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Gimbal Reviews or Personal Experience?
  • tfinntfinn

    Has anyone from PV used the either of the two gimbals most recently posted under deals: the Zhiyun or the Wondlan? I am in particular looking for anyone's experience with the single-handle versions, comparison with Beholders, anything, really. If you think single-handed gimbals suck, I would love to hear that. And if you think the only way to shoot on a gimbal is to buy/rent a Red and plop it on a Movi, I'd like to hear that, too.

    Sorry if this should go under another thread, the last gimbal threads I saw seemed to focus on suggestions for gimbals for a particular camera. I am actually looking to see if people would recommend the gimbals at all, as it seems for better or worse all small-form mirrorless/dslrs/point-and shoots, etc. seem to be in the same approximate form factor and weight range (minus lenses). I trust the opinions of people on PV, so I like seeing reviews that people do - I think there was talk of a PV Review section coming at some point? Do I have that right?

  • 6 Replies sorted by
  • TommyboyTommyboy

    I'm in the same boat and will probably try out the Beholder EC1 first once available just to see if it works with different cameras since it supports wider range of weights.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @tfinn

    Except reviewers, most people won't buy two similar gimbals.

    Zhiyun Z1 is very well known and highly regarded gimbal, good if you want something simple to tune as they use their own software. We have topic on it, check.

    Wondlan gimbals are new, but firm is also highly regarded as they manufactured quality steadicams for long time.

  • tfinntfinn

    Thanks for the responses. I admit I worded it poorly: I wasn't asking for people who have used both gimbals to comment, more like people who have used either gimbal. I'll check the Z1 thread as described, and will wait to see some Wondlan gimbal reviews, thanks!

  • nomadnomad

    I have looked at all the reviews and decided to order a Zhiyun Z1. Over the years, I've bought a few things via PV and Vitaliy never offered anything not worth the money. I'll report once it has arrived.

    I bought a Pilotfly H1 (not H1+) last year and sold it again. It was very difficult to tune and I could never fully stop vibrating when it pointed a bit steeper up or down. We need to accept that it was an early stage of development in low-cost one-hand gimbals, and a lot has happened since.

    But when it worked, I got footage that would be hard to get in any other way. I dear friend of mine owned a Ronin (not M) and sold it again since he found it too heavy and not flexible enough. Plus, if you want to 'fly' heavier cameras with it, you'll need additional gear like an EasyRig plus a dampener, if your name isn't Schwarzenegger. In the end, the investment is hard to justify if you are not using it every other day or so. My friend now got a small DJI camera on gimbal now for occasional use, but I was very disappointed with it's picture quality.

    So, IMHO a one-hand gimbal (or a model that can be converted for two hands like the Wondlan) and a decent camera are good solution. I'll use it for our Sony A7S or my personal BM Pocket, but of course it won't carry a Red and not even one of the heavier BM cameras we have at work.

    And, BTW, operating a traditional Steadicam needs much more training than a gimbal.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Operating a traditional Steadicam needs much more training than a gimbal.

    Steadicam if you want it to produce good footage is better to be larger. And even small ones usually weight more than any one hand gimbal.

    One hand gimbals are especially cool for small NX500/A6300 cameras with pancake lens or small zoom.

  • HillTop1HillTop1

    I currently have the Beholder DS1 and it's probably my favorite tool for my kind of shooting. It works great for me but I have put in my time to learn and adjust it to my liking. I have read people saying they don't like it, but it's being working great for me.

    I was considering the Zhiyan Z1 as my second gimbal but I was reading that battery life is not very good which is the one thing I don't like about the DS1.

    I am looking to add a second gimbal to my kit and there are a few that I am considering pending my findings.

    Woldan SK02

    Tilta Gravity G1

    PilotFly H2

    or I will just upgrade to the new Beholder EC1.

    So like you, I am looking for reviews

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