DJI RONIN - independent review and in-depth test

[Remo Pini]

Oooooh! This is heavy. Wonder how long one can handhold this plus a camera and lens and follow focus (at the minimum) and shoot.

We shot with a RED on a MöVI and nobody was able to manage more than a few minutes at a time... all these handle-bar systems are an ergonomic nightmare...
If you want to do it longer, you either need several people with handoffs or some support system (i.e. steadicam arm, atlas, shoulder rig, ...)

Or maybe a bodybuilder on steroids

 

[Petri Teittinen]

Petri you would need much sturdier frame than the one I know you have or atleast had. You would need to get more powerful motors and much sturdier arms. You would probably be better of a coaxial 8 rather than a flat model. The base plates should probably be around 4mm with a quite large circumference and main arms should be in the range of 30mm.

Coaxial design would allow for shorter arms for massive propellers, 18 inch with motors of 200kV and over 1kW power. Anyway to build a suitable copter for lifting 8 kg with reasonable flight times (6 min or so) will require a lot of experience. A quick calc gives me a gigantic payload for batteries as well. The all up weight for such copter would probably be in the range of 15kg or maybe even more.

Personally I would not use any of the commercially available frames for this, unless of course there is something really cool available now.

Thanks Patrik. I still have the octo you sold me I obviously won't hook a Ronin + Epic on it, but I might give it a shot with a Ronin + GH4. Maybe.

 

[Peter Majtan]

Petri - Ronin might be overkill got GH4 - you are carrying unnecessary weight.
It's like using Hummer to pickup pack of cigarettes from the corner store...

The Ronin is on the heavier side - but it is so to handle proper cinema set ups that other gimbals might struggle with.
You can use cine lenses, matte-box with filters, FIZ controls and all the HD video and other accessories without having to worry whether the gimbal can take it. The question is whether your moving platform can handle this setup - whether that be human, steadi, heli, etc...

Especially for aerials you want to match the gimbal to your payload to maximize performance and air-time...
Having said that - by all means for testing the Ronin this is a great idea, just not practical for actual jobs...

:sifone: Peter

 

[Peter Majtan]

Just a quick update - I am in Nara shooting the hell out of the Ronin in various scenarios including live concert event and animals in nature. I will have a ton of footage to process when I get back to Tokyo on Monday.
As I have said before - I have attached a GoPro to the handlebar for a direct comparison with the stabilised footage...

Stay tuned...

:sifone: Peter

 

[Patrik Raski]

Here is a perfect choice to fly the Ronin... http://youtu.be/d_Req1yo3UM

with little sarcasm of course

 

[Peter Majtan]

Patrick - I love the tongue-in-cheek post, but all jokes aside - this would be a perfect platform to fly the Ronin with fully kitted RED, FIZ, matte-box + filters, HD, etc...
Little overkill - but hey! It should only add to the stability and wind resistance... ;o)

:reddevil: Peter

 

[Petri Teittinen]

with little sarcasm of course

Well yeah, that thing lifts 75 kilograms

 

[Peter Majtan]

Look at is from the positive side - you could include a short & skinny camera operator in that payload... ;o)

 

[Petri Teittinen]

Look at is from the positive side - you could include a short & skinny camera operator in that payload... ;o)

I believe the guy who built that monster is planning on lifting himself with it. Could get messy!

 

[Daniel P Rudin]

I believe the guy who built that monster is planning on lifting himself with it. Could get messy!

Yeah, if they take safety as serious as on this maiden flight, it will get messy :reddevil:

 

[Erich Roland]

I'm only pointing out that cameras on steadicams are under the exact same forces and requirements and we typically use one dovetail for all cameras (except sometimes Alexa). Two screws are enough even in slotted grooves and this has been true for decades. A new dovetail for every camera is unnecessary. Don't you think Ronin operators should be to show up on set and be able to mount any camera on their rig?

I agree with Jason. The movi plate has the same problem, holes spaced exactly for RED camera that don't fit most other cameras and your then forced to use just one screw holding the camera. Slotted is the smart way to go. One end can be fixed hole the other end slotted to accomidate either 3/8" or 1/4". A bit of rubber on the top....make it tight and nothing moves. Easy peazy.

 

[Peter Majtan]

I agree with Jason. The movi plate has the same problem, holes spaced exactly for RED camera that don't fit most other cameras and your then forced to use just one screw holding the camera. Slotted is the smart way to go. One end can be fixed hole the other end slotted to accomidate either 3/8" or 1/4". A bit of rubber on the top....make it tight and nothing moves. Easy peazy.

Again - DJI is making a longer plate for other cameras and I believe it might have a slotted solution. Let's wait till we see it before we get all worked up...

About the rubbery top - this is a big NO-NO for gimbals. Works great on tripods, but a completely useless for gimbals. You might feel like the rubbery top makes it "tight" - but just look at the camera from the front while pushing at its side - it will move ever so slightly. This tiny flex is a killer for 3-axis stabilisation...

:sifone: Peter

 

[Peter Majtan]

Here is just a quick preview of the footage to come...

First off - I didn't have the time to instal all the Paralinx gear yet (it is waiting for me back in Tokyo) - I will be setting up the Paralinx during the various configuration setups next week at my fav rental house together will all their various lenses and other goodies... ;o)
So in the meantime I was using this simple setup:

First on Saturday I was filming a LONDONARA concert produced by my friend Andrew Thomas who kindly allowed me to do some tests with the Ronin (in front of live audience!). Here are some stills from the footage...:

Then on Sunday we went outdoors...
First some hand-held deer chasing and forrest forging...:

Then I shot some stuff while standing through the moonroof on my car...:

... and then shot from the side supported by bungees...:

I will post some motion stuff when I get back to Tokyo - including the reference footage from the handlebar-mounted GoPro...

:sifone: Peter

 

[Note Suwanchote]

Here is just a quick preview of the footage to come...

First off - I didn't have the time to instal all the Paralinx gear yet (it is waiting for me back in Tokyo) - I will be setting up the Paralinx during the various configuration setups next week at my fav rental house together will all their various lenses and other goodies... ;o)
So in the meantime I was using this simple setup:

First on Saturday I was filming a LONDONARA concert produced by my friend Andrew Thomas who kindly allowed me to do some tests with the Ronin (in front of live audience!). Here are some stills from the footage...:

Then on Sunday we went outdoors...
First some hand-held deer chasing and forrest forging...:

Then I shot some stuff while standing through the moonroof on my car...:

... and then shot from the side supported by bungees...:

I will post some motion stuff when I get back to Tokyo - including the reference footage from the handlebar-mounted GoPro...

:sifone: Peter

Thanks a lot Peter! Truly, it's great to reference for those that have yet to decide on a company.

 

[Joel Arvidsson]

Thanks for posting the images. Will follow this for sure. Seams like a very good mix of shots.

 

[Will Keir]

That's the idea! Love this.

... and then shot from the side supported by bungees...:

I will post some motion stuff when I get back to Tokyo - including the reference footage from the handlebar-mounted GoPro...

:sifone: Peter

 

[Peter Majtan]

This is better shot of how the GoPro was mounted...:

One thing to note is due to the follow mode I have to "oversteer" the handlebar to get the camera to follow me (hence the "follow" mode) - BTW this is fully programmable and adjustable via an iOS app - more about this later...
That means that many time the PoV of the GoPro will not match the PoV of the RED, so don't focus too much on the PoV (altho it will show how far off-axis you can move the handlebar without affecting the camera) - and focus more on the "shakiness" and sudden jitters / motion of the GoPro footage when compared to the corresponding RED clip...

:sifone:

Peter

 

[Ketch Rossi]

Nice work so far Peter!!

Thanks for posting a link to my thread, and in exchange I have also posted yours on mine, especially since I am having some unforeseen forces of nature delaying my set of tests and shoots and now readying to get on my way to Italy.

Keep up the good work...

 

[Peter Majtan]

That's the idea! Love this.

Will - we also did similar setup inside the car (shooting forward to include the driver and the dash) and from the rear shooting out behind the car. This is very similar to how I mostly shoot from heli...

:sifone: Peter

 

[Peter Majtan]

Nice work so far Peter!!

Thanks for posting a link to my thread, and in exchange I have also posted yours on mine, especially since I am having some unforeseen forces of nature delaying my set of tests and shoots and now readying to get on my way to Italy.

Keep up the good work...

Thanks Ketch - safe travels!

:sifone: Peter