In this video I’ll show you how to set up a DJI RS 2 Pro Combo with a Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. You can skip directly to the relevant sections using the links below.
So, two days ago I received a new DJI RS 2 from Park Cameras. They replaced a faulty DJI RS2 gimbal immediately after I told them we had issues with the tilt motor. Great guys.
In this video I’ll show how I installed the RS2 with the Pocket Cinema Camera 4k or 6k from scratch and I’ll also show you a few tests I did in the park.
During the installation I struggled a bit with the focus motor, while during tests I struggled with vibrations.
The issue with the focus motor is due to the fact that the TILTA cage brings the camera up. So if you mount the focus motor system on the DJI quick release plate, the focus motor won’t be able to touch the focus gear on the lens. It might work with a larger lens. Maybe if you mount a Canon lens (plus MTF adapter) instead of a MTF lens the focus motor might be able to touch the focus gear.
So, I’ve mounted the focus system directly on the TILTA cage. However I could only mount one DJI screw. I had to order a set of M4 20mm screws. You can use these screws to mount the focus motor system on the TILTA half cage.
In terms of power, the power adapter I am using works perfectly well. With a fully charged internal LP-E6 battery and a Sony NP-F570 I got something like 1 hour and 36minutes continuous recording in raw 3 to 1 in the CCTECH CFAST. What you can do is that to get a bunch of these Sony batteries and replace them as soon as they die. They cost £10 each on Amazon.
Another thing I noticed is that closing the camera door isn’t good for the CFast adapter cable. Just leave it open.
So here are some tests I did in the park.
In terms of usability it works pretty well. Active tracking worked quite well. But I’ve had issues with vibrations when I was walking.
The system weight is 3.8Kg or 8.4 pounds. You might be more comfortable wearing a steadycam vest. But it was fine.
For some reasons the horizon did not seem to be right even after auto tuning.
This is an example of active tracking. I did set the active track speed to a very low value, 9. I did run behind a small tree and two people and it kept tracking me. Then for some reason, here it got confused.
I tried again, running at different speeds, and it worked fine.
So once again this a long micro four thirds lens, a 45mm lens, mounted on the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k. Tracking might be easier with a shorter lens.
Here I tried to use the 3D roll 360. Useless.
Here I tried to active track this lady. Still lots of vibrations. I haven’t turned supersmooth on yet.
Here I’m just walking. Lots of vibrations.
I then turned on supermooth.
Here I tried tracking again. Trying to go behind a tree. The active track lost me.
Here I’m walking with supersmooth on.
Here I tried to run. I might have the settings wrong. This gimbal is vibrating a lot. Supersmooth doesn’t seem to do anything to be honest.
The horizon is fine here. Here I tried to track this couple with the black dog.
When I tried to walk, active track worked well but as you can see there are lots of vibrations.
Here I was walking while tracking the bridge. Absolutely rubbish. We can see this better frame by frame.
Here again I was walking while tracking this tree.
So all these tests were done with the default stiffness, follow speed, and deadband settings. I might need to adjust the stiffness to fix vibrations, even though AutoTune is supposed to do the job automatically.
I hope this is not another defective DJI Ronin RS2.
So I hope this short guide for the setup of a DJI RS2 Pro Combo with a Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera was useful. If you found this useful please subscribe and turn the notification bell on, like, and leave a comment below.