless you shoot Canon with support for USB remotes or use dual pixel AF. I'm not a fan of Canon's video image so it's not an option for me.

    AF has nothing to do with it. Only lens construction means something. Modern lenses with stepper motors are best.

    Yep, for now some software limits exist, but they are software.