Glider Pro 3 - 4th Axis Stabilizer for Single Handle Motorized Gimbals

In this episode, we review the Glider Pro 3, a 4th axis stabilizer for single handle motorized gimbals. Why would you ever want something like this? When shooting walking shots, have you ever noticed that there’s some bouncing in the footage with your footsteps? This helps reduce that. Let’s take a look!

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

Scotty Makes Stuff Glider Pro 3 Duo - 4th axis stabilizer with two handles and the option to configure with one handle

Panasonic GH5S (Amazon) - Used this camera on all of the gimbal shots

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - I used this to record everything but the gimbal shots in this episode

Panasonic 12-35mm F/2.8 OIS Lens (Amazon) - Used on the Pocket 4K camera and the GH5S. On the gimbal shots, we turned the image stabilization on the lens off so that you could see how the gimbal and Glider Pro 3 work without the help of camera or lens stabilization.

Sennheiser MKH 8050 (Amazon) - Microphone used for this episode

Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder/Mixer

Aputure COB 120dII (Amazon) - key light

Aputure Light Dome II (Amazon) - soft box for key light

Aputure COB120t (Amazon) - background light

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2018 by Cary Judd. Used with permission.

MOZA AIR 2: How to Balance & Mini Review

Single handle motorized gimbals for interchangeable lens hybrid and DSLR cameras have come a long way over the last few years. The original MOZA AIR was really good for the smaller ILM cameras and had a great app for remote control and time-lapse. The newest gimbal from MOZA, the AIR 2, is a nice step forward in a lot of ways. It can handle much heavier payloads, uses separate axis controls rather than “modes”, impressive battery life, a new shorter pan arm which makes it easier to see the screen on your camera and quickly and smoothly go to a low shot.

In this episode, we cover how to balance your camera on the MOZA AIR 2 and do a mini review.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

Gudsen MOZA AIR 2 Gimbal for Interchangeable Lens Hybrid and DSLR Cameras

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - I used this to record most of this episode

Aputure COB120dmkII (Amazon) - Key light in the talking head clips

Aputure Light Dome II (Amazon) - Newer version of the big soft box with faster setup and gel holder

Lupo Superpanel Full Color 30 - RGB 1x1 LED panel light

Panasonic 12-35mm F/2.8 OIS (Amazon) Lens - Used on the GH5 gimbal shots

Panasonic GH5 (Amazon) Camera - Used on the gimbal shots

Glider Pro 3 4th Axis Dual Handles by Scotty Makes Stuff - Review coming soon

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2018 by Cary Judd. Used with permission.

A Gimbal for Your Gimbal: DigitalFoto DH04 Dual Spring Handle

Gimbal shots are super popular and can add a lot to your film or video project when the motivation for camera movement is right. But one issue I’ve run into time and again is that I can still see the bouncing as the camera operator takes steps. The DigitalFoto DH04 Dual Spring Handle can help solve that problem

Links to gear used in this episode:

DigitalFoto DH04 Dual Spring Handle for single handle gimbals

Zhiyun Crane 2 three axis motorized gimbal - My current favorite gimbal for small cameras

Panasonic GH5s Camera - my favorite small camera for video

Amazon: http://geni.us/hnP75j

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - this is the the lens I use more than any other on the GH5s

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd 

Outro music licensed from Artlist: Call on Me by Kick Lee. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.

Zhiyun Smooth 4 Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizer

Zhiyun-Tech released their latest generation gimbal for smartphones - the Smooth 4. The headline feature on this new stabilizer is a big, nicely damped zoom/focus knob that allows you to zoom and focus your phone’s camera without touching the phone! There are several other really nice features including manual exposure mode, standby mode, motion timelapse, and the kit comes with a tripod. I have to confess that the Smooth 4 makes shooting video with my phone a lot of fun!

All of the gimbal shots in this video were shot with the iPhone 7+.

Check to see if your phone is supported at Zhiyun's site under downloads.

Links to gear discussed and used to shoot this episode:

Zhiyun Smooth 4 Stabilizer Gimbal for Smartphones

Aputure COB 120d - This is one of my main workhorse lights. Not a week passes where I don’t use it for at least one shoot

Aputure COB 120t - When I don’t have to match existing light, I prefer to use this as my key light. Really nice, warm skin tones

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - When I need a nice, soft light on the face of the talent in an interview or talking head video, this goes on the COB120 key light

Lupo DayLED Fresnel Light with Barn Doors - These are useful when I need hard light as well. I don’t have soft boxes for them so they’re not quite as versatile as the Aputure COBs, but really great lights with a super durable build. 650, 1000, & 2000 in daylight, tungsten, or bi-color

Blackmagic design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - used for the talking head shots in this episode

Sigma ART 24-70mm f/2.8 OS Lens (Canon EF Mount) - this lens is almost always on my Ursa Mini Pro

Panasonic GH5 - Used for some of the product shots

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - incredibly versatile lens that is on the GH5 most of the time

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd 

Music - MzA by Cary Judd, used with permission

3 Gimbals Compared: Zhiyun Crane 2, Feiyu a2000, Gudsen Moza Air

Motorized three-axis gimbals have become incredibly popular and can help add some nice movement to your video projects to help tell your story. If you’re shooting with a hybrid mirrorless or DSLR camera, you can even work with a single-handle, pistol grip style gimbal. In this episode, we compare three of the most popular gimbals for DSLR and smaller hybrid cameras.

I would have a hard time saying that one is the best. If pushed and I could only keep one, I'd probably keep the Crane 2. But the Moza is probably more innovative in terms of software (motion time-lapse) and the Feiyu is more innovative in terms of hardware (controls on both the pistol grip and dual handle).

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
Zhiyun-Tech Crane 2 - This is the largest payload capacity option of these three, good for larger cameras

FeiyuTech a2000 - dual-handle or single handle gimbal, good for mirrorless hybrid cameras

Gudsen Moza Air (Innovative dual-handle or single handle gimbal, good for mirrorless hybrid cameras)

This episode shot with the following:

Panasonic GH5 Hybrid Camera - my main camera for gimbals

Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8 OIS Lens - My go-to lens with the GH5

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Supercardioid Boom Microphone

Aputure C120d LED Light

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box

Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera - This is my main camera for corporate video work

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Zhiyun SmoothQ: Smoother Video with Your Smartphone

Shooting video with your smartphone is convenient but often the results are pretty jarring with lots of shake and jitter. The Zhiyun SmoothQ is an affordable motorized gimbal which smooths out your video and is easy to use. In this episode, we have a closer look at the SmoothQ to see whether it might be a good option for you.

For the audio enthusiasts out there, can you identify the glaring audio issue with this episode?

Gear featured and used to record this episode:

Zhiyun SmoothQ Motorized Gimbal (Amazon USA, Amazon UK)

Manfrotto Monopod (for crane shots)

DPA 4017B Shotgun Microphone My new favorite shotgun microphone

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer/Recorder

Aputure Light Storm COB120t LED Light (Key Light)

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box (for COB120t key light)

Panasonic GH4 Camera

Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 Lens

Zhiyun Crane 3-axis Motorized Gimbal Setup and Tips

I’ve talked to several people who have been frustrated with various 3-axis motorized gimbals for their cameras. The gimbals promise smooth shots when you’re walking or hand-holding your mirrorless camera or DSLR but often people find them difficult to use. In this episode, we show you how to setup the Zhiyun Tech Crane, a gimbal which can support cameras up to 1800 grams in weight. Then we cover a few tips for getting the smoothest shots possible. Once you get this down with a little practice, you can avoid all that frustration and get the most out of your gimbal!

GVB Gimbal and 3 Low Cost Action Cameras

There are a ton of inexpensive action cameras available on the market and it is hard to figure out which perform best. So let’s have a quick look at 3: GVB Action Cam, Yi HD Action Cam, and ThiEYE i60 Action Cam. Each come in at about $100 USD.

Also, action cameras, just like any other camera, produce jerky and shaky looking video when you hold them by hand. Gimbals can help to stabilize your camera so that the video footage is smoother and more enjoyable to watch. In this episode, we also look at the GVB Action Camera Gimbal, an affordable entry-level 3 axis gimbal for GoPro Hero 4 and other cameras of the same size and weight.