Motorised Gimbal

[tom95521]

Having ordered items from China via AliExpress I feel your pain. Last summer it was three months before the package arrived.  Amazon sometimes does not want the product returned due to shipping cost. I ordered a small upright refrigerator from Amazon and it was damaged in shipping (cosmetic corner dent). Amazon said keep it or donate it to charity and refunded my money. Maybe you will get lucky with the Ebay vendor.

Good luck,
Tom

[rosy]

1 hour ago, tom95521 said:

Having ordered items from China via AliExpress I feel your pain. Last summer it was three months before the package arrived.  Amazon sometimes does not want the product returned due to shipping cost. I ordered a small upright refrigerator from Amazon and it was damaged in shipping (cosmetic corner dent). Amazon said keep it or donate it to charity and refunded my money. Maybe you will get lucky with the Ebay vendor.

Good luck,
Tom

Hi Tom

I've been using Ebay since 2004, it's getting harder & harder to get refunds. You have to be very careful what you say is the reason for the refund. Amazon also are hardening their refunds. The DJI Pocket 4 I sent back I had to pay the postage by way of a £2 deduction of the refund. I didn't query it at the time because it was such a small proportion of the cost. But I'm sure they shouldn't have deducted it.

I've been looking again at the Smooth 4 that I sent back to WEX, Jessops another retailer in the UK actually state it is compatible with all phones. I've asked them to confirm if my phone is included, if they say yes may give it another try on Black Friday.

Se la vie Rosy.

[rosy]

Well I saw that Wilkinsons were advertising the Smooth 4 at £10 off £79 (£89). Having found the additional pairing bluetooh setting on my phone & as I had liked the first one but couldn't get it to recognise my phone, I threw caution to the wind & ordered another. It arrived last evening so I unpacked it & put it on charge. The packaging was very flimsy so I took pictures before unpacking. 

I mounted my phone, balanced the gimbal & switched it on. Went through the pairing sequence & glory be it worked. I tried a few buttons until I came to the camera picture & video buttons, at first try they seemed ok. A few more tries later & they ceased to function. Switched off the phone & gimbal a few times. the buttons were intermittent & not 100% consistent. Sent email to Wilkinson's to say it was coming back to them. 

I think I'll settle with the Manfrotto, why would I need 2 gimbals?

Rosy.

[tom95521]

Even a gadget nut like myself thinks one gimbal is enough unless you need a lighter model for hikes and vacations.

Tom

[rosy]

37 minutes ago, tom95521 said:

Even a gadget nut like myself thinks one gimbal is enough unless you need a lighter model for hikes and vacations.

Tom

Hi Tom

The idea with a second one was for quickie situations. The Smooth 4 takes minutes to set up, whereas the Manfrotto could take up to an hour & is a much larger package & visually obtrusive. The Smooth 4 was posted back to Wilkinson's this afternoon & I'm resigned to layoff looking for one for the phone, until the next one takes my eye.

Cheers Rosy. PS will post a Manfrotto show as soon as the weather allows.

[rosy]

Finally awoke to a rain free morning, cold with a heavy frost, but I was determined to try out what I'd been investing in. The subject of the shoot was a place called Tarleton Lock, which is where the canal system meets a tidal waterway & leads eventually to the Irish Sea. It took 15 minutes to get there & 45 minutes to set up the first sequence. I took some video clips with the gimbal mounted on a tripod. Of course, everything I'd read about the gimbal & camera operation was a distant memory so the tripod idea was dispensed with & hand holding was tried. The walking mode wasn't too bad with the gimbal held on the 45 degree handle, but two handed reproduced every step I took. On analysing the footage when I got home, I think I may have had the gimbal in the wrong mode. It wasn't the sort of day to hang around trying different modes, my body temperature had got so low i was shivering. My partner was using the Panasonic FZ82 for still shots, out of 30, I used 12 in the 6 minute show I produced, whether I can pluck up courage to publish it needs an overnight sleep. A couple of pics attached.

[tom95521]

Hi Rosy,

Interesting location with the canal boats but the weather looks sketchy. I would be interested in watching the slideshow. You can send me a direct message if you decide not to publish to the forum.

Thanks,
Tom

[rosy]

9 hours ago, tom95521 said:

Hi Rosy,

Interesting location with the canal boats but the weather looks sketchy. I would be interested in watching the slideshow. You can send me a direct message if you decide not to publish to the forum.

Thanks,
Tom

Hi Tom

I stayed up late to try to improve the show, tried various settings & edited the clips with PTE. But as they say, " you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". Then I found a clip I had omitted, so inserted that & deleted a really bad one,  adjusted the sound track to suit the new length. It's by no means perfect. I think the speed the gimbal pans is either too fast for my hardware or the Fuji XT-30 as there is quite a bit of juddering.

Out of interest, I tried the Panasonic FZ300 on the gimbal this morning, had to use one of the other connecting leads to get the shutter to fire, checked to footage & it was an improvement on the Fuji, so maybe I need to re-set the Fuji?

Not sure what the maximum upload is on Slideshow Club, the exe version is 235MB, I'll have a look to see if I can find the limit.

Onward & Upward

Just had a look & the limit is 125mb, have to try elsewhere.

Rosy.

[rosy]

This is a new hosting site I haven't tried before, seems to work though https://streamable.com/nhosi9

Rosy.

[tom95521]

I have never tried streamable before, but the video played perfectly (Northern California). I just YouTube and Vimeo. Little bit of jitter in the pans. You might make a short pan video and send the link to Manfrotto tech support. They might have a solution.

Thanks,
Tom

[rosy]

5 hours ago, tom95521 said:

I have never tried streamable before, but the video played perfectly (Northern California). I just YouTube and Vimeo. Little bit of jitter in the pans. You might make a short pan video and send the link to Manfrotto tech support. They might have a solution.

Thanks,
Tom

Thanks Tom, I'll give that a try, although my previous experiences with their help weren't very fruitful. Still waiting for an answer to a question I sent when I first got the gimbal, the instructions say don't switch on until fully charged, my question was how do I know when it's fully charged if I can't switch it on?  In actuality, if you plug in to the charging socket (usb) & touch the screen, the battery level shows momentarily, you would think they'd know that?

Cheers Rosy.

[rosy]

This saga rumbles on.

Last Sunday I did some extensive tests of the Manfrotto gimbal using the Fuji XT30 & my original Panasonic FZ330. I hadn't been happy with the video results in the "The Bridge" show I produced, so I fitted the Panasonic to the gimbal, shot a number of clips at various settings then, repeated it with the Fuji. There was very little difference, but to my eyes, the Panasonic was better. The Panasonic isn't meant for the gimbal according to Manfrotto's recommended camera list, but the connecting lead supplied fired the shutter on the Panasonic, although it had to be balanced at a different setting than the Fuji. Also the main reason I think Manfrotto don't specify my Panasonic, the rubber door to the jack connection is on the opposite end to the Fuji, making it tight to fit. Conclusion, I didn't need the Fuji.

The Fuji has been disposed of, & to clinch the deal it's been exchanged for a Panasonic DCG 100V https://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/cameras-camcorders/lumix-mirrorless-cameras/lumix-g-cameras/dc-g100v.html  complete with grip/tripod, which I hope will fit the bill.

[rosy]

Father Christmas (Amazon) arrived early. The G100, grip & memory card & a 37mm protection filter from elsewhere arrived. First impressions, much more handle-able than the Fuji, fits the Manfrotto Gimbal with ease, not squashed at the jack socket. balances easily. Tried it with the grip / tripod,  that is ok too, also comes with a USB to to 2.5mm jack conversion lead, so it should be OK for our other Panasonics. , . Set the camera to intelligent auto + as our other Panasonics. set the various items using the touch screen. The image on the touch screen is much sharper.  Tried a few video & stills, all seems well. Pictures from my phone.

Rosy.

[tom95521]

Hi Rosy,

The camera and tripod combination should be easier to carry than the Manfrotto and Fujifilm. Great looking camera and photo.

Tom

[rosy]

Thanks Tom

Much more at home with the panny, been using them for a long time now. BTW it didn't come with a charger, just a USB to mains plug & lead. Ordered one & a couple of after market batteries from Amazon. Much prefer charging outside the camera.

Thanks Rosy.