Terry VerHaar
Well-known member
Samir - I might humbly suggest that if you are waiting for impressive footage to make a choice of stabilizers, you are going about it the wrong way. If that were the criteria, I would say the demo piece that Ronin did a few months ago would take the prize. But, I really don't think the average user with his new Ronin is yet getting those results; any more than the average Helix user is.
The Movi seems, to me, to be the most mature product at this point in time and so might be the "safest" choice - for now. But, of course, that level of confidence come at a price. IMO, the other brands are currently still working with their software to "get it right." If you read the Ronin threads, those people are tweaking things and having issues of balance, etc. I know that Helix owners, like me, are doing the same.
BeSteady may be in a slightly different state. They have spent a very long time getting their product to market and, in that time, just may have moved their software farther forward. But, we can't tell yet because they have struggled mightily to get even one unit out the door, which does not bode well for service after the fact. Time will tell with them.
There are many, many other, lesser know gimbals out there but they all seem, like Ronin and BeSteady, to be design clones of Movi. Now, that could be a good thing but a question is, given that design, when their software matures, is that all there is? If they all handle about the same, there will be a price war and you will want to wait it out to see who wins in offering the best combination of effective software and quality hardware for the best pricing, given that design.
But, here is where I think things change when you consider Helix. First of all, it is a distinctly different design and, IMO, a better one. (You have to make up your own mind about that.) Right now, the design offers a continuous switch to suitcase mode and back, use on a steadicam sled (single axis), use as a remote head (double or quad axis), hand held, arm/vest mounted and many other configurations in combination with various third party support options coming along (EasyRig, Serene Arm, ActionProducts Runner, etc.) It's the most versatile gimbal-based stabilizer design. It is lighter than most and has a large payload capacity. There is a lot to like.
IF I am right, and it turns out to offer advantages based on its design, then the software will come along and it will just get better. And, from what I have seen, that will happen quickly. I know there is a tremendous amount of work being done behind the scenes.
Finally - and I can't stress this enough - Letus is a top-notch, first rate, financially solid, high class company, owned and run by dedicated, smart talented and committed people. This is not meant to take anything from any other individual, company or organization but none of the others can make a claim to better customer service than Letus has already shown. i know that they plan, and will inevitably succeed, to deliver the very best stabilizing system possible. It will probably not be the cheapest, but I dare say it will offer incredible value.
Now - as for why there is not that much footage, this is my story. And keep in mind that I am working solely with a RED Scarlet which weighs in at around 12-14 pounds when configured. Had I decided to start with my Canon 60D or buy a GH4, things would probably have come together more quickly.
I got one of the very early units (#2) and spent a good deal of time working with balance and choosing among various configurations. That is probably the most time-consuming thing of all. Choosing what components you want on your camera - i.e. how to monitor the signal, how to pull focus, best power options, various wireless possibilities, etc - it gets complicated pretty quickly. I also insisted on balancing my camera around the optical center (for very specific reasons too detailed to discuss here) and that introduced additional challenges in getting to my optimal configuration. At various points, I did get some very good set-ups and shot some pretty decent footage. But, my assumption has always been that I'd get decent footage so my goal was to streamline the configuration and create ways to shoot stuff more quickly, easily and effectively.
To be sure, I have not spent full time working with Helix over the last few weeks, so only so much can get done. But, I have spent much time working with my unit as I described above and giving feedback to Letus about any and all issues, both good and bad, that I noticed. As a result, my own unit is currently back in Portland for the second time so they could tweak some small hardware pieces and, also, because the new firmware didn't seem to like my logic board - although there may have been some operator error involved.
I expect it back this week (very short turnaround, I might add) and will start in to fiddling once more.
So, my focus has not been to capture and show off footage but, rather, to develop my own ground up expertise with the system. I also think that the Helix system you end up with in a couple weeks or so will be even better than my SN #0002 was, thanks to the carefully listening that Letus did with its early adopters.
Anyway, this is too long of an answer to your question but I urge you to broaden your perspective on how to choose a gimbal-based stabilizer. And, best of luck making the right decision for you!
The Movi seems, to me, to be the most mature product at this point in time and so might be the "safest" choice - for now. But, of course, that level of confidence come at a price. IMO, the other brands are currently still working with their software to "get it right." If you read the Ronin threads, those people are tweaking things and having issues of balance, etc. I know that Helix owners, like me, are doing the same.
BeSteady may be in a slightly different state. They have spent a very long time getting their product to market and, in that time, just may have moved their software farther forward. But, we can't tell yet because they have struggled mightily to get even one unit out the door, which does not bode well for service after the fact. Time will tell with them.
There are many, many other, lesser know gimbals out there but they all seem, like Ronin and BeSteady, to be design clones of Movi. Now, that could be a good thing but a question is, given that design, when their software matures, is that all there is? If they all handle about the same, there will be a price war and you will want to wait it out to see who wins in offering the best combination of effective software and quality hardware for the best pricing, given that design.
But, here is where I think things change when you consider Helix. First of all, it is a distinctly different design and, IMO, a better one. (You have to make up your own mind about that.) Right now, the design offers a continuous switch to suitcase mode and back, use on a steadicam sled (single axis), use as a remote head (double or quad axis), hand held, arm/vest mounted and many other configurations in combination with various third party support options coming along (EasyRig, Serene Arm, ActionProducts Runner, etc.) It's the most versatile gimbal-based stabilizer design. It is lighter than most and has a large payload capacity. There is a lot to like.
IF I am right, and it turns out to offer advantages based on its design, then the software will come along and it will just get better. And, from what I have seen, that will happen quickly. I know there is a tremendous amount of work being done behind the scenes.
Finally - and I can't stress this enough - Letus is a top-notch, first rate, financially solid, high class company, owned and run by dedicated, smart talented and committed people. This is not meant to take anything from any other individual, company or organization but none of the others can make a claim to better customer service than Letus has already shown. i know that they plan, and will inevitably succeed, to deliver the very best stabilizing system possible. It will probably not be the cheapest, but I dare say it will offer incredible value.
Now - as for why there is not that much footage, this is my story. And keep in mind that I am working solely with a RED Scarlet which weighs in at around 12-14 pounds when configured. Had I decided to start with my Canon 60D or buy a GH4, things would probably have come together more quickly.
I got one of the very early units (#2) and spent a good deal of time working with balance and choosing among various configurations. That is probably the most time-consuming thing of all. Choosing what components you want on your camera - i.e. how to monitor the signal, how to pull focus, best power options, various wireless possibilities, etc - it gets complicated pretty quickly. I also insisted on balancing my camera around the optical center (for very specific reasons too detailed to discuss here) and that introduced additional challenges in getting to my optimal configuration. At various points, I did get some very good set-ups and shot some pretty decent footage. But, my assumption has always been that I'd get decent footage so my goal was to streamline the configuration and create ways to shoot stuff more quickly, easily and effectively.
To be sure, I have not spent full time working with Helix over the last few weeks, so only so much can get done. But, I have spent much time working with my unit as I described above and giving feedback to Letus about any and all issues, both good and bad, that I noticed. As a result, my own unit is currently back in Portland for the second time so they could tweak some small hardware pieces and, also, because the new firmware didn't seem to like my logic board - although there may have been some operator error involved.
I expect it back this week (very short turnaround, I might add) and will start in to fiddling once more. So, my focus has not been to capture and show off footage but, rather, to develop my own ground up expertise with the system. I also think that the Helix system you end up with in a couple weeks or so will be even better than my SN #0002 was, thanks to the carefully listening that Letus did with its early adopters.
Anyway, this is too long of an answer to your question but I urge you to broaden your perspective on how to choose a gimbal-based stabilizer. And, best of luck making the right decision for you!
