If you're watching this you're either my mom or you're in the market for Ronin-S handles.
If you're the latter you can't do this without them so yes they're worth every penny.
They're not perfect though let's get into it.
If I gave Shape's dual handles a 4 out of 5 then DJI's handles get a 40 out of 5.
That doesn't really make sense mathematically but
these are astronomically better in almost every conceivable way.
If I had to rate these without the pretext of that other review, I'd probably score them like
95 out of 100 and I'd have to take off those five points because nothing's perfect, this isn't
a sponsored video and I'm prepared to smack talk DJI products because I'm not sucking from the teat.
Your favourite camera youtuber isn't going to criticize the brands that send them free stuff as
harshly as they probably should. Maybe you should stop getting your opinions from sponsored reviews.
I did partially buy this with the help of you guys using the Amazon links in my description though so
be sure to check those out if you're interested in buying anything I'm talking about and you want
to support more videos like this one.
All right, let's get into the nitty-gritty.
The DJI Ronin-S switch grip dual handles have about as long a name as the Shape dual handles for DJI Ronin-S
but were released slightly later or at least I didn't know about them when I was making the
Shape handles review which is a darn shame because I haven't used the shape grip since
making that video. I've been consistently using the first party DJI ones for every wedding I 've
shot since I picked them up. I'm probably gonna try to sell the Shape handles before I drop this video.
Now why is that? This is an accessory part for the original Ronin-S part RS-017 which
few people are aware signifies that this is the 17th iteration of the ram siege devices designed
by DJI for breaking and entering residential homes. I joke DJI, please do not sue me. Seriously though
this switch gimmick that the DJI handles are selling here made this purchase 100 worth it.
You can use these handles on either side just like the box illustrates but if you're one of
the many people who bought a Ronin-S because of the excellent flashlight 360 degree roll mode
you can remove these handles from the side and place one in the middle just above the thumb stick
for a much more balanced hold of your device. You can stop watching the video now and go buy it.
The rest of this video is going to be criticizing the handles, comparing it to the shape ones, and
giving you some real world tips. If you need to know if the handle set is worth buying and you
use the Ronin-S in flashlight mode then the answer you're looking for is yes. Flashlight mode aside,
the regular two-handed grip greatly improves the ergonomics of the Ronin-S. You can set how wide you
want them and that wide frame allows you to more accurately pivot your Ronin-S around a subject to
get that cool parallax effect you're after. Using the Ronin-S without these handles is like driving
a car with a steering wheel two sizes too small: you can do it but it's more work for your hands
and you might cause some accidents. I know people aren't exactly thrilled with NATO right now,
but apparently they set a global standard for rail systems and these grips adhere to it. I like the
rails because one of my regular clients just has me with a wireless lav directly into the camera
and I use an over ear headset to monitor the audio. It's a long cable that weighs down a little bit on
the side of my gimbal but i just kind of wrap it around the rails to alleviate some of the tension.
From what I've heard it's pretty easy to mount an external monitor to this as well
but that isn't a part of my setup so you'll just have to try that for yourself.
I was gonna call it a wrap and start recording the voiceover for this review after taking these
DJI switch grip dual handles to a few weddings, but I figured I'd get a fourth one in there for good
measure. I'm glad I did, because it exposed one issue that myself and other customers have had
with this product. Remember how the shape handles attached below the trigger with a collar that
squeezed tightly around the rubber grip and I had the adhesive of the grip on my Ronin-S start to
come off? Well since there is no grip on that area that the DJI handles are mounted onto the Ronin-S
the rubber sealing needed to keep everything together is on two adhesive pads inside the collar
of the DJI handles. It just so happens that this particular outdoor wedding was hotter than most,
and those adhesive pads started to melt and slide. All the b-roll shots of this product that you're
seeing in the video now were taken after this wedding unfortunately, so now you know why it looks
that way. I can't confirm, but I have a feeling that with regular use you might see this happen
even without the extreme heat. I still used the handles throughout the wedding but I got off
relatively easy here. There's an amazon review from a guy who had the same thing happened to
him except the collar slid off entirely and screwed up his gimbal. *allegedly* I don't really
feel like dealing with DJI's parts and services again. I've just been tightening the collar before
every shoot and it does occasionally get loose after a long shoot so there's my first tip for you.
Another disadvantage similar to the shape handles is that the wideness of the gimbal now makes
you stick out more in crowds. I shoot a lot of Jewish weddings and I found myself in the way
of everyone at the Hora. The DJI handles still get a point over the shape handles here though,
because while both handles can be adjusted to your preferred wideness, the DJI handles move
straight in and out, whereas the shape handles can swivel up and down while you're moving them in.
This makes the DJI handles way easier to adjust on the fly. Speaking of adjustments, let's talk about
these little fastening knobs. Despite the little knobs to tighten the arms facing away from the
user on the box art, you should probably keep them flipped towards you so that they're out of the
way of tightening the whole collar to the Ronin-S because like I said you're going to want to check
the tightness of this after every shoot. If you're interested in the settings that I use when I shoot
we're going to have to talk about the DJI Ronin app for a bit. I'm an android guy so I thought I
could just update the app directly from the Google Play Store like any other app, but you need to
download the apk from DJI directly. I'll link that in the description. You'll need the app if you want
to fine-tune how fast and sensitive you want your Ronin-S to respond to the way that you move it.
I like to have my three profiles set up as follows: I like my first profile to respond less to smaller
movements when I pan. This forces me to make those bigger movements with the dual handles I was
talking about earlier and it makes everything more precise in my opinion. if I want to focus
on something and pivot around it I'll stick with this mode. The second profile is more sensitive to
movement than the first one. If I plan on using the Ronin-S all day this is a great mode to switch to
if I need to jump back and forth between subjects, maybe during the ceremony or something. All of the
numbers I'm showing you are subjective though, play around until you find something you like. The last
profile is usually reserved for the 3D roll 360 mode aka flashlight mode if my setup agrees with
it. Sometimes things like microphones or receivers mounted to the camera's hot shoe can get in the
way of this mode. If that's the case then I leave it in pan follow mode which essentially keeps the
gimbal locked to your horizon as if you were holding the Ronin-S' trigger the entire time.
This is great for crane-style shots. I'm going to let you in on a big secret though: if you go into
status from the app's main page and make sure that the setting "disable gimbal 3d roll 360"
is switched off you can press the "M" button on the Ronin-S three times quickly to put it
in flashlight mode and that'll still allow you to have three other user profiles ready to go.
Just press the "M" button three more times to disable it. If any of this looks different to you
make sure you have the latest firmware installed on your Ronin-S. I go a little more in-depth on how
to update firmware, as well as some extra app settings to control your camera in my Ronin-S
Zoom Guide so check that out through the title card pop-up now if you haven't seen that yet.
I think that's really all I wanted to say about these handles they're the best ones I've used so
far - much better than the ones by Shape. The price is a little steep but it's a lot less than a full
upgrade to the Ronin-M and it provides similar ergonomics. I know the Ronin-S is older hardware
and yes this is just for the Ronin-S not the Ronin-SC or the Ronin-S2 but if you picked up
one of these used this should be one of the first accessories that you buy for it. It'll make your
day's shooting just a little more comfortable and easy. That's gonna do it for this video thanks for
watching be sure to like and subscribe to support more videos like this in the future and if there's
a topic that you want covered in the camera / freelance world let me know in the comments below!