Jun 17, 2015 Gimbal
I thought I’d share something really awesome – just something you can tell your friends about… So what’s a Gimbal? It sounds like a character from Middle Earth, but it’s something actually more useful. Here’s wiki’s definition:
A gimbal is a pivoted support that allows the rotation of an object about a single axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of the rotation of its support (e.g. vertical in the first animation). For example, on a ship, the gyroscopes, shipboard compasses, stoves, and even drink holders typically use gimbals to keep them upright with respect to the horizon despite the ship’s pitching and rolling.
It’s basically a device that makes things look amazingly smooth when you shoot something. You’ve definitely seen the end result of using one, but watching one in action is like watching a magician do their thing. I pulled together some examples that have popped up in the past that are just fun and interesting to watch.
The DSLR Gimbal, probably what many movies are shot on, are also known as the steady cam.
Fly-X3: The Handy Motorized Phone Stabilizer This gimbal almost makes it in to the consumers hands, but I believe $400 is still a bit out of range for consumers who probably don’t actually need one for work.
Micro Drone 3.0 This actually popped up recently, and I noticed they were producing a miniature gimbal for this drone to get steady shots as you are flying around.
Now you know what a gimbal is and may even consider buying one to take on a road trip. #themoreyouknow