@_OZ

I think such thing is available on ebay. We have topic about coiled cables somewhere.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcoiled+hdmi+cable&_nkw=coiled+hdmi+cable&_sacat=0

I got my birdycam last week, and I am pretty impressed with it. I like the foldable design and easy adjustment knobs. Setup out of the box was super easy, took me about 20mins or so to get familiar with the adjustment knobs to balance a gh4 with 12-35mm on it. after that it took about 5mins to set it up for 20-25-35mm focal lengths which was 2-4mm increments backwards and 1-2mm adjustment on the Yaw. The adjustable stand with level bubble is a nice touch as well as the locking knobs for quick re calibration if needed.

Used it on a shoot the other day and I have to say the ease in changing focal lengths on the thing made up for its price tag. Having the joystick with the 5 custom presets is great and the ability to fine tune through the app on the spot is great too. All the gimbals now days can probably do this. Ended up flying the gimbal all day and you could feel it in the arms after a while especially when holding with one arm and locking focus with the other at face eye level. I think my arms would have fallen off if it was the Ronin which was my other purchase choice but weight in the end, joystick and collapsable arms made me choose the birdycam. It can do briefcase mode too like the Ronin which i wasn't too sure it could do, but you could also just fold the arms back and its the same thing.

Had some concerns running a not so flexible hdmi cable from the cam fearing it would put the gimbal off balance but it flew fine. On the look out for an ultra thing micro hdmi cable now. Suggestions anyone?

I did notice the motors producing high pitch frequency sound on high, kind of went away on ultra high, and disappeared on low. Will have to look into that a bit more.

It also uses the odd 0.7mm dc sized plug so I couldn't use any of my other 12v power supplies on the day of the shoot so your stuck using their batteries unless you cut it and put on a universal dc adapter plug. Not ready to do that just yet ha. If anyone knows of 0.7mm dc adapter or where I could find a 0.7mm female dc plug thats not made for a circuit board that would be great.

I'd have to agree that the price is a bit much for it. If it had stayed at or just below the 2k mark as originally announced then I'd say its pretty good value for money considering it falls between the Ronin and lower budget gimbals. It may not be the best looking gimbal but its a well thought out gimbal in my books so far.

Had the chance to check both the Birdycam and Ronin at IBC. The Ronin is much nicer but kinda heavy (I tested it with an Epic). The Birdycam is super light but feels like a typical Varavon product, quite ok but not pro grade. Also when pushed its motors were struggling and making weird sounds which was considered normal by the salespeople in their booth. The Birdycam still has the great advantage of size/weight, but for that price? Simply no way..

Would you guys say it's necessary to have a friend on set to control pan and tilt? Am thinking about getting this but I mainly shoot solo so that may be a problem.

@Dancing Camera. Would love to hear your thoughts on this coming from Steady background.

I am considering one of these as a gear purchase before end of year tax time. Its between the Birdycam and the Ronin for me.

@peaceonearth

It is not pro operator or operator at all. Just guy who works at Varavon.

I'll be getting mine in on Thurs. Can't wait to test it with the BMCC 2.5k and the Pocket. Don't be surprised if this gimbal starts putting out much better results than the Ronin in the under 5lb body arena.

Controlling pan and tilt via an Android app... is freakin amazing. Just the movi control module to let you do that is more than the birdy.

@MRfanny vertical height cannot be shortened, if you want a smaller rig, they are releasing a smaller one later in the year.

as far as running, the amount of jitter is actually way more dependent on your ability to run smoothly. there is no gimbal that will give you no jitter at all while running, because that's an up and down movement, and these do not stabilize in that direction. there's no magic stabilizer that can get rid of the footfall of a bad operator.

I'd rather get this than the ronin because the ronin is so heavy it's unusable for most people(people think they can handle it, but they won't be able to) without other support. Even their ads have easyrigs and steadicams all over the place. That's with young strong professional steadicam guys.

If people have one, please review it. And please check every screw hole and spring to make sure they're machined properly.

I hate putting out this much money without touching one. But no rental house is going to carry them. I haven't found one in Scandinavia that carries even the Ronin. It's the over-priced movi all the way.

anyone been able to get a Black Magic Cinema camera with a large lens working well on this. it's near the weight limit.

totally not fragile, i've hung this thing out of the back of a truck and rode through a crazy dusty dry lake bed, taken it out on the ocean, and i even store it in a backpack and take it hiking. i've used it at least 4 times a week since i first got mine around two months ago and it's held up amazingly well. haven't had a single problem with the hardware whatsoever. if you were to look at it now you'd think it was brand new

That said, how on earth would I know how strong it is from looking at a picture? this is the video I'm talking about. When he attaches the sled, parts of the side look not all that robust.

This is probably their most technical product and I'm not sure they're up to it. If there can be a weak spot where there will be a lot of repeated torque, of course it would give one pause. I don't have a birdy to play with, so I have no idea.

So I'm waiting for a real review, not a quick look.