04 Apr Camera stabilization is key for professional video.

If you’re like most humans, you have experienced camera shake when using your gear hand-held. This gets worse with a lot of movement or if you’re filming for extended durations. The ability to stabilize a camera when shooting video is a key part of any production, big or small, professional or for your next family trip to Europe.

Three axis stabilizer gimbals have been a mainstay of the film industry for quite a few years already and the technology continues to leap forward while coming in more compact sizes and budget-friendly pricing.

Essentially a gimbal uses motors along the pitch, tilt, and roll axis’ to keep your camera level and to make the footage you shoot buttery smooth. For heavier camera setups, I’ve used the DJI Ronin (pictured below), Ronin M, and most recently the Ronin S. These gimbals work well with larger video cameras (ie. Sony FS5 or FS7) or with DSLR and mirrorless cameras like the Panasonic Lumix GH4 pictured below. Prices typically range from several hundred to several thousand.

I have also used several small gimbals including the Removu S1 (which works with GoPro cameras) and the DJI Osmo and Osmo Mobile. These ultra-compact stabilizers are a must-have for those of us that enjoy travel and recording video of our adventures with small, pocket sized cameras and smart phones. Pricing for these gimbals usually fall in the $150 to $400 range.

Most gimbals have software that works on your smart phone to assist in calibration and fine tuning of the device with your camera’s specific weight and balance. In the past with non-motorized stabilizers, the balancing process could be very time consuming and quite finicky, with each lens change taking a fair amount of your precious shoot time to re-balance. Motorized stabilizers like the DJI Ronin S can be re-calibrated and balanced in under a minute once you become familiar with the process.

These days, I don’t leave for a video shoot without a gimbal in my kit. I may not need it for every shot, but when it comes time for a scene that requires me to move with the camera, I’ll always be happy I have a gimbal with me.

Below are several videos I’ve shot using gimbals mentioned in this post. Enjoy!

– Matt