November 16, 2015 at 07:59$ 400 3-axis DSLR suspension
I think many people are familiar with this situation, you are shooting something exciting, dynamic, awesome, and you think: now I’ll come home and assemble an action video! However, when viewing the footage you start to spit because half can be safely thrown out due to terrible shaking, which in 30-50% of cases cannot be stabilized programmatically. What to do in such cases? If you want to shoot dynamics, high-speed spans of the camera, and not stand with a tripod and a sad face, then this thing is for you!
The main thing that this suspension does is it stabilizes the picture along 3 axes. Simply put, this is electronic steadicam. However, compared with the usual "mechanical" steadicam with weights, this thing performs its functions much better. At the moment, the choice of such suspensions is huge and their price category is quite diverse. But if you have never dealt with such things, then this article will be useful for you. From my own experience I will tell you which parameters are most important and what to look for.
So, for starters, I’ll tell you about the suspension that I ordered from China.
Without ever holding such things in my hands, the question of choosing a suspension was difficult for me. Why do some suspensions cost 20 thousand rubles, others 50 thousand rubles, and still others about 100 thousand rubles? Of course, not understanding the difference, I did what any Russian person would do — he took the cheaper one. :)
My choice fell on the iPower 3-axis DSLR * suspension .
A year ago, I bought this suspension for 21 thousand rubles. Just before the dollar took off, I managed to order it. Why did I take it? I don’t know. Apparently liked it. In addition, he asked the Chinese for a discount in the form of a couple of tens of dollars and free EMS delivery.
So, the long-awaited day came and I took a huge box from the post office.
The packaging was excellent. The gimbal came almost assembled (90%)
in itsthe package included:
Suspension power from a 3-can battery (i.e. 12V) ... the most convenient thing is to hang 2200 mAh battery on it.
If possible, all wires are put into pipes and passed inside the engines - this is very convenient since nothing sticks out.
Having collected and tested my purchase, I can say the following:
In general, the suspension met my expectations, I was pleased with the purchase, but then I decided to modify it a bit. Each time, at the end of the shooting of a particular frame, I wanted to put it on the ground, but since it does not have normal support, it was necessary to put it on its side or somehow. At first, I made simple G-coal legs based on 16 mm tubes.
These tubes were inserted into the arms of the suspension (20 mm tubes) and it seemed to be firmly standing “on its feet” and looked like a robot).
However, it was difficult to call such legs “quickly removed” ... and they did not add up. To shoot did not turn only into the installation and removal of the legs had to come up with something else. As a result, after long “thoughts” the following folding legs were made:
The principle of their action can be seen in more detail in the video, which I will attach at the end. The main idea is that oval “holes” are made in the tubes into which the shaft passed (it also connects the two plates that “hold” the engine). And when the tubes are extended “from the frame”, then they move freely and rotate 180 degrees, and when shifted “closer to the frame”, the tubes are fixed with their proximal end on this frame. I ask you not to joke on the used parts for assembling the legs, which was at hand, and that was the way to farm. :) PS rubberized "wheels" do not allow hanging tubes. They kind of pinch them.
As a result, I can fold and unfold these legs for 5-7 seconds, they weigh almost nothing, do not create resistance for the suspension and do not need to be dragged separately as a stand.
But my modifications did not end there.
For a short shooting period, it became clear that shooting with a large depth of field is inconvenient because there is no way to change the focal length. In other words, you could “twist” the focus ring only directly with your hand on the camera itself. As a result of such manipulations, engines were often disrupted and the picture naturally deteriorated. After yawing in Google, the principle of remote focusing was found. But the cost of such equipment, in fact, even in China was more than the suspension itself.
I decided to do what we all love - "to collect the follow up focus yourself." Dada, homemade again. But the invented way out of the situation justified this decision.
So, what does my follow focus consist of:
1) Servo. Based on the diameters of the focusing ring and the pinion gear (which will control the focus), I realized that it is better to take a servo 360 degrees. Well, to really from mines. Up to max. Focus values could be twisted. (since standard 90 degree servos were not enough)
2) Drive gear * . This gear should have been mounted on the servo shaft and rotate the focus ring.
3) Flexible focus ring * . This ring is worn over the main ring of the camera, which controls focus. The result is a “normal” focus ring with large teeth for a good grip.
4) Servo tester . With it, I could control the rotation of the servo.
In short, on paper, it was all supposed to work. However, thanks to the mail, the leading gear never came from China. I needed a workaround. Going to the radio parts store I found a very interesting and stylish “changer”. It was a cylindrical handle, with an internal fastening matching in diameter with the servo shaft. It remains only to somehow make sure that the outer part of this cylinder is a gear. Ultimately, he simply took a similar flexible focusing ring, cut off the excess, and glued it into a small ring, the diameter of this cylindrical handle. I installed the same handle of a smaller diameter on the servo tester for smoother rotation.
Voila! Everything worked. When turning the knob on the servo tester, the servo rotates the focus ring. However, there was a problem. When you turn the tester’s handle a certain angle, the server just started to rotate (slowly or quickly, but rotate). That is, there was no fixed position. In other words, I couldn’t turn the tester’s knob by the angle X and know that the servo would turn the angle Y. Therefore, I had to guess when to stop the tester.
After that, I decided to replace the servo from 360 degrees with a similar one, but with 330 degrees . Just so much I need to fully crank the focus from the mines. up to max. values. Putting this servo everything began to work as it should! The specific position of the tester's handle was equal to the specific focus position.
Also, such a focus can be controlled remotely by the second operator. The only difference is that the wire from the servo does not go to the servo tester, but to any RC receiver (I connected to Frsky * ), and the video from the camera went not only to the monitor, but also to the video transmitter. Then the second operator, guided by the second monitor, could take the focus of the camera completely on itself. However, such work requires skills and teamwork. Therefore, having tried both methods, I settled on the option with a servo tester. The fastening of the focus focus made without troubles - fixed. Because I use only 2 lenses, I chose the middle position of the follow focus that satisfies both lenses.
As a result, the cost of such a follow focus at that time amounted to no more than 4 tr. Perhaps you can make it cheaper if you replace the servo. But I decided not to save money and chose a servo with iron gears and high speed.
As a monitor, I use the simplest 7-inch monitor purchased in the store, but the small resolution and detail makes the focusing process difficult. It is often difficult to understand whether an object is in focus or not. Therefore, if you take a monitor for such a thing, then only an HD monitor, because these are not FPV flights, here you need accuracy and picture quality.
At the moment, there are several more improvements in the plans, but I can talk about this later, when they will all work. :)
Conclusion:
1) For $ 400, you can really buy a good working suspension under the SLR.
2) Of course, there are more sophisticated suspensions. They will work better (maybe). For example, the same DJI ronin. I myself can’t say anything about him, but they say that there are no better suspensions than him. All this is good, but its price tag in relation to my suspension is the same as that of the inspire and phantom in relation to our homemade quadrics. And I can’t say that they work 5 times better. Therefore, the price / quality of this suspension is optimal.
3) All attachments such as follow focus, etc. You can do it yourself by spending a little time and much less money than if you buy ready-made.
4) What cameras can the gimbal pull? On occasion, I decided to put Black Magic on it. Not the one that Poket, but the big heavy Black Magic. He got into this suspension sooo tightly, but stood up. And what was my surprise when I turned on the suspension and it worked! Those. there were no breakdowns and the camera really stabilized well. Of course, you won’t run and jump with such a setup, as it will most likely be ripped off, but I walked with it for a long time, and the camera never broke. Therefore, you can safely put everything that is easier to “black magic”.
That's all. Wait for new articles. Thanks for attention. :)
Final equipment:
Total: $ 553.02
ps Thanks to Victor for this material and experience.
That's all, with you there was a simple service for choosing complex Dronk.Ru equipment .
Do not forget to subscribe to our blog , there will be many more interesting things.
pps * - links marked with a referral asterisk, so you can save extra by returning a cashback of up to 4%. More details at Dronk.ru/cashback/ or you can get 6.5% by purchasing them through the LetyShops cashback service .
See also:
Tenacious Chinese smartphones. Part 1
Enduring Chinese smartphones. Part 2
5 home projectors
Chinese tablets with Dual OS, for those who can not make a choice
10 Gearbest geek gadgets at a discount on the venue’s birthday
Chuwi history - from MP3 players in 2004 to Windows 10 tablets in 2016
Compare the prices of gadgets offered by GearBest for your birthday?
The main thing that this suspension does is it stabilizes the picture along 3 axes. Simply put, this is electronic steadicam. However, compared with the usual "mechanical" steadicam with weights, this thing performs its functions much better. At the moment, the choice of such suspensions is huge and their price category is quite diverse. But if you have never dealt with such things, then this article will be useful for you. From my own experience I will tell you which parameters are most important and what to look for.
So, for starters, I’ll tell you about the suspension that I ordered from China.
Without ever holding such things in my hands, the question of choosing a suspension was difficult for me. Why do some suspensions cost 20 thousand rubles, others 50 thousand rubles, and still others about 100 thousand rubles? Of course, not understanding the difference, I did what any Russian person would do — he took the cheaper one. :)
My choice fell on the iPower 3-axis DSLR * suspension .
A year ago, I bought this suspension for 21 thousand rubles. Just before the dollar took off, I managed to order it. Why did I take it? I don’t know. Apparently liked it. In addition, he asked the Chinese for a discount in the form of a couple of tens of dollars and free EMS delivery.
So, the long-awaited day came and I took a huge box from the post office.
The packaging was excellent. The gimbal came almost assembled (90%)
in itsthe package included:
- Carbon frame
- 3 engines Ipower 5208 200T;
- 3x axlex controller alexmos;
- Joystick;
- Paralon handles;
- And other wires.
Suspension power from a 3-can battery (i.e. 12V) ... the most convenient thing is to hang 2200 mAh battery on it.
If possible, all wires are put into pipes and passed inside the engines - this is very convenient since nothing sticks out.
Having collected and tested my purchase, I can say the following:
- Works well with canonmark II;
- Convenient adjustable platform for mounting the camera;
- The frame design involves the installation of both small "pancakes" and telephoto lenses (checked from 24–70 mm, 50 mm, 70–200 mm);
- I don’t see the point of putting more than 50 mm. Then it’s impossible to do without software stabilization. In the future I’ll try to adjust it, but at the moment with a telephoto lens shaking;
- Large enough tilt angles;
- Closed engines. As I noted earlier (for suspension on a hexacopter), closed engines are a very useful thing, because dust and dirt are excluded;
- Suspension control and mode switching is carried out using the joystick included.
In general, the suspension met my expectations, I was pleased with the purchase, but then I decided to modify it a bit. Each time, at the end of the shooting of a particular frame, I wanted to put it on the ground, but since it does not have normal support, it was necessary to put it on its side or somehow. At first, I made simple G-coal legs based on 16 mm tubes.
These tubes were inserted into the arms of the suspension (20 mm tubes) and it seemed to be firmly standing “on its feet” and looked like a robot).
However, it was difficult to call such legs “quickly removed” ... and they did not add up. To shoot did not turn only into the installation and removal of the legs had to come up with something else. As a result, after long “thoughts” the following folding legs were made:
The principle of their action can be seen in more detail in the video, which I will attach at the end. The main idea is that oval “holes” are made in the tubes into which the shaft passed (it also connects the two plates that “hold” the engine). And when the tubes are extended “from the frame”, then they move freely and rotate 180 degrees, and when shifted “closer to the frame”, the tubes are fixed with their proximal end on this frame. I ask you not to joke on the used parts for assembling the legs, which was at hand, and that was the way to farm. :) PS rubberized "wheels" do not allow hanging tubes. They kind of pinch them.
As a result, I can fold and unfold these legs for 5-7 seconds, they weigh almost nothing, do not create resistance for the suspension and do not need to be dragged separately as a stand.
But my modifications did not end there.
For a short shooting period, it became clear that shooting with a large depth of field is inconvenient because there is no way to change the focal length. In other words, you could “twist” the focus ring only directly with your hand on the camera itself. As a result of such manipulations, engines were often disrupted and the picture naturally deteriorated. After yawing in Google, the principle of remote focusing was found. But the cost of such equipment, in fact, even in China was more than the suspension itself.
I decided to do what we all love - "to collect the follow up focus yourself." Dada, homemade again. But the invented way out of the situation justified this decision.
So, what does my follow focus consist of:
1) Servo. Based on the diameters of the focusing ring and the pinion gear (which will control the focus), I realized that it is better to take a servo 360 degrees. Well, to really from mines. Up to max. Focus values could be twisted. (since standard 90 degree servos were not enough)
2) Drive gear * . This gear should have been mounted on the servo shaft and rotate the focus ring.
3) Flexible focus ring * . This ring is worn over the main ring of the camera, which controls focus. The result is a “normal” focus ring with large teeth for a good grip.
4) Servo tester . With it, I could control the rotation of the servo.
In short, on paper, it was all supposed to work. However, thanks to the mail, the leading gear never came from China. I needed a workaround. Going to the radio parts store I found a very interesting and stylish “changer”. It was a cylindrical handle, with an internal fastening matching in diameter with the servo shaft. It remains only to somehow make sure that the outer part of this cylinder is a gear. Ultimately, he simply took a similar flexible focusing ring, cut off the excess, and glued it into a small ring, the diameter of this cylindrical handle. I installed the same handle of a smaller diameter on the servo tester for smoother rotation.
Voila! Everything worked. When turning the knob on the servo tester, the servo rotates the focus ring. However, there was a problem. When you turn the tester’s handle a certain angle, the server just started to rotate (slowly or quickly, but rotate). That is, there was no fixed position. In other words, I couldn’t turn the tester’s knob by the angle X and know that the servo would turn the angle Y. Therefore, I had to guess when to stop the tester.
After that, I decided to replace the servo from 360 degrees with a similar one, but with 330 degrees . Just so much I need to fully crank the focus from the mines. up to max. values. Putting this servo everything began to work as it should! The specific position of the tester's handle was equal to the specific focus position.
Also, such a focus can be controlled remotely by the second operator. The only difference is that the wire from the servo does not go to the servo tester, but to any RC receiver (I connected to Frsky * ), and the video from the camera went not only to the monitor, but also to the video transmitter. Then the second operator, guided by the second monitor, could take the focus of the camera completely on itself. However, such work requires skills and teamwork. Therefore, having tried both methods, I settled on the option with a servo tester. The fastening of the focus focus made without troubles - fixed. Because I use only 2 lenses, I chose the middle position of the follow focus that satisfies both lenses.
As a result, the cost of such a follow focus at that time amounted to no more than 4 tr. Perhaps you can make it cheaper if you replace the servo. But I decided not to save money and chose a servo with iron gears and high speed.
As a monitor, I use the simplest 7-inch monitor purchased in the store, but the small resolution and detail makes the focusing process difficult. It is often difficult to understand whether an object is in focus or not. Therefore, if you take a monitor for such a thing, then only an HD monitor, because these are not FPV flights, here you need accuracy and picture quality.
At the moment, there are several more improvements in the plans, but I can talk about this later, when they will all work. :)
Conclusion:
1) For $ 400, you can really buy a good working suspension under the SLR.
2) Of course, there are more sophisticated suspensions. They will work better (maybe). For example, the same DJI ronin. I myself can’t say anything about him, but they say that there are no better suspensions than him. All this is good, but its price tag in relation to my suspension is the same as that of the inspire and phantom in relation to our homemade quadrics. And I can’t say that they work 5 times better. Therefore, the price / quality of this suspension is optimal.
3) All attachments such as follow focus, etc. You can do it yourself by spending a little time and much less money than if you buy ready-made.
4) What cameras can the gimbal pull? On occasion, I decided to put Black Magic on it. Not the one that Poket, but the big heavy Black Magic. He got into this suspension sooo tightly, but stood up. And what was my surprise when I turned on the suspension and it worked! Those. there were no breakdowns and the camera really stabilized well. Of course, you won’t run and jump with such a setup, as it will most likely be ripped off, but I walked with it for a long time, and the camera never broke. Therefore, you can safely put everything that is easier to “black magic”.
That's all. Wait for new articles. Thanks for attention. :)
Final equipment:
- Suspension iPower 3 DSLR axis * ($ 399.98).
- Serva 330 degrees ($ 44.69).
- Fotga DP500 * Flexible Focusing Ring * - 2 pcs. ($ 20.8).
- Servotester ($ 5.57).
- FrSKY RC receiver * ($ 38.99).
- The monitor ($ 2800 ~ $ 42) and the rest of the merchandise (pens at $ 70 ~ $ 1) were bought in the shops of the city.
Total: $ 553.02
Additional photos
ps Thanks to Victor for this material and experience.
That's all, with you there was a simple service for choosing complex Dronk.Ru equipment .
Do not forget to subscribe to our blog , there will be many more interesting things.
pps * - links marked with a referral asterisk, so you can save extra by returning a cashback of up to 4%. More details at Dronk.ru/cashback/ or you can get 6.5% by purchasing them through the LetyShops cashback service .
See also:
Tenacious Chinese smartphones. Part 1
Enduring Chinese smartphones. Part 2
5 home projectors
Chinese tablets with Dual OS, for those who can not make a choice
10 Gearbest geek gadgets at a discount on the venue’s birthday
Chuwi history - from MP3 players in 2004 to Windows 10 tablets in 2016
Compare the prices of gadgets offered by GearBest for your birthday?