- Today we're talking about the DJI Ronin-SC.
It's an awesome little gimbal.
And there's some things that I don't like about it as well.
So, I'm gonna go through my thoughts around this gimbal
and also just show you some footage
that I've been getting with it,
some smooth buttery footage up here in the mountains
of Big Bear in Southern California.
Okay, so, today we're talking about the DJI Ronin SC.
Yep, just like that.
So I've had this gimbal for a little while now
and I've been playing with it in a few settings.
I really wanted to see
if this was a good gimbal to get or not.
There's been a lot a buzz around this gimbal
and particularly because of its size
and some of the features that it comes with.
You know, one in particular people are playing around with
is this Force Mobile which is interesting
but I don't know how useful it would be
in this size of a gimbal.
And it's something that we'll talk about in a little bit.
So, guys if you're new here to this channel,
my name is Jeven Dovey.
I do filmmaking tutorials, product reviews.
I also do some YouTube training.
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Okay, so, let's talk about some of the goods
and the bads when it comes to the DJI Ronin SC.
Now, I took this up to Big Bear last weekend.
And I went and shot while I was out hiking with my mom.
I had my mom shoot some footage using it.
And it's a pretty easy gimbal to use.
She's never actually held a gimbal
so, the fact that she was able
to get some decently smooth shots with it
shows that this gimbal is a very easy gimbal to use.
And also it's stable.
And that's always my first qualification
when it comes to a gimbal.
If a gimbal does not get stable footage
then it's not a good gimbal.
Like, that's the point of this contraption
is to get smooth shots.
So, overall I've been getting decent shots
with the Ronin SC.
At first, when I was first tinkering with it
I was getting some pretty awful footage
but what's cool about the DJI Ronin SC
is that once you've got your motors all balanced correctly
you go into the app and what's really cool
is you go into your motor parameters
and you hit this auto tune button.
And what it's gonna do is it's gonna go through
and auto tune each motor independently
so that even if you're balance is a little bit off
it's going to adjust the motor strength
so that you get smooth footage.
And so, I just balanced it right now
and my pan switched to 47, my tilt 24 and my roll 63.
So, it's on a zero to 100 scale.
And it's how much strength you're giving each motor.
It's pretty cool that it does this auto tune
and it's so intuitive.
So, you just gotta balance it,
make sure that everything's balanced correctly.
Go in here, click auto tune,
you start getting smooth footage.
Now, when you don't tune it
you'll start getting some wonky footage.
And you can see right here this was before I tuned it
and you can see how it's kind of all over the place.
And then when I hit the auto tune
you can see that it gets rid of all those bumps
and now you have stable footage.
Okay, so let's talk about the layout of this gimbal.
So, you basically have your joystick on the back.
You have an M button, a record button.
And you have one, two, three at the top.
Now, one, two and three are different modes.
So, it's pretty simple, there's not a lot to it.
You can just switch between the three modes.
And then you have your trigger on the back here.
So, the trigger you double click it.
It's gonna re-center, go back to center.
You click it three times, it's gonna go into selfie mode.
So, if you are a vlogger you just click it three times.
It turns, it looks at you.
Now you can shoot yourself super easy
and still see the controls.
Double click to go back.
And then if you just hold the trigger
it locks all the motors.
If you're in a follow mode.
You hold the trigger, it's gonna lock it.
And this is super easy to use when you're filming
because if you're see an object
and you wanna pause on it
you can lock, hold it, then keep moving from that object
or whatever it is that you're shooting.
I use triggers all the time in gimbals
and that's one of the things I look for
when I personally am looking for a gimbal
because this trigger is super helpful
when it comes to just being fluid
and being able to do longer takes
where you wanna switch from having the motors in follow mode
and then be able to lock them.
Now, I talked about this in the Feiyu Tech 4500's review.
That one has a screen.
And there's a lot more to it
so that you never actually have to go into the app.
The app is great on the DJI Ronin SC.
It's super intuitive.
Everything is very easy to get to.
But there's definitely times
where I don't wanna pull out my phone
to have to readjust settings.
So, having no screen built in is a downside to me
but you can get an attachment.
And one thing that I do like about the DJI Ronin SC
is that DJI has made it so that you can build this out.
So, on either side there's these panels
and you can put a follow focus,
you can put a control unit.
So, like, there's different things that you can add on
which makes it a much more usable gimbal.
So, you build it to what you want.
When I bought this gimbal
I got it with the follow focus.
But I haven't been using the follow focus
so, I took off the follow focus
and I took off the motor and it's much more stripped down.
I like that.
I like being able to pull things off the gimbal
because I don't need to have everything
at the gimbal all the time.
So, with my Feiyu Tech 4500, this is a great gimbal
but you always have this focus wheel
which I don't particularly always need.
So, a few of the things that I like about this design
is that you can just plug this directly into a power source.
You don't have to take the batteries out.
That's something that a lot a
these other gimbal companies are missing
is that you always have to pull
batteries out of other gimbals
and then put 'em on a charger.
This one you just plug right in with a USB-C, it's great.
That makes it so much easier.
So, I never have to actually pull out the batteries.
And this gimbal has an 11 hour battery life.
So, you never really have to charge it throughout the day.
You're probably gonna be able to charge it once
and use it for the entirety of the day
and then charge it overnight.
So, you don't need to carry
a bunch of extra batteries with you.
A couple more things that really stand out is the locks.
You can lock every motor which for me is huge.
So, when I'm traveling or when I'm taking gimbals with me
if you don't have locks
gimbals are shifting all around your bag
and it's really a pain.
So, what's interesting about this one
is that you can lock it in multiple directions.
You can lock it so that the motors are facing this way.
Or you can lock it so the motors are facing the other way.
Which depending on how you put it in your pack
will actually matter.
It does actually matter.
And you can lock all your motors.
So, this you can take anywhere.
You can just hold it like this.
There's a lot of times where I'd be hiking
and I'd just be holding the gimbal with it locked.
It's easy to throw in and out a your bag
but also if you're getting a lot a different shots
and walking around with it, then it is nice just to carry it
and not having motors moving around
makes it a solid piece of gear.
Also, just the way it feels.
It feels like a very nice product.
Like, this is done well, it's built well.
The grip is really comfortable.
That's important because you don't wanna
just be hanging on to a piece of metal.
And you wanna make sure that you're able to grip it right.
And be able to use it.
It matters if you always have this thing in your hand.
So, in terms of design, layout, the look of it
I think DJI has definitely done something
very awesome with this gimbal.
And I actually really enjoy it.
So, there's a lot of things
that I really like about this gimbal.
But there are a few things that I don't like.
And they're not things that I necessarily would say
would make you not get the gimbal.
But I wanna highlight a few things
that I've noticed as I've been out using it.
So, in terms of balancing the gimbal
one of the problems that I came across
and I've consistently been coming across
is that on the bottom here you have a lock
and this locks your side to side,
so how far the camera has shifted left or right.
But it also locks your sled moving forward or back.
One thing when it comes to balancing gimbals
and being able to switch lenses
because every time you switch a lens
you're gonna have to rebalance
you wanna have each motor independent,
each moving part needs to be an independent switch
that you're able to lock and unlock
so that you can focus on one element at a time.
Now, what I've noticed is
every time that I put a new lens on here and I'm rebalancing
if it has a front to back balancing issue
then you have to unlock this
which might mean you'll click, hit the side to side.
Which DJI has thought about.
So, they made it so that side to side
has a little click in it.
And you can hear it as you move it.
It has these little notches that it rests in.
However, say you get your front to back balance properly
now you have to balance your side to side.
Well, your camera's gonna be moving around
as you're trying to balance side to side.
So, you do this little dance of trying to hold the camera
get the balance right.
And one thing that DJI's done is
they put this little lock thing on the front.
It doesn't necessarily lock the camera sled in place.
But it basically allows you to hold it in one direction.
So, one thing I notice,
I wish there was one more lock on here
so that the sled and the side to side
could be done independently.
And when I shoot,
I've been shooting with two different cameras.
I've been shooting with the Nikon Z6 and the GH5S.
Now, with the GH5S I switch between a lot a primes.
So, today I was shooting 'em with a client.
I was doing a commercial shoot.
We were shooting a ton a footage in a gym.
And I was switching between my 12,
my 15 and my 25 millimeter primes.
And if you're aware of Panasonic lenses
all of those are very different sizes,
so, you have to rebalance each time.
And that's where you start seeing the issue,
not having a lock for every independent movement.
Now, another thing that bothers me is the plate.
So, the plate is not a standard size plate.
It's DJI's standard size plate.
So, if you're using tripods
or you're using other gear
where you wanna be able to slip this plate on and off
then you're gonna have to take the plate off
and then put it on a new plate.
Which is frustrating for me
because I like to dance between different pieces of gear.
So, I'm always having to take this plate off,
put it back on.
Make sure I put it in the right spot
because otherwise then you have to rebalance.
So, you could see where it starts getting frustrating.
If you're only using this gimbal
with this configuration and this plate on it
then that's not a really a problem.
However, it's when you're switching between,
that's where you start noticing it.
Okay, so something interesting about this gimbal
is that because the size is so small
what we're noticing is that,
working in this, working with the handheld straight up
you can see the screen easily
especially because, you know,
the screen has this kink design.
You can see the screen.
If you had a flip out screen it would be off to the side.
But one of the things that we're noticing
the more that we play around just kind of in the setting
is that as soon as you go to flashlight mode or underslung
you really lose being able to see the screen
especially in like flashlight mode.
And there's a lot a times
where you're down in this position
and even if you had your screen out.
So, with the Nikon you can pump it out it's gonna hit.
So, you really can't have the screen out
because it's gonna hit the motors.
It's so tight, it keeps it small
but it is frustrating to work with.
You're kinda shooting blind as soon as you go down.
As soon as you get into bigger cameras
you definitely aren't gonna be able to use this gimbal.
I tried to use my Olympus EM1X which is a bigger body style.
Definitely did not work.
There's no way I could get it to balance properly
when I had this camera on and I was out hiking with it.
This body with this lens, I have the 24 to 70 on here
is like at the max
because you can see that it's almost hitting the motors
when you're moving the camera from upright to underslung.
So, if you are using a bigger camera
it's gonna be much harder to be able to go underslung
like this because you have very little clearance
depending on your lens and camera combo.
So, that is something to keep in mind.
This is made for smaller cameras.
So, if you use the Panasonic GH5, GH5S, Nikon Z6,
something like that, then you're fine.
But as soon as you have a bigger body style
or you wanna use heavier lenses
this gimbal might not be the ideal one for you.
And that's where you'd wanna go to a bigger one
like the Feiyu Tech 4500.
And I reviewed this one a couple weeks ago.
It's honestly not that much bigger.
And it has similar functionalities.
But there is more options with the Feiyu Tech 4500.
You have a screen built in,
you never actually have to connect the app.
And also it can hold heavier cameras.
You have a more standardized sled.
So, there are some definite benefits to this gimbal
over this gimbal.
However, this one is a little bit smaller.
So, they are similar in sizes.
But there is some differences.
Now, one of those is the Force Mobile.
So, with the Force Mobile you basically
use the motions of your phone
to control the motions of your camera.
Now, is this something that you would ever use?
I personally don't think so.
And this is why.
So, here's my Benro tripod, got a nice big head on it.
When it comes to using something like Force Mobile
you're gonna need to have something like a tripod
to be able to control your phone
because you can obviously slow this down.
But it's hard to like do these movements.
So, you'd want a setup
where you had your phone on a tripod head
because then you can do smooth movements
which is what they show on the Website
is they have a whole tripod setup.
So, they show this on the Website with a tripod head.
And this makes sense
because when you do these movements they're nice and smooth
because you're basically panning
as if you had your camera on your tripod head.
Now, the dilemma for this is that
you basically would need a monitor here.
So, you'd have someone running with the Ronin SC
and someone sitting here with the monitor
being able to control the movements.
Well, the issue is when you have the Ronin SC
you're gonna have to now build this out.
And you'd have to put some wireless on here
so that you can send the signal
to the person with the tripod.
It's not unrealistic but at the same time
if you're gonna be building out a gimbal
a little bit bigger
there are other options with like,
the ring that allow you to attach
all these different pieces.
And also gives the operator two hands to work with
because one hand single style gimbals
get heavy after time.
So, this could be useful
but I also think if you're gonna be doing shoots
with this style of filmmaking
then you're probably gonna want
a bigger setup with more options.
But it is cool that they've integrated it
into this size gimbal and it's interesting,
not something I think I would particularly use
with the Ronin SC.
Now, the other thing that's really cool
is you could put your phone on top
and basically use this gimbal with active track.
And what's interesting about active track
is that it will track your object.
DJI's active track works super well.
On their DJI Osmo Pocket it works really well.
On the DJI Osmo Mobile it works really good.
So, same type a technology.
It's built into a bigger handheld gimbal like this.
And works great.
Don't know how often I personally would use it
but if you're a solo creator and you're shooting yourself
and you want a moving shot that follows you
then I could definitely see that
this would be something you would want
because you could stick your camera on a gimbal
and you can move around in different scenes
and it will follow you.
And it's going to lock on and stay with you.
So, definitely a cool addition to this gimbal
and if this is the size and the kind of gimbal that you want
then great added benefit.
So, for me this is a gimbal that I am going to keep around.
This is the gimbal that I'm gonna use
when I go travel.
So, if I don't need a lot of extra gear
I want something small and easy to take with me
then I'm gonna go with the Ronin SC because it is small.
It packs down and it gets stable shots.
Now, this is my Lowe Pro bag that I use when I'm traveling
just doing like quick day trips
and I wanna be able to carry a bunch a gear with me.
So, with the DJI Ronin SC
what I've found is that it's actually pretty easy
to just pop this in.
If I just need to put it away for a little bit,
I'll throw my lens cap on here
but it's gonna stay secure.
If I'm worried about my camera
I'll pop the camera off.
But you can even see on this smaller bag
that it's easy just to slip in the side.
And it's easy just to pop out
depending on what you're shooting.
Now, the other awesome thing is that it breaks down
so the handle comes off.
One thing I wish that they did
is they made this handle detachable at the motor
not necessarily down this part
because you still have this nub.
And I talked about this with the Feiyu Tech 4500.
They split it here at the motor
and this control unit is something you can take off.
For me, this control unit is kind of the issue
because the motors are great,
that could slip into your bag.
This battery's nice, you can slip that into your bag.
But I wish it was cut off more at the motors
or there was a second bit that you can pop off.
So, with the Feiyu Tech 4500
your control unit completely pops off,
so that's kind of a difference.
And it does make a difference
when you're packing into a bag
and you're trying to save space
and you don't want it to get caught on stuff.
So, overall the DJI Ronin SC is a pretty awesome gimbal.
I do like this gimbal a lot.
Its one I'm gonna keep around.
It's one that I'm gonna use
when I need a smaller setup, I'm traveling,
if I'm like on the go traveling
or like climbing or something like that.
This gimbal makes it super easy to pack down,
having the locks having it accessible pretty easily.
So, guys I'd love to hear your thoughts
down in the comments about the DJI Ronin SC.
Did you get one?
Are you thinking of getting one?
Or what are some of the other gimbals
that you're considering
if you're not gonna get the DJI Ronin SC?
All right guys, that is it.
I'll see you on the next one.