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My Review of the Zhiyun Crane 3-Axis Gimbal


Mattias Burling
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43 minutes ago, jonpais said:

 

Best solution is to email Rose at Zhiyun Tech customer care, with a link to your video. She will respond the same day.

Thanks, how do I find her email? On their official page, all I see is... unless you mean replace "Sharon" with "Rose"?

Screen Shot 2017-03-13 at 9.01.54 PM.png

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17 hours ago, bytebuster said:

Hey Joshua,

Thanks for the great videos. I checked your youtube channel. Great stuff by you and Brandon.

I wanted to pick your brain on tips for implementing orbital shots. I always struggle to keep my subject centered when i try to take an orbital shot (going around the subject). Any pointers? I presume I need to use the default follow mode?

You should seriously consider making a tutorial video on how to pull off different shots using the crane

I can try to get a tutorial for that in. I have been on back to back shoots for over a month now so not much time, but I will try to get something in soon for that. Thanks!

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19 hours ago, bytebuster said:

I always struggle to keep my subject centered when i try to take an orbital shot (going around the subject). Any pointers? I presume I need to use the default follow mode?

I saw a long training course for Steadicam operators a few years ago, and I think the same principles apply to gimbal shots. Before thinking of any complicated movements, the trainee has to learn the basics. I try to sum them up from memory:

• Learn how to walk in such a way that ...

a) ... your arm doesn't follow your body (as much as usual).

b) ... your legs don't extend fully as you walk. Keep adduction and abduction constantly in tension. This may remind you of this:

• If you follow a person, walk forwards behind him/her. Also if you get closer to your motif. This is called the missionary position (really!).

• If a person walks in front of you (or you veer away from your motiv, revealing it's surroundings), don't walk backwards! Just let the camera face backwards. Watch your steps and control the framing with an occasional glance on the monitor. This is called Don Juan. It's very difficult, and at first it seems to be much harder than just walking backwards. It needs to be exercised.

• The next step is a smooth switch (which also means letting the camera face sideways) between Don Juan (the standard) and missionary (the exception), as demonstrated here:

Very difficult!

• Keep the horizon on level. The vanishing point of every structure lies on the horizon, whether you see the actual horizon line (in a landscape for instance) or not. One has to learn to find this line even if it's obstructed by foreground objects (which is the rule). Use grids to better track your movements to this line. A shot in which the horizon moves up and down won't look steady. In this example, the operator walks down stairs.

It's not perfect, because he sometimes loses the horizon. A gimbal wouldn't have a many rotation as a steadicam. But note, how he starts to tilt before the stairs. The tilt is needed to keep the horizon on level, but it needs to be performed smoother so that it isn't as distracting. This is really very, very difficult.

• Activate the crosshair guides and track a certain detail in the scene, first moving and forwards and then backwards. Do this until you became perfect. It sounds easier than it is. Rotate around the motif, keeping the crosshairs on it. That's the solution to your request.

2 hours ago, mojo43 said:

I can try to get a tutorial for that in. 

Yes, please. I use your settings, very good advice.

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On 18/1/2017 at 10:19 AM, mrpoust14 said:

Not sure if this has been answered but I am having a very tough time balancing my gh4 on the roll axis. I get it balanced so that it stays horizontal but when I move it up or down, it does not stay in position, and returns to the horizontal position. I have tried so many different configurations but no luck. Has anyone got any clues?

Did you solve it? I have the same problem with a G80 and the Panasonic 12-35

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10 minutes ago, eltorrete said:

Did you solve it? I have the same problem with a G80 and the Panasonic 12-35

It sounds like the tilt axis needs adjusting. Raise or lower the the arm a little at a time, lock it, and see if the camera swings freely. This may take a few minutes.

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I thought I had asked this before: "can you use video goggles with HDMI input (like the Zeiss Cinemizer OLED) as a monitoring device for your Zhiyun camera? FPV style? Has anybody tried this?" - and I started an EOSHD search for "goggles". What I found was an early comment on the MoVI, the first DSLR gimbal, here. Astonishing, how far the technique has advanced in so short a time. Indeed the Chinese took the idea and exploited it. Indeed the things became smaller. Indeed focus is nothing to worry about anymore ...

So: can you use video goggles with HDMI input (like the Zeiss Cinemizer OLED) as a monitoring device for your Zhiyun camera? FPV style? Has anybody tried this?

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Hi,i just bought the crane 1 week ago and used today for the first time. Everything was working fine but i noticed a slow movement to the right or left in every mode. I saw someone on internet who faced the same problem and returned crane to the firm. I will try to update the firmware. Anybody has the same problem? What should i do?

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6 minutes ago, RGB16 said:

Hi,i just bought the crane 1 week ago and used today for the first time. Everything was working fine but i noticed a slow movement to the right or left in every mode. I saw someone on internet who faced the same problem and returned crane to the firm. I will try to update the firmware. Anybody has the same problem? What should i do?

Shoot a video of the problem with your smartphone and send it to service@zhiyun-tech.com. They will usually respond the same day. 

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Curious, did anyone balance a GH4 with the Voigtländer f/0.95 primes on the Zhiyun Crane? Would that work? I'm thinking about a GH5 with the 17mm 0.95 + 42mm 0.95.

A6300 + SmallRig cage + Zhongyi LensTurbo II + Samyang 35mm f/1.4 is a no go :grimace: I tried around quite a while but I could not get it to even remotely balance and even as close I got it, the motors wouldn't hold it when turned on. I think the problem is more with the length of that lens than with the actual weight.

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4 hours ago, Phil A said:

Curious, did anyone balance a GH4 with the Voigtländer f/0.95 primes on the Zhiyun Crane? Would that work? I'm thinking about a GH5 with the 17mm 0.95 + 42mm 0.95.

A6300 + SmallRig cage + Zhongyi LensTurbo II + Samyang 35mm f/1.4 is a no go :grimace: I tried around quite a while but I could not get it to even remotely balance and even as close I got it, the motors wouldn't hold it when turned on. I think the problem is more with the length of that lens than with the actual weight.

I know for a fact that the Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 can be balanced with the GH4 on the Crane.

3 hours ago, Davey said:

Brandon Li's latest Crane offering:

 

I was just about to post this one myself. Brandon is a master with the gimbal. Wish he'd give a workshop here!

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27 minutes ago, jonpais said:

I know for a fact that the Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 can be balanced with the GH4 on the Crane.

I was just about to post this one myself. Brandon is a master with the gimbal. Wish he'd give a workshop here!

He's a wizard with handheld shots as well, which suggests that he knows how to use his entire body to minimise shake. Come on, Brandon, we know you are on here - do a workshop.

PS Please :)

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On 14/03/2017 at 3:24 PM, mojo43 said:

You should seriously consider making a tutorial video on how to pull off different shots using the crane

Does anyone in Germany know whether it's possible to rent the Zhiyun Crane anywhere? Looking specifically for somewhere in Berlin or Stuttgart. There's a few places who have the Came-TV gimbal but I've heard some pretty bad things about it.

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I still have the micro turning problem in the crane. I did everything but nothing happened. I contacted Zhiyun, they recommend me to balance it. I did it over and over but problem still goes on. I noticed that when the crane is in standby mode on a tripod without camera, it is turning 0.1 degree in every second in pan axis in the app. When i turn the crane on with the cam, this micro turning still occurs but pan axis value does not change in the app? What should i do?

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8 minutes ago, RGB16 said:

I still have the micro turning problem in the crane. I did everything but nothing happened. I contacted Zhiyun, they recommend me to balance it. I did it over and over but problem still goes on. I noticed that when the crane is in standby mode on a tripod without camera, it is turning 0.1 degree in every second in pan axis in the app. When i turn the crane on with the cam, this micro turning still occurs but pan axis value does not change in the app? What should i do?

Insist on your money back or a replacement.

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