(techno music)
- The DJI website says tested up to 3.6 kilos.
For us Americans, that's 7.92 pounds.
But I think it can hold more.
The first time I used counterweights was a year ago.
I got a call late night for a music video gig.
I had to come in the next day
and balance a $70,000 camera on a gimbal
that was way too small.
We had to counterweight the back.
We needed to bring up the front of the camera.
A little duct tape and like $20 in counterweights.
(metal clattering)
I don't think The Chainsmokers will ever call me back.
(techno music)
So, you got to know the rule in order to break the rule
and with gimbals, it's center of mass.
Center of mass, a.k.a center of gravity
is rarely located in the physical center of the camera.
In some objects,
it's an imaginary point outside of it,
known as a hollow point.
I give you horseshoe.
The center of gravity is
actually somewhere right around here.
This isn't important now,
but this will be important in a few minutes.
Okay, bro science over.
You see, with smaller cameras it's super easy.
We have these levers here,
we can shift around the center of gravity
by sliding them left, right, forward, back, up or down.
With enough trial and error,
you'll get perfect balance on the X, Y and Z axes.
Forward heavy, slide it back.
Hanging to the left, slide it right.
If is has a pendulum movement,
it means it's too bottom heavy and needs to go up.
And eventually you know it's balanced
when you hold it in any position and it stays.
Sony A7III 18 millimeter Batis.
Wow, that is super fast.
Compared to my other gimbals it feels like a Ferrari.
2.36 pounds.
Sony A7S2, G Master 16 to 35.
This needs to come down.
Let's not forget we gotta balance this one down here.
No contest here,
this payload is what this gimbal was made for.
3.06 pounds, let's see, what's heavier?
Sony A7R3, EF adapter
and one of the heaviest Canon lenses I have,
the 24 to 70.
Let's try it.
(dings)
Wow, this is surprisingly quick
for how much forward weight is on there.
I'm impressed.
(techno music)
Dude, you're tearing it up, what's your name?
- Arlo.
- [Josh] Arlo, I'm Josh, good to meet you.
Can I film you skateboarding?
- 20 bucks.
- [Josh] 20 bucks?
- [Man] Tell 'em.
- 20 bucks.
- [Josh] You drive a hard bargain, bro.
(techno music)
(cheering)
What's next?
Canon 1DX Mark II, 100 millimeter Macro.
Why bother a Macro on a gimbal?
Everyone shoots wide angle on a gimbal.
Pros figure out how to shoot tight.
Oh, wow, needs to come down quite a bit.
See the pendulum?
Oh, what does that mean?
That's right, needs to come up.
Oh, DJI, this is just too damn easy.
You guys made this too easy.
Peter McKenna is gonna be pissed.
Canon 16-35 Mark III,
I think it weighs as much as the 24 to 70,
5.27 pounds.
The trick with gimbals is small movements,
very small micro movement.
(techno music)
What do I have that's heavier?
To be fair, I'm going to take the relocator off
and we'll get a dry weight.
4.12 pounds, definitely not the heaviest,
but it is the bulkiest so far.
Stole this accessory handle from my Zhiyun Crane 2.
Check this out, I found a little porthole
that I can tap into.
You're definitely not supposed to do this.
Got a little cheese plate
and that's gonna give us an access point
to drop in an accessory.
If you choose to do this, you do so at your own peril.
Now we can anchor in.
Where am I going to anchor this thing?
That could work.
(dings)
Look at this beast mode.
Canon 85 1.4, we are at the end of the road.
This lens is way too front heavy
and it's as far back on the plate as possible.
(metallic clattering)
Counterweights from B&H,
I think they're like $14 a set.
That is a quarter inch screw hole.
It is definitely not meant for a counterweight.
Oh, we hit a roadblock.
I can mount the counterweights on here,
but I can't mount any more or it'll hit the back,
so we need that clearance.
So, I have that one quarter inch thread there,
but I need to unlock more space for counterweights.
(metallic clattering)
You can never have enough cheese plates.
(popping)
All right, oh, deadly combination.
With the dual pixel autofocus of the C200,
touchscreen operations
and the new blazing fast response of 85 millimeter 1.4.
What is heavier?
Canon C300 Mark 2 and the whopping 11 to 24.
8.64 pounds, this lens is as much as a cinema lens.
It's 2.6 pounds.
Let's put this thing back on.
If I build out this way,
I can use less weight
and it will actually work better for me
because the leverage.
(dings)
That's amazing.
15.6 pounds, that's a regulation bowling ball weight.
Ungodly beast.
There's only one thing left to do.
Get out of my way!
(techno music)
So, the overarching question is why.
Why would you ever put a camera this big
on a gimbal so small?
It doesn't make sense.
And the answer is simple,
when you get the call from the producer saying,
hey, we'll pay you $1,500 a day,
can you build out this rig and can you shoot on it?
Can you do it?
What are you going to say?
DJI, I am impressed.
You guys built a tank
and my forearms will never forgive you.
We clearly pushed this past the tested payload.
See, the counterweights are shifting
the center of gravity back to compensate for the heavy lens
and the part of the camera that's top heavy.
Now that we know how to get perfect balance,
the real question is
at what point do the motors overheat and fail?
I don't have a camera that heavy.
Let's go to ShareGrid.
ShareGrid is super dope.
You can basically rent stuff from locals in your community.
Holy crap, I can rent an ARRI ALEXA Mini
for $500 at a weekend.
That would just be a waste, why would I do that?
(techno music)
This is a bad idea.