ZHIYUN Crane 3S + Red Komodo 2021 | Storytelling with Camera movements

ZHIYUN Crane 3S + Red Komodo 2021 | Storytelling with Camera movements
Over the years, I've spent a lot of money on gear that ends up sitting on a shelf... including gimbals, cameras and lights costing tens of thousands of dollars. These days, I'm more only investing in kit that I know I have a use for, rather than hoping I'll be able to fit into my production style.
The Zhiyun Crane 3S has been with us on at least 50% of our projects since it's arrived and it's only going to become more useful as I get more and more comfortable with it. With motors stronger than the DJI Ronin RS 2, capable of flying a Red DSMC2 camera with a cinema lens... this portable beast has been a super helpful addition to the kit.

[@brivnii]

Awesome review and aI loved your reasoning behind the purchase. Even the skateboard serves a great function to storytelling if used in the right hands.

[@BradWatanabe]

That skateboard has been a great part of the kit and always stays in my car just for this reason. Mahalo!

[@TobiasReeuwijk]

@@BradWatanabe mean set up! And u gotta rock that GoPro helmet for safety and BTS. For all da keiki who think protection ain’t cool.

[@GriffinConway]

Dope video Brad! Looks like a killer setup

[@BradWatanabe]

Thanks brother. It's been a pretty nice and compact way to get some floating shots.

[@instaMERSION]

That combo is 🔥

[@BradWatanabe]

Really digging it brother. Stoked to shoot with you again brother.

[@Exploredinary]

Love the crane 3s and so happy to see this video since most are raving about the DJI RS2! I have been using the 3s with the S1h and will be putting a Komodo on there when it comes in! That bike shot at 2:43 is AMAZING! Have you tried the Zhiyun follow focus motors yet? Pretty sweet to be able to pull focus while under-slung !

[@BradWatanabe]

I've got the focus motors, but haven't really gotten it into the mix. That's one extra step for setup that I haven't really dialed into my workflow, but really need to get that going. Thanks for the rad comments.

[@jurritvandermeulen4196]

Hey man! Great video! Can you share with me your motor settings and other stuff that’s good to know from the Zhiyun Crane 3s? I use it with a lighter Komodo setup then you’re doing but I can’t seem to loose a wiggle that’s always there horizontally. Would love to know how you’ve managed to loose that!

[@bradleykussy]

I see people saying that mounting a monitor to the top of the komodo is a bad idea when using the 3s. I guess it puts a lot of stress on the motors or it can inevitably cause issues. I noticed the extension arm - wondering if you feel it hinders your movement or just general use of the komodo + crane3s

[@BradWatanabe]

Sorry for the late reply, but we've actually used a monitor on komodo with Crane 3S because the motors are powerful enough to counter act the weight. What we've found isn't that the weight is a problem, moreso that the monitor changes the center of gravity on the camera... which can cause so wobbles on the yaw. We actually prefer getting the monitor off camera for that reason alone. We've gotten much more reliable performance.

[@jessepetrini]

Killer video!! what are you using to connect the monitor to the arm??

[@BradWatanabe]

Thanks much Jesse! A lot of the time, we got away with just using the monitor (with peaking) on the top of the Komodo, however, for more important and longer gimbal setups, this Smallrig monitor mount designed specifically for Crane 3S, is perfect: amzn.to/3rCxxCM

[@isaiahpadilla3588]

I've been struggling with shaking. I have adjusted the motor settings which helped a little, I was told that adding more weight was another possible solution, seeing as how the BMPCC4k is a very light camera, even in combination with my speedbooster and Sigma 18-35. So I put it all inside of a 8sinn cage and mounted a Samsung T5 SSD to the top. My follow focus just came in today so I can add that in as well. To be fair it did increase the payload noticeably, however It doesn't fit well on the Crane 3s. I wonder if the Smallrig one would be better? I suppose that if it came down to it, I could always get a half cage but that would cause unwanted weight reduction hmmmmm.