- This is the DJI RS2.
It's a small, lightweight gimbal,
that can get you super stable footage,
and you can put bigger cameras on it.
So in this video, I'm gonna go through 10 reasons
why you would wanna get this gimbal,
and why I think it's such a good choice.
All right, guys, let's get into it.
(upbeat music)
So all the footage you just saw was from the RS2.
I actually have had this gimbal for a few weeks now,
and I've been able to take it on
a bunch of different shoots.
But I just wanna be upfront.
DJI did send this gimbal out to me for free,
however, this is not a paid sponsorship in any way.
I used it on the regenerative farm documentary,
that I had just posted.
And also all of my client work recently,
I've been using this gimbal.
Now, before I got the RS2,
my go-to gimbal has been the AK4500.
And you know, this gimbal is great.
However, it definitely has some issues when you're using it.
The RS2 just is a solid piece of equipment.
DJI makes great gimbals, and everything just works properly.
Now, I was gonna go shoot this video up
on a mountain for you,
I was gonna go for a hike, but my buddy Niles,
wanted to run a half marathon this morning.
All alright, 13.1 miles done.
How do you feel about that?
- 13.13 and I am, can hardly walk.
- So my legs are pretty sh...
Now let's get into the 10 reasons
why you would wanna get the DJI RS2.
Number one, is that the stabilization is great.
When you get a gimbal,
the number one thing that you wanna look at,
is whether the footage is stable or not.
If you're getting micro jitters,
if you're getting any sort of like bumps in any direction,
then the gimbals doesn't perform well.
And no matter what features you have on that gimbal,
it's not a good gimbal.
So the first thing I always look at when I'm out shooting,
is how stable is the footage.
You turn off any internal stabilization in your camera,
you go out and shoot, and you see how well it performs.
And with the RS2, all the footage that I've been getting
is super stable.
It works great with every camera setup
that I've thrown on it,
I've been using my Sony a7S Mark III,
with a big 16 to 35 millimeter lens on it.
And the footage is stable.
Now DJI said that this gimbal will hold
up to a Canon 1D X Mark III,
with a big 24 to 70 millimeter lens on it.
So if you have a bigger camera set up,
this one will work great, compared to the new RSC2,
which is a much smaller gimbal,
catered more towards like mirrorless bodies.
Number two, is that it's super easy to use.
When you're balancing this gimbal,
there's markings all over it.
So you could see exactly where you wanna set it
for each lens.
Because every time you change a new lens,
you're gonna have to rebalance.
And one thing that I thought is really cool,
is on the actual sled, there's a twist knob.
So you can really fine tune,
especially if you add on something like a filter,
take it off, you could just do a quick little adjustment,
and it really doesn't throw off your balance that much.
Now, once you have it balanced,
you turn on the gimbal and you calibrate it,
using this button.
And then from there that gimbal is ready to go,
and you got super stable footage.
Now, once it's powered on, it's calibrated,
you're ready to go,
I think one of the coolest things with this gimbal,
is you have this M button.
So you have modes one through three.
However, they're not preset modes.
You can customize each mode to different styles,
that you like to shoot.
So you can have one mode setup to save,
you know, follow left and right, but lock up and down.
You can have one set to follow all,
you can set up up to three different preset settings
where you just click the M button,
and you go from setting to setting.
Now, something else that's really cool
as you go into the settings,
and you can change things like your follow speed.
So they have some preset ones slow, medium, fast,
but then you can go down to custom,
and you can really dial this in from one to 100.
So this gimbal is super easy to get up and running fast,
but then you can also customize everything
to fit exactly how you like shooting.
And one more thing that makes it easy to use,
is all of the locks on the motors.
Now this obviously isn't a super new thing
to lock the motors,
but the way that DJI has set up these locks,
it makes it very easy to flip them on and off.
You don't have to like get your finger in there
to try and pop it.
It's a good switch, and it makes it super quick
to lock it and unlock it.
Number three, is that it's compatible
with all of my other gear.
Now, DJI has done a dual style plate on the sled.
So you have a Manfrotto plate,
but you also have an Arca Swiss.
So the Arca Swiss is what I keep
on my a7S Mark III all the time.
And this goes from my gimbal, to my tripod,
to other pieces of gear that I might use.
However, I also use a Rhino Arc II,
which uses a Manfrotto style plate.
So depending on what style of gear that you use,
this will integrate easily, if you use the Arca Swiss,
or the Manfrotto style plates.
And you can go seamless between each piece of gear.
Number four, is that this gimbal is modular.
So DJI comes with this carrying case.
It's got all these different parts in it,
but I think what's great,
is that you can add on monitor mount.
You can add on at a back handle,
and then you can go into underslung mode,
and be able to use this in different ways
than just a single standing upright style gimbal.
The RS gimbal also has wireless video transmission,
the RavenEye, and it also has follow focus.
So depending on what style of shooter you are,
you can build this out as much as you want,
or you can completely strip it down,
with a few screws, (screws crackling)
and just run as a smaller, lightweight gimbal.
So for me, this is the way
that I've been shooting a lot of the times.
Just completely stripped down.
However, this back extension arm,
does come in handy when you wanna shoot low style shots.
And also what I like about this gimbal is that,
the focus wheel is integrated right here
where the finger trigger is.
So you have your trigger on the back,
makes it easy to use, so you can lock it at any time,
when you're shooting, released to unlock.
But then right above that, you also have your finger wheel,
which can control your zoom or focus.
And for me, that's a huge thing,
because a lot of other gimbals have a wheel on the side,
and then you have to operate using two hands.
You have to have one here, one on the grip,
or you could be using like your thumb,
but it really doesn't work that well.
But with this, it's right where the trigger is.
So you can roll it to the zoom and focus,
or you could use the trigger.
It's just designed much better
than I've seen other gimbals designed,
that have an integrated focus wheel.
Number five, is that it's small and compact,
but it can hold bigger cameras.
I already touched on this a little bit earlier,
but this can hold a heavy setup.
Right now, I just have a little mirrorless camera on top,
and it holds it just fine.
But you can put bigger style cameras.
So big DSLR, the new C70 that's coming out.
Like that would be a great camera to use with this gimbal.
It's gonna easily hold the black magic cameras,
any sort of DSLR, mirrorless style body with big lenses,
you can put on this gimbal.
But even more important than just being able
to hold bigger style cameras,
is that the footage will be stable.
The motors are super strong.
Now you might have a smaller camera set up,
so you might wanna go for the RSC2.
However, this does give you more flexibility.
So if you do wanna mount like a big lens
with a small mirrorless body,
you're gonna have no issues balancing,
and being able to get smooth footage.
Number six, it has RavenEye transmission.
So the RavenEye wireless video transmission,
is a little box you add on to right underneath
the sled here.
And it sends a wireless signal to your phone.
Also with the RS2, it sends it to the actual unit.
There's a little screen back here.
But beyond being able to see your image,
you're also able to use tracking,
so you can track anything through
this RavenEye wireless transmission.
- And it works on both the SC and the RS2.
But the RS2 is the only one with the built-in screen.
- So the RSC2 doesn't have the screen built into it.
It's smaller gimbal.
- In fact, I think this setup with the active track now,
allows for people to maybe have this mounted on a tripod,
and just lock it on a subject going left and right,
you know, you've said for your fitness stuff,
this could actually be really useful.
- Yeah, I mean, if you put this on a big boom pole,
a big jib arm, like you just track somebody,
and you can move it around, and not even have
to think of where you're pointing the camera,
because it's always gonna track that object.
- It's kinda like opens up a whole world of potential
when it comes to using that gimbal.
Essentially the RavenEye turns any camera that you shoot on
into like an integrated DJI camera on a DJI drone,
you get similar active track features,
that you would get on a DJI drone.
The best part is, you can zoom in,
you can use any focal length, any lens you want.
And it tracks with that lens.
It's pretty incredible.
- Yeah, it's pretty amazing.
- Also, why are you here?
- Number seven, is the ability pack down small.
So this is the case that comes with the Ronin RS2,
and you can fit everything,
all of this and all of the accessories into this case.
Which it's not that big of a case.
If the battery pops off the bottom here,
the gimbal folds up nicely.
You put it in the bag,
you put all your accessories in the top,
and this, you can bring with you wherever you go.
And I appreciate that DJI made a nice little case
to go with the RS2,
because it just keeps everything looking clean,
and it keeps everything in one place,
rather than having like all of these pieces
just floating around your camera backpack.
Depending on how you shoot,
if you do wanna take everything with you,
throw it in the case,
and you have everything easily in one spot.
Number eight, is that DJI has incorporated
a great battery design.
When I've used the FeiyuTech AK4500.
You have to unscrew both of these mounts,
pull this piece out, pull the batteries out,
charge the batteries separately,
put them back in, to be able to get rolling again.
With the DJI RS2, it has a USBC port on it.
You plug directly in, it charges this battery grip.
You never have to deal with batteries coming out,
charging on a separate charger.
All you have to do is just plug this guy in.
And the battery on this gimbal
will give you around 12 hours of operation.
When I was up at the Belcampo Farms, in Northern California,
I shot for three days with this gimbal off and on.
And I didn't charge it once.
So if you're using it sparingly,
this battery is gonna last you a long time.
Now, if you're using this gimbal consistently,
and you have a heavy payload,
maybe the battery will run out faster,
but I haven't had any issues with this battery yet.
And when you do have to charge the battery,
it takes an hour and a half to fully charge this.
So not a lot of time to get a full charge on this gimbal.
Number nine, is that the design is well thought out.
So with this gimbal, you have the kink design,
so you can see your screen no matter what style
of camera that you're using.
Also, you have the grip with the batteries
integrated into it, with USBC.
All of that just makes it super easy.
The grip feels good,
like this isn't gonna slip out of your hand,
and everything on this gimbal just looks super sleek.
So beyond functionality,
because functionality is one part of it.
This gimbal also just looks good.
I love the incorporation of the red on the black,
and the carbon fiber.
And nothing really feels cheaply made.
That's one thing that I've found a lot of times
with these different gimbal brands.
You'll get a gimbal it'll work good it'll work decently,
but it just feels cheap.
Like it feels plasticky.
So nothing on this feels like it's going to break.
And in terms of durability,
it seems like it's a super strong gimbal.
Like I've been just throwing this into my Shimoda bag,
with my other gear.
I threw it in the Jeep,
when I was up shooting the documentary,
whether it was the back seat, front seat, in the trunk.
Also just like in different settings with lots of dirt,
I haven't really had any issues with this gimbal.
I even took it out in the desert,
in like 100 and something degrees,
and it worked fine going through the canyons,
even though this gimbal was hot to the touch.
So for me, it seems to work pretty well.
And I'm excited to take this gimbal out
on some other adventures, and really see how it performs.
And number 10, is that this gimbal has a good balance
of strength, functionality, to size.
So being that it is a gimbal that holds bigger cameras,
it's still small and compact,
and you can still take it everywhere that you go.
You can have it in your camera backpack on every production.
This isn't like a gimbal,
where you have to have a separate big Pelican case,
take it out for like a big production,
have all this extra gear to make it work.
But this is a super small, simple gimbal,
yet it still holds big camera.
So for me, this is the perfect balance
of size and functionality,
especially when I wanna use bigger lenses on a gimbal.
And guys I'd love to hear from you.
What do you think about this gimbal?
Do you think it's the perfect balance
of size to functionality?
Is there anything that it's missing?
Is there anything that you would wanna see
from DJI gimbals in the future?
Guys, I'll put a link down below the description,
to where you can check out more information
about this gimbal.
And that's it.
I will see you on the next one.
All right, so the RavenEye,
is essentially an auto tracking feature.
So the RavenEye, is a wireless video feature,
that also does like auto tracking.
- And it's super cool.
- So the Indy Mo.
(Dave laughing)
- This was a really random sequence.
- This is really random.
What are your thoughts on the RS2 now that I'm here?