- I've got an awesome gimbal from Filmpower
that has 5 axis.
That's right. Five not three.
So we're gonna check out this gimbal
and see if it's worth getting.
(electronic music)
So you might be asking, "5 axis,
"where's the extra fourth and fifth axis on this gimbal?"
Basically what it is, is it's a two-handed gimbal,
and it's got springs that go from the handles
to where the actual gimbal is resting.
Essentially what this is doing, is it's adding
an extra level of stabilization onto the gimbal.
So all your up-and-down motion is supposed
to be taken off by these springs,
because when you're walking,
there's obviously a rhythm to your motion
that's up and down.
You see this all the time when people
use gimbals improperly,
the footage will do this.
But with the 5 axis gimbal,
what it does, is it takes out this
up-and-down bumping motion.
So the gimbal that I have is the Nebula 4500.
It's a little bit pricier than say,
a single-handed gimbal,
but you do have this added level of stabilization,
which is interesting.
You have this freedom to move around at a faster pace.
Do some more things like running,
and you don't have to be so worried
of having the up-and-down bump and shake.
Before we get in to the test footage,
I have a couple things I wanna bring up.
First, yes, this gimbal was sent to me for free
to test out, I am not paid to do this review,
so these are all my thoughts from using this gimbal myself.
Nothing in here is a paid review.
Also at the end of this video,
I'm gonna give you my full opinion
if I personally would use this gimbal
and who this gimbal is used for.
Alright, before we get in to some thoughts
and talking about this gimbal.
Let's look at just the footage
that I've got shooting with it.
(electronic music)
Before we get into some specifics about this gimbal,
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First thing's first though,
let's talk about the features of this gimbal.
It's got a dual-handle,
but it's also got a single-handed grip that comes with it.
On the gimbal itself, it has one button,
and this button allows you to change the mode.
If you press once, it snaps the camera back to the midpoint.
If you click it twice, it's in follow mode.
If you click it three times, it's in lock mode.
If you click it four times, it's in roll follow mode
which is pretty cool and kind of unique.
If you click it five times, it has a timelapse feature.
Another cool thing is that it's got
the slant gimbal look to it so you can
see the screen easily.
The whole gimbal itself is created in a slant.
Also with the configuration you can have the gimbal
above the handles or below on both the single
or the dual-grip settings.
So you have some options with the way you wanna hold it.
There is an app and then you
also have a piece of software on the computer
that controls more of the gimbal itself.
The gimbal came with two batteries
and each of these batteries lasts around eight hours.
So definitely when you have both these batteries,
you'll be able to go all day no problem.
One of the cool things about this gimbal
is that it's simple and it's pretty easy to use.
So there's not a lot of frills on it.
You have basically the one button
that allows you to change the mode.
Other than that, you don't have any
other buttons on the gimbal.
Because of that, it makes it super simple,
super easy to use.
You have two follow modes or you have lock mode.
And you know that beyond that,
you're not having to deal with a bunch of settings,
and a bunch of things on the gimbal itself
to get the footage that you want.
If you're used to using other gimbals,
a lot of times you'll have things
like a thumb controller that allows
you to push the direction.
That's one thing that I wish this gimbal had.
I with that it had a thumb controller
on the handles, on the dual-grip handles
and also on the single handle.
So that I can move the camera
without having to take my hands off the dual-grip.
You can physically grab the camera
and move it and put it in the position,
but when you're on a dual-drip scenario,
you don't want to take your hands off the dual-grips.
So that's one thing that I wish that this gimbal had.
It's not the biggest deal in the world
and especially when you start using this gimbal,
you understand that you don't
really need the thumb controller.
It is a luxury to have on these kind of gimbals.
For the size, it's awesome.
You would think that because it's got more
hardware involved it would be heavier,
it's actually a very light gimbal.
When you pack it down into your bag,
it will fit in the same space that a single-handed
gimbal would fit in.
So when I'm putting it in my backpack,
it was pretty easy to throw in and not
have to bring an additional case for the gimbal.
That's one thing, it packs down small,
it lays flat, the batteries themselves are super light,
so you don't have a ton of extra weight with you
when you're carrying multiple batteries.
In terms of balancing, it's super easy.
It didn't take a lot of time for me to balance it.
When I was out shooting with it,
I was switching between different lenses,
rebalancing the in the field.
One of the best things about this gimbal
is that you could just set it down
with the dual-handle grip and balance it
and not have to have an additional tripod.
When you have a single-handed grip gimbal,
a lot of times you'll have to throw on a tripod,
screw it on, to be able to balance it
just because you need it to sit flat,
but you don't want it to tip over.
With this one, it's easy.
That's one thing I really like about this gimbal
is you can just set it down on the dual-grip
and you're able to balance it right then and there.
So in the field you can balance,
put a new lens on, rebalance it real quick
and keep moving without a lot of time
and a lot of extra gear.
When you wanna switch between the dual-handled grip
and the single-handled grip
there's just a quick thumb adjustment.
You pop it off, you pop it on.
One of the cool things about this gimbal
is that the gimbal itself is a pretty
self-contained unit and there are actually
additional accessories that you can buy
and put the gimbal on.
For example, if you wanna add a jib to your setup,
you can stick this gimbal on the end of a jib
and you can also get a controller box
that allows you to use a jib setup.
That's really cool, something I haven't tested out yet.
I actually am very interested in myself,
because having a gimbal that's easy
to pop off and turn into a jib
gives you some really cool options
for getting awesome footage.
One thing I'm bummed about is that with the single-handed
grip, there is no screw on the bottom.
That's one thing, if you're out traveling
and you have a monopod with you,
you can get jib-like shots with a gimbal
by just screwing a monopod on to the bottom
and doing some really cool, big, sweeping motions.
Let's talk about the good and let's talk about the bad.
The good is that, yes, it does keep your footage stable
and when you're doing things like running
or walking, it gives you this added level of stabilization
that you don't have with 3 axis gimbals.
You can actually be a little bit free in you movements
and not have to worry so much about your up-and-down
because it is taking the load
off of the up-and-down motions.
Alright, so basically I'm gonna show you the difference
between the fifth axis and no fifth axis.
I'm just holding the gimbal, not using it.
This is just walking with a gimbal
so you can see how when you're walking
you have that up-and-down bouncing motion.
When you put it on the fifth axis,
it's actually taking some of the load
off of that up-and-down bouncing motion.
It's not gonna be perfect if you're walking
and bouncing the camera, you're still gonna bounce.
When you walk, it does take
out a little bit of the bounce
So you don't have to worry
so much about the up-and-down motion.
Also this gimbal would be good to do hyperlapses
because it does take a lot of the,
like I said, the up-and-down bumps out of it.
The other thing that makes this gimbal good
is that it's simple so there's not a lot of frills on it.
I like things that are simple and easy to use.
Now let's talk about the bad.
I wish there was a thumb controller like I said.
There's no way to move the camera
unless you buy an additional accessory
which mounts on top of the controller.
I just wish it was built-in to get extra
functionalities you have to buy extra accessories.
It does make it more expensive.
If you're using it in multiple formats,
like say you get the jib feature for this.
Then you want that box to be down at the other end
of the jib so it makes sense that it's detachable.
So it all depends on what it is that you're
using this gimbal for and the different ways
in which you're using it.
Another thing that I don't like about this gimbal
is that the timelapse mode is just not super user-friendly.
I'm never gonna end up using it just because of the time
it takes to setup and use it.
It's just not a strength of this gimbal.
So who is this gimbal for?
Well, there's definitely some people
that I think will benefit from having this gimbal.
If you're an event shooter,
if you're someone that's run-and-gun,
and you don't have a lot of time
to reset your shots or do things over,
then this gimbal will help
because once you get it down and use this fifth axis
you're actually gonna get smoother footage in the long run.
So for people that do things like weddings,
this could be a good gimbal because you get one
chance to get the shot.
The gimbal's simple, easy to use,
you turn on and go,
the modes are right there on the gimbal itself.
You're never dealing with an app
when you're out in the field
and you can just get the shots that you need.
You won't need to redo your shot
because the fifth axis will
help stabilize the footage.
The other person that this is for is someone
who wants these extra features like the jib,
single-handle, dual-handle,
you want to have the ability to do different
things with this gimbal.
Then this gimbal is a great choice for you,
because you have these optional accessories.
My personal takeaway is that I like this gimbal,
but I wouldn't necessarily use it all the time.
Like I was saying, it's a dual-handled grip.
Basically, if you want that fifth axis
you're gonna have to use that dual-handle.
The dual-handle is not always ideal.
I personally like using a 3 axis gimbal
and a single-handheld gimbal for a lot of the times
when I'm out in the field and traveling.
Because it's easy to use when
you have a smaller gimbal that's only in one hand.
There's a lot of times where I might be using
my other hand to do something else,
I use the second hand to stabilize it
and the fifth axis is giving me some awesome footage,
but it's not something that I personally
would use all the time.
Now if I'm doing an event like I was saying,
if I want to do something that's more active like running,
or there's gonna be a situation where I'm
doing longer takes,
then I will consider using this gimbal
because that fifth axis will give me the freedom
to be a little bit more fluid in my motion
and not have to worry so much
about keeping the gimbal walk.
Alright guys, that is it.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about this gimbal
down below in the description.
It's definitely one to consider
if you need that fifth-axis of stabilization.
But definitely if you don't need that,
3 axis gimbals work great as well.
The fifth axis isn't something that you absolutely need.
As you can see, there are some situations where it may help
and it may give you some more flexibility.
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Guys, I will see you on the next one.