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Gimbal / Stabilizer for a6300 Recomendations???

Off the Mark
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Off the Mark Apprentice

Off the Mark

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Any recommendations for a good - hopefully under $700 gimbal, or a really good stabilizer for a lot less, for an a6300?

 

Preferably, I would also be able to use it with an a7ii as well.

 

I plan on primarily using an a6300 with either the 10-18 OSS or the 16mm pancake or the 12mm rokinon.

 

Thanks in advance.

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VTC Rising Star

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I use the Beholder DS1. Researched a bunch of others before I bought it. Higher load capacity, ability to do inverted shots, and access to   the ports on the left of the A7SII without getting in the way of the arm was what sold me on the rig if I recall correctly. Also got the extended joystick remote to control it when affixed to my video rig. Works with a 2470 lens but I typically use a 2/28 if I don't need the reach. The only aggravating thing was the audible beep when switching control options. Definitely intrudes on video audio but can be disabled through the calibration software. Did the mute trick and never looked back. You could probably get by with a less robust setup with the camera/lens you're using but it may come back to bite you if you place an A7 into service on it.

 

https://www.owldolly.com/products/beholder-ds1-camera-stabilizer?variant=14551066180

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Off the Mark Apprentice

Off the Mark

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I use the Beholder DS1. Researched a bunch of others before I bought it. Higher load capacity, ability to do inverted shots, and access to   the ports on the left of the A7SII without getting in the way of the arm was what sold me on the rig if I recall correctly. Also got the extended joystick remote to control it when affixed to my video rig. Works with a 2470 lens but I typically use a 2/28 if I don't need the reach. The only aggravating thing was the audible beep when switching control options. Definitely intrudes on video audio but can be disabled through the calibration software. Did the mute trick and never looked back. You could probably get by with a less robust setup with the camera/lens you're using but it may come back to bite you if you place an A7 into service on it.

 

https://www.owldolly.com/products/beholder-ds1-camera-stabilizer?variant=14551066180

Thanks for the tip! I have started to look at the Beholder DS1 online and it looks pretty good. Seems like an a7 with an adapter and some larger nikon or canon glass would just about be the top limit weight wise.

 

So I think that it would handle an a6300 and 10-18 would balance well. However...

 

I just picked up a steadicam Merlin 2. I got it used and I am going to play around with it.

 

the thin about it is... the a6300 is TOO LIGHT!!! Specifically, the weight of the body is so light that the center of gravity is pretty far forward... even with the 16,, f/2.8 pancake lens!!!

 

So I took one of my (numerous) flash guns and put it in the hot shoe, turn the head of the flash around so it is pointing backwards, and now it balances better.

 

I saw someone online say that they had to use the battery grip on the a6300 to get it to balance on a stabilizer, but I didn't want to have to pay $300 plus just for the ability to use it on a stabilizer I may or may not keep.

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  • 4 weeks later...
joedp4579 Newbie

joedp4579

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I just spent some time in Germany shooting a period piece with one actor. I used the Ikan MS-1 with pretty good success.

The lens was the Sony E Mount 10-18, which I love.

I kept the focus on CONTINUOUS AUTO and found the focus response really good.

 

The problem I found, as I was shooting 4K, was that the LCD screen always dimmed with 4K, and not with HD.

Was I not doing something to get the screen bright

So in daylight, outdoors, it was hard to see the image on a dimmed screen.

 

Just bought the DS-1 as it's an improvement over the MS-1 in that the gyro knuckle is on the opposite side so you can see the screen more easily.

And if you need to have any cables coming out of the camera, that side is clear.

 

I plan on trying out the two handle control for the gimbal and mounting a 5 inch Ikan monitor on it for real visual access to the image.

I think that would work really well.

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