DJI, usually on the forefront of new technology within their specific niche, seems to be looking to compete with the Zhiyun Crane 2 gimbal with the announcement of the new Ronin-S gimbal. The DJI Ronin-S is a handheld gimbal that is large enough for your common DSLR (and mirrorless of course) video configurations without requiring such a payload capacity of the larger gimbals that are much more expensive.
What's Different
The thing that caught my eye immediately is the design that puts the payload (your camera) above the roll axis, which makes your camera's built-in display free of obstruction. This is a huge deal for those who use cameras that don't have an articulating lcd screen.
DJI's New Ronin-S showing the camera mounted above the normal position, so you can easily see the LCD screen.
DJI claims this unique design also frees the gimbal from unwanted shake as you shift from underslung to normal upright in one smooth motion.
DJI's detachable feature for mounting to jib or other equipment.
The Ronin-S also features a detachable design which allows for mounting to an RC buggy for low-angle shots, or even act as a stabilized remote head when mounted to a jib or crane. What DJI calls the DJI Focus Command Unit appears to be following suit from the Zhiyun Crane 2 with the ability to pull focus while operating with the standard handle (not mounted to a jib or buggy). These compact handheld gimbals featuring the ability to pull focus without some form of external follow focus equipment is a huge deal to me by giving creative control with minimal gear.
The DJI Ronin-S isn't available for purchase yet, but there is a sign up to be notified form on their website, so you can be notified when it becomes available.
Learn more about the Ronin-S on the DJI website.
Who has a good guess on what the pricing will be?
Based on the obvious target market they are seeking, I am gonna guess very similar to the Crane 2. but maybe even try and beat it, I'll guess $699
Who would think that when the original Phantom came out and everyone thought it was a toy, it was the beginning of a great company. DJI continues to innovate the same as Black Magic. Awesome!
Fujifilm, DJI and Black Magic continue to disrupt!
When I wrote about DJI surpassing GoPro (funny since GoPro was monumental to their success in the US) I noticed that DJI's estimated market cap in 2016 was $10bn. Compare that to Nikon at $6.4bn and Canon at $40bn (at the time of writing). Crazy numbers!
https://fstoppers.com/business/has-dji-beaten-gopro-175305
Cool!!
Right when I buy the Moza after I saw the review here the crane comes out...now this :) go fig
haha isn't that the way it always goes? How do you like the Moza?
Haha, yup. It’s alright. I wish the controls switched when you put the handles on and turned it upside down. Like the hard shell case.
I'm confused... how is focus pulling done, exactly? Only with PZ glass via cable to the camera?
It appears to have the connection for the DJI Wireless Focus System https://www.dji.com/focus
i thought it kinda sounded like it was a control interface with the camera's autofocus? so no extra motors
this is great news! Was literally about to press the buy button on the Moza. Will have to wait now and see how this goes as it looks much better!
This is pretty intense. DJI coming in with another killer product. I wonder how this stacks up against the other one hand gimbals
I’d love to know what kind of payload this thing will take.