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Zhiyun Increases Payload 50%, Crane Stabilizer Now Able to Fly 5D Mark III


jonpais
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Zhiyun announced yesterday a new firmware upgrade allowing Canon 5D owners the ability to use their popular Crane brushless gimbal stabilizer. Formerly, Zhiyun rated the payload of their pistol grip stabilizer at 1,200 grams, which many here at EOSHD thought was an overly conservative estimate. The new firmware, v1.50 5D RC2, will enable camera/lens combinations of over 1500 grams payload weight. Zhiyun is now saying over at their Facebook page that the upgrade allows the gimbal to carry as much as 1,800 grams, a remarkable 50% increase over their initial claims. Although Zhiyun recommends using the standard firmware upgrade if not exceeding 1,200 grams, they maintain that with the upgrade, the gimbal's minimum payload remains unchanged at 350 grams. I downloaded the new firmware this evening, but haven't had a chance to test it out yet. I am obviously eager to fly a couple of my Sigma Art lenses with the Metabones. The Zhiyun Crane currently sells for as little as $586.00 USD over at AliExpress.

Edit: The problem is, I was hoping to test the recent Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DCDN for MFT on the stabilizer and put up a review of the Crane over the weekend, but now, I've got to test a whole bunch of other lenses. Which means, I won't be able to do reviews of the iFootage Shark S1 slider and iFootage Wild Bull T7 tripod as soon as I'd have liked.

 

Screen Shot 2016-11-04 at 6.57.02 PM.png

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58 minutes ago, lwestfall said:

Great news! Looks like their site can't handle the traffic now! Maybe someone who got it can post a mirror?

Wait - It finally downloaded! Here it is!

Crane Firmware V1.50 5D RC2.zip

Oh, but the Windows USB driver & Tools links aren't working...

I tried the link I posted last night, and it seems to be working fine this morning. I have a Mac, so not sure about that download. Has anyone else here had the same difficulty? A buddy called me last night to ask if he could try out his his 5D III on my Crane this morning, so I'll have a chance to report on that later today. I'm guessing the gimbal should work with the GH4 and Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8, since it is just a hair over 1,200 grams, it is nicely balanced, and even before the update appeared, users said it handled fine. What I'm interested in learning is whether it can now handle the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.4 lenses. When mounted on the GH4 with a Metabones XL, ithey are very front-heavy. The Sigma zoom+Metabones adapter+GH4 weighs in at around 1,541 grams.

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@Iwestfall I'd be happy to download the installer and upload it here, but I'm about to meet my buddy at the cafe in around 20 minutes. If you haven't got it by the time I return home, I'll give it a shot. Or perhaps another reader can give a hand? 

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Oh well, it's pretty much a physical impossibility to put either the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 or the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 on the Crane, let alone balance. I don't know how in the world anyone put the Tokina on in the first place, but I'm not gonna even bother with it anymore. I never thought I'd say this in a million years, but after shooting with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DCDN this afternoon, I think I'm going to try to find a couple more outstanding primes to fly, preferably under $1,300. :) The good news is, I'm through testing lenses on the Crane, and I have no more excuses not to put up my review soon.

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3 hours ago, jonpais said:

Oh well, it's pretty much a physical impossibility to put either the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 or the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 on the Crane, let alone balance. I don't know how in the world anyone put the Tokina on in the first place, but I'm not gonna even bother with it anymore. I never thought I'd say this in a million years, but after shooting with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DCDN this afternoon, I think I'm going to try to find a couple more outstanding primes to fly, preferably under $1,300. :) The good news is, I'm through testing lenses on the Crane, and I have no more excuses not to put up my review soon.

Does it just not allow for full range of motion? I know with the 18-35/1.8 (which I think is heavier and longer) I have to remove the eyecup from my 70D to allow it to move freely. But your GH4 + adapter may be deeper than my 70D. I think you may need to use an adapter with a tripod mount to center the weight better.

Did you get the new firmware working to confirm it can at least stay smooth? Zhiyun sent me the firmware via a Facebook message but they haven't sent the Tools yet.

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@Iwestfall My buddy stood me up yesterday, said he had to fly to Hanoi in the morning. So I didn't get to try out the 5D for myself. Concerning the 18-35, I really don't want to go through a lot just to fly it (removing eye  cup, adding a quick release plate, etc.)  Bu I appreciate the advice.

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Speaking of improvements (didn't feel like opening a whole other thread) and carrying bigger loads, ha, now here's a nifty idea!

~ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/firstsparkgear/daisho-turn-your-camera-gimbal-into-a-shoulder-rig  | http://www.firstsparkgear.com/daisho/ ( via )

Reducing two major problems of handheld (pistol grip/dual handle) stabilizers... all the heavy load on your arms, creating muscle exhaustion and up/down bouncing movement. Not too shabby. :grin:

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  • 5 months later...
On 16-10-2016 at 10:41 AM, Cinegain said:

Is that ever going to work with a C100? Going from a Ronin-M to a Beholder DS1 is quite the stretch there...

Although, I did see a Pilotfly H2 being set-up with a Sony FS5, so who knows.

O7bwGkn.jpg

Not sure if you'd want to be walking around like that, though. Do you even lift bro? :tounge_wink:

Dunno, for gimbal work, I'd probably stick to A7/GH-series or something. OR... if you must have that Canon swag, go get a Canon XC10/15.

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