So, here is a first blog post from me. Apparently it’s a good way of keeping people up to date with goings on, though I can’t really figure out why anyone would want to read my ramblings. Anyway…
The reason I’ve done this post is to accompany a video I did recently, which was as equally painful as writing this blog. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the new Ronin 2 gimbal from DJI, courtesy of the team at Heliguy. They asked me to mount some cameras on it, have a play around and to record some thoughts on using it.
So, with great monotony, I awkwardly stood in front of camera and bleated on about it. To be fair, it is a great product, even if my flat inflection and gormless presentation did not fully convey such. But at least it was an opportunity to do something a little different. I even got to commandeer the kids’ playroom for an evening to get some quick product shots before I had to send it back…
You see, if, like me, you mainly use the internet (esp. Facebook), to keep up to date with the latest in camera tech, you’ll see a lot of people doing reviews of this, that and the other. Some well done and informative, some less so, but it seems everyone wants to put their opinion over. I’m not sure the reasoning behind this. I imagine it stems from Philip Bloom’s rise to prominence with his early blogging, tutorials and reviews of DSLR filmmaking – he forged a career through this, which subsequently moved him on to bigger things from there. Fair play, he did (and still does) it well. But I’m not sure why so many other feel they need a piece of that review action. Perhaps exposure? Perhaps they think it’ll land them products to test out/keep? But I’ve never really felt I needed to chime in. Who wants my opinion? What could I do differently?
But, in this case the opportunity came along thanks to Heliguy, and I couldn’t turn down the chance to grab the heavy-as-hell Ronin 2, run round the woods, and slip a disc from between my lumbar vertebrae. And at least, in terms of making my review different from others, it has the USP of being unbelievably unexciting. Perhaps I could create a new genre of reviews? “Shoegaze Reviews”?
So here it is, and then a few written thoughts on the gimbal (and the blogging/reviewing process):
(there are subtitles you can turn on to help with my northern drone)
So, in case you couldn’t make out my on-camera mumblings, here are my thoughts on the Ronin 2:
- It is heavy
- Very heavy
- Adjustment knobs to set balance are a great improvement
- Super easy to get cameras balanced (esp. larger ones, like FS7)
- Integrated control panel is fantastic
- I’ve had a much needed haircut since filming this video
- Built in stand is a lifesaver (because it is heavy)
- Great that power cables are provided with the gimbal
- Also comes with Universal Mount for attaching gimbal to almost anything you want (except animals)
- Buy it with the Ready Rig vest (because it is heavy)
I’d imagine that this post is now long enough for people to immediately see the length of it upon opening the page, and to decide not to read it, based upon said length, and therefore not even reach this part, in which I acknowledge it’s probably too long, which makes this line a little redundant.
But anyway, there’s the first review and the first blog post. I’m not sure how I’d describe the process – I’d much rather be behind the camera than in front of it, but it was kind of enjoyable all the same. Will I do more? Let’s see what the call is for showgaze reviews. Perhaps I might share some of the misery of timelapsing out in the cold for hours on end, just for blanket clouds to roll in and ruin things. The “Monotonous Timelapser” could be born…
Thanks to Heliguy for the loan of the gimbal – https://www.heliguy.com/
Equipment used: Sony FS7, Sony FS5, Kessler Second Shooter, DJI Ronin 2, Litepanels Caliber lights
Soundtrack whilst writing the blog post: Don Caballero