The DJI RS 3 Pro gimbal promises to offer mirrorless cameras the same capabilities of the groundbreaking Ronin 4D. Phil Rhodes takes DJI’s latest and most sophisticated gimbal to take a spin.
The ability to move the camera without laying the equivalent of a ton of equipment is fantastic but it also makes working and pulling focus difficult. DJI’s latest compact gimbal comes with features that appear to address these issues.
DJI’s brand new RS 3 Pro, reviewed here using the rangefinder with lidar, isn’t small. It’s tiny in that it’s less than a Ronin 2, but it’s sufficient to handle the smaller cameras in cinema. With arms extended, it’s able to fit an Komodo or FX6 equipped with a large mechanical lens. One advantage to Pro version Pro variant is that it is able to handle cameras that weigh up to 4.5kg however it’s an instrument designed for single-handed usage, and the grips could feel somewhat inadequate at that point.
The gimbal can be seen in this photo with the Fujifilm X-H2S , which is paired with the Fujinon 18-120mm lens. We can all agree with the idea that 6.2K ProRes recordings made aboard the gimbal that is used with just one hand at a price that is almost a prosumer that is a high concentration of filmmaking capabilities that could have someone from the beginning of 2000 look at you in amazement.
Improvements over RS2
The RS 3 enjoys an improved stabilisation system in comparison to the RS 2, as well having a larger OLED touchscreen as well as motorised locks for axis axes, making switching on a single procedure. The setup process is similar to that for any stabilized head or gimbal. Ballpark the balance of the three axes, beginning at the end of the axis and moving back towards your grip. Once you have it calibrated and then go. When you activate Supersmooth mode can increase motor torque, but it also reduces the battery life to take glass-smooth photos. If you can manage mounting issues the camera can be taken straight out of the box and stabilizing a previously unknown camera in just a few minutes.
At the very most, it will be if you’ve got the cellphone application. Factory-fresh (or likely, factory reset) Gimbals require to be activated after the sixth switch-on. It’s not a big deal, considering that it’s simple to download the application, create an account and make connections to the gimbal, and enable it. It raises the risk of a gimbal not having been activated , and making users to complete all of that as the remainder of the group stares in disapproval or worse in remote locations and without the coverage of the network. The mobile app isn’t required to utilize the basic functions of the gimbal and requiring registration online after a specific number of launches is not a good idea.
After jumping with great skill through the hoops, however, it’s an impressive gimbal designed for larger smaller cameras, which makes it appealing to those who prefer the bigger end of productions with smaller budgets.
LiDAR is focused
The lidar option is interesting. The gimbal costs just less than PS1000 and the lidar module costs around 50% of that, which means it’s not a cheap choice (although do we really object to PS500 for an extremely high resolution imaging rangefinder with a high frame-rate?) This is likely to become a top option for those who work on their own but wants the best chance of creating high-quality and sharply focused images. It comes with a wide-angle view camera that is which is used to monitor feature features along with the depth scanner that is time-of-flight that provides an 240×180-pixel image of depth.
It also includes subject tracking as well as autofocus with lens-independent tracking. There are some circumstances that could cause this to be a problem to begin with the Fuijnon 18120 is a servo-actuated lens that does not have the mechanically-coupled focus rings. DJI offer a wrap-around focus equipment but the whole system requires a proper mechanical focus lens which include a true film lens or a properly converted stills prime that has the right gearing.
Like all trackers, it could be lost in the presence of mixed light or when they’re partially obscured. This type of laser rangefinding detects distances by timing the lighting pulses and eliminates the necessity of image match-up using two cameras as for instance in an Kinect from X-Box. This means that it won’t face issues with objects that have various textures and colors The maximum distance of the rangefinder is likely to be 14m in controlled lighting conditions. It’s significantly less in bright sunlight.
It’s fair to say that this won’t replace anything like Canon’s super-smart autofocus systems with phase detection that depend on proprietary lenses as well as significant additional, proprietary technology within the sensor. The phase-detection system works with long lenses with long distances, that lidar doesn’t.
Within these limitations, however it will keep the subject in a frame and sharp, without any the intervention of a user, which is a tremendous quantity of capabilities to be basically under the control of a gimbal’s operator. The small OLED that is on the handgrip is larger than the old version nearly as large as it would be on a grip for gimbals but it’s still small for this kind of thing, and it could feel awkward and awkward when choosing the targets to track. That’s where bigger displays come in, taking advantage of the radio signals provided by The Raveneye module.
DJI Mobile control and transmission
The ability to stream video to a mobile via WiFi will never compete with the performance of a Teradek for speed and speed however, DJI is pretty good in comparison. It results in a bigger display that can be used to choose tracking targets along with LUTs, and some display for testing and measuring. One of the best features however, is the capability to control shots by tilting your phone. The delay is so long that using this method isn’t ideal, but its use depends of the image. A second person operating with a grip that steers the gimbal around the shot is extremely helpful.
Similar features are available in the Transmission system, which is a dedicated transmitter and integrated receiver-monitor-controller, with onboard recording of the system’s 50Mbps transmitted stream. Transmission is priced at one and a half times the price of the gimbal can do, therefore could be a popular choice for Ronin 2. Ronin 2. The remote tilt and pan control is available, exactly like the phone app. DJI’s demo material even shows it magically arming off an fluid head, so that it functions as the traditional camera.
DJI claims to have a six-kilometre distance, and though it’s difficult to confirm the range of radios due to all the variables that can impact their accuracy, the DJI has an acceptable level of trust in the ranges users will experience when filming. For those who are drone enthusiasts may be. The Transmission monitoring system requires a thorough review of its own given that it is able to compete with the similar systems like Accsoon as an alternative to Teradek alternative, even though Teradek is still superior.
The bulk of this review says that DJI is interested in integration. A full DJI RS3 Pro gimbal setup can do a variety of things. These features are designed to allow the freedom of gimbal photography work as the tracking and autofocus could ease certain of the issues that are related to a mobile camera. For those who have been involved in an actual single-camera show it will be instinctively an ideal decision to have one control the camera and another one operate. this camera can do it with just an iPhone. The term is likely “democratisation.”
If there’s a concern with the ubiquity of gimbals, it’s that great power comes with an enormous responsibility, and novice users are often caught trying to block and shoot the kind of setups that require longer, require more equipment and expertise than they actually are able to have. But at least they’re able to afford to have a reasonable chance of getting results that are good.
