Blackmagic Design Micro Cinema Camera gimbal

A

Andrew Prince

Member
Hi all!

Thought I'd just do a quick introduction. I'm Andrew. I'm based in the UK and I have a video production company, looking to expand into aerial video. I've been flying a DJI F550 self build (NAZA V2 + GPS, Zenmuse H3-3D) for over a year now and I recently passed my EuroUSC BNUC-S qualification to gain permission for aerial work from the CAA.

I have recently been listening to the Multirotor podcast (now called DroneVibes) from episode #015 onwards and I'm currently on episode #040. It's great for listening to in the car on long journeys. So just wanted to say thanks to the guys who put that together for us. I'm hoping to get to the latest episode as fast as possible so that I'm up-to-date.

The reason I signed up for this forum is to discuss my new build. I've not actually started it yet, but I'm looking for advice on lifting a Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera. Specifically, I need to find a worthy gimbal that's within my price range. I'm assuming that DJI will bring out a compatible Zenmuse gimbal based on the fact that this BMD camera looks perfect on paper for flying on a UAV. I'm also assuming that Zenmuse gimbal will have a typical Zenmuse price point, which I believe is a little high for what it is.

Anyway, enough speculation from me. Anyone have any thoughts on the new BMD Micro Cinema Camera? Anyone come across a worthy gimbal? Anyone have any recommendations for a frame to support it? Discuss! :)

Kind regards, Andrew
www.carillonvideo.co.uk
www.mama-genesis.co.uk
 

Petr Hejl

Petr Hejl

Staff Member
Moderator
Hi @Andrew Prince , thank you for joining in and congratulations on passing your exam. The Black Magic Micro seems to have been created for UAS aerial videography, I've seen the camera, but have not had an opportunity to fly it yet. I'm actually surprised that DJI has not come out with a gimbal that supports this camera yet. I do agree with you on the price of Zenmuse gimbals being a bit steep, but somehow I find them worth it, they simply work (for the most:). If you;re looking for some more reasonably priced solution, I would recommend taking a look at www.flyrecord.cz . This is my friend's company, he has been in business longer than I've been flying drones (long time, lol), and manufactures some great gimbals (down to making his own motors, etc.). He is currently helping me with a gimbal project, and is great to work with.
By the way, DJI F550 was my first machine with gimbal (Tarot T2D, the Zenmuse H3-2d was $700 back then), I love this copter and still have it, even though I moved to Inspire for my commercial work.
Cheers to props!
 

A

Andrew Prince

Member
Hi Petr,

Indeed, it certainly seems that is the market BMD is aiming for. I mean, to include S-Bus and PWM channels in the expansion port - that's just asking for drone fliers. :)

I don't think the camera has been released yet and my build project is probably going to take a few months or maybe a year to put together. I have lots of things on the go at the moment. But I'll be sure to check out that website you recommended. I agree on the Zenmuse thing - my H3-3D is a very nice piece of kit. Rock solid and never lets me down.

Also, I enjoyed the podcasts you appeared in (I'm now up to #041) so thanks for sharing. :)

Kind regards, A.
www.carillonvideo.co.uk
www.mama-genesis.co.uk
 

Arbutus

Arbutus

New Member
HighCee Engineering make the BMMCC Pro gimbal, specifically for this camera. It is light weight and features a continuous 360 degree yaw rotation for smooth pan shots. The gimbal will carry the BMMCC with battery and lenses from pancake to zooms such as the Panasonic Lumix 14-45 OIS.

There is also a 2000mW VTX transmitter for composite video to the ground station.

The custom cable allows composite video, full camera control via SBus (shutter, iris, zoom, etc) and 12v power to maintain the battery charge.

http://highcee.com/blackmagic-pro-gimbal
 

Petr Hejl

Petr Hejl

Staff Member
Moderator
@Arbutus , this actually looks pretty good, I like the s-bus remote capability, continuous 360degree pan, and the video transmitter mounted on the vertical arm - I had to pause at the 2000mW transmitter (that's a lot of power, they claim 20km range, which is a bit overkill I think).
I'll try to reach out to these folks and see if we can get them for an interview (are you involved with HighCee?).
 


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