Spent $180 on a fancy gimbal stabilizer I barely use now

Last summer I picked up that DJI RS 3 gimbal for shooting real estate walkthroughs in Scottsdale. Thought it would make my footage look super smooth and pro, you know? But after three months I realized I spend more time calibrating the stupid thing than actually filming. The balancing process is a pain (especially with my Sony A7 III) and half the time the motor just fights me. Ended up going back to handheld with a cheap $30 stabilization rig I built from PVC pipe. The footage looks almost the same honestly. Anyone else ditch their fancy gimbal for a simpler setup in Arizona heat?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowan_thomas3d ago

Buddy of mine out in Mesa sold his gimbal after it bricked mid-shoot at a wedding.

emmar752d ago

Three weeks after that same wedding, my buddy found a dead gimbal motor in a rental unit that failed the exact same way, so this isnt a one-off defect, its a known weak point. @rowan_thomas, the real issue is nobody checks the firmware version before booking a paid gig, most of those bricking cases trace back to an update that hit Mesa and Phoenix around the same time. Renting a backup for $40 a day beats losing an $800 client contract.