It was a fascinating experience comparing the reactions to the Comodo Orbit online to those who saw the rig in person at WPPI Las Vegas this year. Almost 100% of the comments online were negative, non-believing dismissals of the product, while nearly 100% of the comments in person about the product were an excited thumbs up. It was easily the most popular product at the show. So what did we think of it?
Comodo's Victor Ha was generous enough to lend us one of the three Orbit gimbals that exist stateside for two and a half days of shooting at WPPI. I followed fellow editor Zach Sutton all over the tradeshow floor doing interviews with brands, armed only with one camera and the Comodo Orbit. Zach's microphone was wirelessly linked to a Tascam DR-60D in my backpack, which allowed me the use of both my hands to control the Orbit.
Let's start with build quality: I have zero complaints here. The product is tough and lightweight, both key features for a stabilization rig. The whole thing is made of aluminum except for the connecting axis parts near the grips and a the tightening screw located at the top of the gimbal. The parts are slim but sturdy, letting me focus on getting the shot rather than on the fragility of the product.
The Orbit is also comically simple to calibrate to any camera. It takes less than two minutes to mount and balance a new camera to the Orbit, which is faster than either a Steadicam or Glidecam. Those things are tough to balance right, and the Orbit is just plain easy.
The design is simple, yet purposeful and it is here that I want to really break down what the Orbit is supposed to do.
The Orbit is not a MoVI competitor. It is not even a Glidecam or Steadicam competitor. It's not really any of these devices, but something in between them all. A Steadicam or Glidecam will do a better job at moving shots, where the walking needs to be steady and consistent. A MoVI or DEFY will do that well too, and also works for standing shots. The Orbit is good for walking and great for standing shots. The two-handed nature of the product and the position of the camera in the gimbal is ideal. The DEFY is awesome, but you'll notice how low the camera sits on the gimbal. If you are the cameraman and your subject is the same height as you or taller, it's going to be taxing on your arms to hold it up so high so as to not chop of any parts of their head in the footage. The Orbit puts the camera level with the grips, which means it's easier to keep the camera at the right level.
For me, if I knew I was going to be walking, then standing, then walking again throughout the day, I would pick up either a DEFY or an Orbit rather than hand holding or taking a Steadicam/Glidecam. Since a DEFY or MoVI is out of the price range for many of you, the Orbit is a solid option if you are looking that works great for certain video situations.
The Orbit's design also makes it easy to set down, and I even used it as a makeshift tripod on a table, with tilt functionality. This is something unique to the Orbit, and though it's not a major selling point, it is pretty handy.
What I was bummed about when it comes to the Orbit is that it is priced pretty high, more than I would have expected. $1500 is a lot to ask for a mechanical gimbal with no follow focus options for cameras that don't have a sensor like the Canon 70D Dual Pixel Sensor. If I did not have this camera body with me, the Orbit would not only been a lot harder to use, but a much more difficult sell. I happened to have the second half of the equation that made for a sweet finished product, but many of you may not own a Panasonic or Canon follow-focus camera, and that's a downer.
The Orbit might have been just one step better if it had some sort of stabilizer on the center parts, which could compensate for the up-and-down motion that comes with walking. It's not a huge deal, but it would make the price point easier to swallow.
What I liked:
Light weight
Super easy to use
Very quick to balance for any camera
Small
What could use improvement:
Price point
Needs add-ons
Vertical center stabilizer would make for considerably better walking steadiness
The Comodo Orbit will be available from B&H for $1499 once Comodo is able to get more units into the country, which should be any day now. When they are in stock and if you can make it out to the B&H superstore, I challenge you to try it out before casting judgement on this device. It's actually a great idea, and Comodo has explained this is only the first of many pieces to the Orbit that they plan to continue to add on to and build out. Hopefully we'll see some great stuff for video gearheads from Comodo in the near future.
Nice review. How does this pan from right to left? Do you just turn the whole unit? I've never held this product so I may be missing something but it doesn't seem to be smooth at all. The handles seem to only combat wrist torque which isn't the biggest problem.
Yeah you have to pan the whole thing, but you can do it by just lightly twitching your wrists.
Honestly, $1400 for some tubes that don't steady your video at all? Why even spend the time reviewing this "Movi wannabe" piece of junk?
Like I said, a Steadicam is not as easy to use for certain situations. It's also very heavy and hard on your one arm, especially if you have to lift it to get a stable shot of someone's face. But to each his own. No one is forcing you to change your process.
This looks absolutely useless.
The sample footage is shaky when standing still and useless when walking. A shoulder rig is more stable plus you can focus and zoom with one hand as well. Or a monopod is way better for standing still. And the glidecam/steadicam design are way better for the walking shots. Of course, the Movi (and copycats) is awesome for walking/running. If you're good, you can learn to use your monopod like a steadicam/glidecam. Just my 2 cents.
Jeff nails it! Monopod, YES, Shoulder rig, YES! This, umm whatever we're calling this thing is the worst thing ever... I'm 90% sure it's a gag or something especially considering the price tag. I think he forgot to turn it on in the video (I realize there's no power/on button, just trying to point out how non-stable the footage was).
I just saw a video on this site of the Movi on skis and it was AWESOME!!! I'm not in the market for a Movi due to economics but there are a lot of Movi clones out on ebay that are priced in the same range as the Orbit. Many of them are priced even less than the Orbit and offer remote
control and adaptability to a drone which makes them a lot more
versatile. As far as the specs go, they should be able to handle a DSLR's weight but sellers can claim whatever they want. I was just wondering if anyone here has tried them out and can give any feedback on how well they work cos these would make a lot more sense than the Orbit.
http://i.imgur.com/kqEV94F.jpg
Need I say more community!!!!
We are about to rent this from Lensrentals... we will report back on it's usefulness.