- This video is all about the MOZA Air 2
and whether this gimbal is a good gimbal or not.
(inspirational music)
So I've had this gimbal for a little while now
and I've been taking it with me
and shooting in some different scenarios,
and I've really been trying to get a feel
for this gimbal and whether I like it or not.
Now, what makes this gimbal stand out
from other gimbals is that it is big, it's heavy,
but it can also carry bigger and heavier cameras.
So for me, I shoot on the Panasonic GH5,
which isn't a massive camera, it's not big,
but if you wanted to shoot on something
like an FS5, or even like a RED,
you could put it on this gimbal.
So that's where this gimbal shines.
It's gonna be geared towards bigger cameras,
which gives you the ability to
basically use a ton of different cameras on this gimbal.
Now, it's got some awesome features packed
into it that is definitely geared
towards people who are creating content
and moving between different pieces of gear.
So first, it's got a 16 hour battery life,
and what's really cool about the battery system is
that this gimbal can power your light,
your monitor, your follow focus,
or even your camera, by just connecting it to the handle.
So I think that's a really cool feature in that,
if you are adding things onto this gimbal,
you can power them off of the batteries
that are in the gimbal itself.
And since it has a 16 hour battery life,
when you plug in other devices,
obviously that goes down, but 16 hours is a long time.
It's got a lot of power, and it's got power
to juice all the different things
that you need to be able to get the shots that you need.
Also, on the handle, you have your focus control,
which you can actually map out
in your menu system to do other things,
like control the roll of your gimbal.
One thing I really like is that
there is an auto-tuning feature, so you don't have
to dive into the settings if you don't want to.
However, what's really cool about
this gimbal is that you can go through
and set up all the settings independently.
So you can set up each motor independently,
how much power you wanna send to each motor,
and you can really just dial it in for your setup.
Now, this is something I really like
because it's all on the handle.
There is a lot of things accessible
through the handle menu system,
which is something that I prefer
over other gimbals, where you have
to attach a phone to change all your settings.
So with this, you have a little menu system,
and then, as you go through it, you could see
that there are a lot of different options.
You can go on and turn on and off
each motor in a follow mode through the menu system,
and then you also have a few buttons
on the outside that will change different settings.
Now, this gimbal has a trigger.
The trigger is really helpful on this gimbal
because when you're in a follow mode,
you hold the trigger, and it will lock.
So you basically have access to the follow mode
that you're using, and when you hold the trigger,
it locks in place, which gives you the ability to lock it,
and I've used this feature a lot when I'm out shooting.
Also, with the trigger, you can spin the camera
so it faces you, faces your face,
and then you could also just recenter the camera.
Having all of these different features
on the handle, and just a few clicks away,
makes it so that this gimbal really works
in a lot of different situations,
and it makes it easy to find the settings
that you need to get the shots that you want.
Now, also on the handle, you have the ability
to control recording, your zoom,
your focus, your ISO, your shutter,
your exposure compensation, and your white balance.
So if you connect this to your camera,
and it works with a bunch of different cameras,
I highly suggest checking the website
to make sure yours is compatible,
but what's cool is you can control
your camera settings just on the handle grip itself.
It makes it so you don't ever have
to touch your camera, so once it's balanced,
you just have to touch the different features with,
on the actual handle itself.
And then on the back, you have another spot
where you could attach things like
your monitor or your microphone,
and then on the bottom, it's got two different sizes
of screws, depending on your needs.
You can add additional products
to this to be able to use it.
So it's got a lot of elements built
into the handle, which makes it
very easy and accessible to dial in
your settings, and just work with this gimbal.
Now, something that I really like is
that it takes a standard Manfrotto plate,
and this plate very easily locks
onto the gimbal so that you can pull it off,
move to your tripod, move to your
other products that might have a Manfrotto plate,
but it just makes it so that this gimbal works
within your whole ecosystem so you don't have
to buy an additional adaptor to put
onto your gimbals, so that you can have a Manfrotto plate,
and that's something I really like about this gimbal.
So in terms of stability, let's talk about this gimbal.
I've shot in a bunch of different settings.
I've been shooting in different power strengths,
and I've noticed that this gimbal isn't the smoothest gimbal
out there on the planet, and no gimbal's perfect.
There never is a perfect gimbal.
There's always gonna be issues,
but I've noticed that this gimbal,
depending on your setting, will start
to sway a little bit left and right,
which is telling me that I probably don't have
enough power running to the motors.
But then, if you put too much power to the motors,
then you're gonna start getting some jittering,
so it takes really dialing in your settings
to be able to get this gimbal to work perfect.
Now, one thing that's good, though,
is that there isn't a whole lot
of micro-jitters, and that's one thing
that's really hard to clean up in post.
So if you have some shuttering effect going on,
and I've had this on some of my past gimbals
that I've reviewed, you just can't really clean it up.
If the camera isn't perfectly stable,
and it sways a little bit, it makes
it really easy to clean up in post.
You just run it through a stabilization filter,
and all of a sudden, you have perfectly smooth footage.
So I wouldn't discredit a gimbal
if it does have some slight movement,
because no gimbal is perfect.
Like I'm saying, I have worked
with a lot of gimbals, and all
of them have their flaws, all of them have their issues.
You have to remember that these are not perfect tools.
You have to be able to work with
these tools and their limitations
to be able to get the footage that you want.
So yes, this gimbal, out of the box,
will work very well, and it will get you smooth footage,
but as soon as you put that footage through a second layer
of stabilization, whether that be
on your camera or in post, you'll be able
to clean it up and get even more stable footage.
I highly suggest doing your stabilization in post,
turning off your stabilizer in-camera
for most shots, because you might have
some weird artifacting going on
if you have your stabilizer on in your camera,
especially with the GH5, where it has lens
and in-body stabilization, you might cause issues
with the gimbal when you're out filming.
However, you have to really kinda play
with your setup and see if you're getting issues or not.
There's definitely scenarios where
I can flip on the stabilizer on the GH5
and work with the gimbal, and I'll be able
to get smooth footage and not have
to go through and stabilize it in post,
but it doesn't work every time.
So I highly suggest, whenever you're working
with a gimbal, and this is just a gimbal in general,
that you play with your settings,
you play with your post stabilization,
and you figure out what method works best
for you to get the footage that you need.
Okay, so let's watch some footage, straight from camera.
I am not gonna tweak any of the settings whatsoever.
This is 4K, 60 frames a second.
I like to shoot in that format
because you get to see whatever movement
this gimbal has, and like I said,
I'm not cleaning any of this up in post.
So we're just gonna watch the footage,
just straight from camera.
(uplifting music)
So in terms of portability, you can
definitely carry it with you on a backpack.
I have the new Lowepro backpack
that's all geared towards mountain climbers,
back country skiers, all that,
and the MOZA Air fits nicely right on the side,
kind of where a tripod would sit.
So you could attach it to the outside of your bag.
I tried to work with it in my Incase bag,
which is my go-to for any time
I'm doing something in a city or
any time I don't need the extra storage
of one of these bigger bags, and it just slightly fits.
It's kinda pushing on the edges.
So that's one thing you gotta know.
It's taller than a lot of other gimbals,
so there's a good chance that it's
not gonna fit inside bags, but you could
easily strap it on the outside, and works great.
You do have to worry about little thumb controller,
making sure that you have it set up properly
so that you don't end up destroying it
by hitting it on something.
So you could definitely tell that
there are moments where the gimbal is
not perfect, but there's also moments
where the gimbal does work very well.
So like I was saying earlier, it really comes down
to learning the settings that work best for your camera,
and a lot of that's gonna depend
on your weight, and it's gonna depend
on making sure that things are balanced properly.
If your gimbal's not properly balanced,
that will cause things to start moving a little bit,
and with this camera, when I was hiking,
there's definitely times where the gimbal gets bumped,
so I'm sure the balance came off a little bit.
I could tell I had to rebalance it multiple times.
When I've been shooting with it,
I've had to rebalance it here and there,
but that's something you really need
to be watching when you're actually shooting with a gimbal.
You need to play your footage back.
You can't just wait 'til you get in post
and expect all your footage to be good.
It's something that you have to kinda
consistently be working on, and be working with.
So I just finished filming down at El Matador Beach.
Definitely, after filming for a few minutes,
you can start feeling the weight
of this gimbal, and I only have a GH5 on there,
so I can only imagine, once you put a heavier camera,
bigger payload, bigger lenses,
it starts to get pretty heavy pretty quick.
So one of the things you have to consider is that,
how long are your shots gonna be?
How long are you gonna be running around
with this gimbal in your hands?
Do you have a way to hang onto it
besides just holding it in your hand once you're finished?
So if you're running around with a backpack
that is able to strap it on, it makes
it a lot easier to use when you're on the go,
and then if you obviously can bring
more gear, pack it away nicely in a case,
like a Pelican case, or the case
that comes with it, so that you never damage it.
But definitely, it's not one that
you're gonna hand-hold all day.
You need to put it down.
You need to set it down between takes.
So when you're traveling, when you're on the go,
you're really gonna have to plan
out how much you wanna use it,
and have a system set up so that
you can put it down in between takes,
you have somewhere to strap it,
you have somewhere to store it,
because you're not gonna just be hanging
onto this gimbal all the time.
One thing that's really good about
this weight, like I was saying,
it gets rid of all that bobble.
So when you're shooting stock footage,
and I do a lot of stock footage,
that's one of the ways that I bring an income
from the footage that I'm shooting,
because this gimbal is heavier,
it eliminates a lot of the up-and-down motion,
which, if your footage has that bobble in it,
when you're submitting to stock footage,
it's gonna get rejected.
So in terms of getting silky smooth footage
that looks like a dolly or a jib,
this gimbal has the ability to get
you that really silky smooth footage.
And guys, if you're interested
in more info about how you sell stock footage,
I'll put a link down below in the description
to my stock footage course.
I have a step-by-step guide that teaches
you how to make money selling stock footage.
Now, would I suggest you get this gimbal?
Well, there's kind of a few things you need to think about.
What style of shooter are you?
If you're someone that's run-and-gun,
and you're throwing this in your bag,
and you're using smaller cameras,
then I would suggest getting a different gimbal out there.
However, if you're working with bigger cameras,
then you're gonna be dealing with bigger gear all-around,
so this gimbal actually isn't that big
when you're working with these bigger cameras.
It will actually fit nicely with
all the other gear that you have,
and like I said, it still is small enough
that it does fit in my Incase bag,
but it does take up a lot of space.
However, if you have a big camera,
I think that this might be a good option for you.
Also, if you're not worried about space,
if you're not worried about using
this with a backpack, this might be a good gimbal to get.
So if you're putting it in Pelican cases,
or you're putting it just in the case
that it comes with, and taking that
to your shoots, then I don't see
any problem using this gimbal.
Its size isn't that limiting.
It's a big gimbal, you pick it up when you need it,
you shoot with it, and then you set it down.
It's much better than dealing with the two-handed gimbals
because those are so much more of a pain to work with.
This, you just screw on the tripod
on the bottom and you can set it down.
It's not too heavy that you could
probably work with it all day.
You just have to take breaks.
It will wear you out over time,
but it needs to be heavy to be able
to carry the cameras that it can carry.
So guys, I'd love to hear from you.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the MOZA Air 2,
if this is a gimbal you're considering.
What do you think about the footage that I've got with it?
I'd love to hear your thoughts down below, in the comments.
Guys, that is it.
If you're new here to this channel,
make sure you hit that Subscribe button.
There's a lot of awesome filmmaking tutorials.
I do camera reviews.
I also do some YouTube training,
and in about seven days, I'm about to jump on a plane
to go climb the two tallest peaks in Ecuador.
Lots of awesome stuff coming on this channel.
Also, make sure you head over to creatorfilmschool.com.
That is my nuts-to-bolts, everything
you need to know to have a career
as a filmmaker or a creator.
There's lots of awesome courses on there
that's gonna take your filmmaking skills to the next level.
All right, guys, that's it.
I'll see you on the next one.