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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Best Gimbals/Steadicams for Komodo?

Christoffer Glans

Christoffer Glans

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Because of the size and weight of Komodo, we are able to use much lighter and cheaper Gimbal and Steadicam options. Which ones would fit perfectly, based on different setups? I'm thinking a Komodo with V-Lock battery through a cable with a larger cine-lens together with a remote focus gearhead would add some weight. Then there's the option of a very stripped down using canon batteries and still lenses using something like Fool Control instead.

Which options would fit Komodo best?
 
I think Ronin MX is a very good option. It has two batteries, one for the gimbal and one for camera. Pretty small and lightweight gimbal.
 
I prefer Movi pro. That way if you ever needed to load a heavier camera you're covered.
 
Jarred Land said:
I've actually been testing this one the last few days with Komodo. Its unusual.. in a good way.. and tracks very well.
Click to expand...

are you running the latest firmware on that Weebill S?
 
Jarred Land said:
I've actually been testing this one the last few days with Komodo. Its unusual.. in a good way.. and tracks very well.
Click to expand...

Great... I just ordered one.

Mwhahahhahahaha
 
Tim Daust said:
are you running the latest firmware on that Weebill S?
Click to expand...

1.93. I think 1.95 doesn't do much except for some extra camera compatibility which doesn't apply to me :)
 
Jarred Land said:
I've actually been testing this one the last few days with Komodo. Its unusual.. in a good way.. and tracks very well.
Click to expand...
That's good to hear! :)

I was thinking that anything upwards of a Ronin S or a Weebill-S will do the trick.
The most important bit is whether the trigger button will work and if the focus wheel can control the electronic focus.
These tiny gimbals can handle a considerable load so they seem like the perfect fit for Komodo!

Have you had a chance to test the Ronin S?
 
Gregory Karydis said:
That's good to hear! :)

I was thinking that anything upwards of a Ronin S or a Weebill-S will do the trick.
The most important bit is whether the trigger button will work and if the focus wheel can control the electronic focus.
These tiny gimbals can handle a considerable load so they seem like the perfect fit for Komodo!

Have you had a chance to test the Ronin S?
Click to expand...

Komodo app and the weebill app :)
 
Looking through the options, are there any that can be operated by hand without adding too much weight while at the same time having a true gearhead for cine lenses? There's options for still lenses but I'd rather use real cine gears for focus pulling and preferably being able to remote focus to the gimbal.
 
I'm personally gonna stick with the Movi Pro since I'll want to use PL Cinema lenses most of the time. I really love that I'll be able to use a lightweight lens and a Ronin S for stealth sometimes. Having the option to do both is why I love this camera. Flexibility in production is key to making a great product.
 
Two ways to go.

Super light weight, only a small wide still with autofocus and nothing more then a one hand gimbal would do great.

But then you have the other scenario when you want big ana´s, motors, mattbox, filters etc. And in such scenario the weight difference between a komodo setup and a DSMC3 setup is quite slim... Then Ronin XL is simply not to big.
 
Björn Benckert said:
Two ways to go.

Super light weight, only a small wide still with autofocus and nothing more then a one hand gimbal would do great.

But then you have the other scenario when you want big ana´s, motors, mattbox, filters etc. And in such scenario the weight difference between a komodo setup and a DSMC3 setup is quite slim... Then Ronin XL is simply not to big.
Click to expand...

Shouldn't it be possible to have NDs in the mount now with RF? Or is that impossible with PL lenses? Say you're shooting with Summilux lenses, using remote focus with a gearhead. If the mount can store NDs, then wouldn't that be a small setup anyway? I guess the biggest problem is how to power the gearhead for the focus.

I'm also not a fan of the "floaty" feel to gimbals. Whenever someone stands still with a gimbal it goes up and down in a very unstable look far from how steadicams look and feel. What do gimbals need to get rid of that?
 
Christoffer Glans said:
Shouldn't it be possible to have NDs in the mount now with RF? Or is that impossible with PL lenses? Say you're shooting with Summilux lenses, using remote focus with a gearhead. If the mount can store NDs, then wouldn't that be a small setup anyway? I guess the biggest problem is how to power the gearhead for the focus.

I'm also not a fan of the "floaty" feel to gimbals. Whenever someone stands still with a gimbal it goes up and down in a very unstable look far from how steadicams look and feel. What do gimbals need to get rid of that?
Click to expand...

Gimbals need Y stabilisation to look "like a steady cam". I got Tilta armorman, basically two steady cam arms that dampen the vertical movement, in a very similar way as a steady cam, which work good.
Yes I guess ND filters is possible to stick behind the lens, but then you got the chocolate filter, black promist, grad, polar or what ever other filter... and then normally a matbox or something to clear for lens flare, etc etc. And the Sumilux-c´s for example are quite long and heavy even if the camera is small the package quickly starts to become too long to balance on a small gimbal.

Komodo with a PL adapter, and battery on the back becomes quite long. And also as the camera is quite low weight and for example the Summilux-c´s are not you need to push it quite far back to balance.... quite quickly the battery start touching the roll axis... So then you need counter weights and all of a sudden a small gimbal becomes quite fiddly.

But yes, always nice to have a super small gimbal setup that can be held in one hand and so on but to my experience that comes with quite a bit of limitations if you want to be free to use what ever lenses and accessories. Even Ronin XL can be quite a trick to rig with lenses like big cooke´s or anas and such. I bought a ton of extra things to extend the use of my ronin, counter weights to put behind/ below camera and on pan axis, extra long tilt rods, Red´s smallest Vlocks, super light weight FF, DJI power distribution that lets you run without camera battery, etc. Still even a regular sized lens can be a challenge.

Here is a picture of the armor man setup and monstro with quite a small lens, no battery on camera but still there is quite a bit of counter weight needed.

29085683352_6ec9589bd2_o.jpg
[/url]14045642_10154046353988043_4546621637784449239_n by Björn Benckert, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
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