Freefly MoVI M5 VS M10

[Giovanni59]

I'm about to invest in a Freefly system, time to move on and away from Alex Mos, (which has enabled me to produce some excellent footage but there are just too many issues.

So I am hoping there are users out there that can put their 2 cents into this.
Brand new the M5 is $4000 and comes with Spektrum DX8 and Pelican case.
Brand new the M10 is about $8000 and does not come with a case.

The differences as far as I can discern:
M5- Cons:
5 lbs load limit, heavier than M10, not all carbon fiber
M5-Pros: Comes with camera cage, comes with tooless pan knuckle

M10 Cons: $100 upgrade to get tooless pan knuckle, $300 upgrade for camera cage.
M10 Pros: 12 lbs load limit, all carbon fiber

I got advice that the M5 will balance easier if using GH4 - 5D cameras.
M10 harder to calibrate those cameras, however they are perfect for larger cameras like Red Epic.

I am going to fly a GH4 but I am leaning toward the M10 for the ability to fly larger cameras down the road.
It will hang from an 1100mm MR made by Hexacrafter, the HC1100, U7 Tiger motors, WKM

I have found a used M10 I can pick up for $4500, (no case, no upgrades). I just want to make sure that getting it rather than the M5 is the way to go.

Please, if anyone has any info or advice please post.
Thanks

 

[Carapau]

I have found that the M10 doesn't actually perform that well with lighter cameras so personally I would go for the M5, save the difference and then put that towards the M10 as and when the time comes to get it. I have had an M10 and an M15. Both perform superbly with the heavier cameras but flaws start to show with the lighter ones especially if you don't have the full cage.

 

[SleepyC]

It really depends on what you think you will be flying. I have an M5 and it's great and I actually use it A LOT handheld and have flown a GH3/4 and BBPCC and even a C100 (small lens) on it and it worked great. But I have been getting a lot of requests to fly REDs and C300 lately and the M5 will not handle that at all.

If you look on eBay you can snag slightly used M10's for $5K - $6K all day long.... I'd roll in that direction. It's easy to add a camera frame to a GH3/4, BMPCC to give it a little weight, and there are some awesome heavy lenses out there for M4/3 and with an adaptor Canon lenses...

I'd say M10... I'm eyeballing that or the Gremsey gStabi H14 right now.

 

[Giovanni59]

SleepyC, that is exactly what I was thinking, I can add the cage for stability and give it some weight and I am all set if I need to fly something bigger but can also fly the GH4. I am also thinking about going for the Sony A7s instead, which is 4K but needs to output to an external recorder, so again the added wieght will only benefit the performance of the gimbal, however it will shorten my flight times.
I was a little worried because I was starting to get more and more advice to go with the M5 but I can get a really good deal, $4500 for an M10.

 

[SleepyC]

Dude... $4500 for an M10.. it's not even a second thought... DO IT!

Errr.. I mean... NOOOO M10 BAD.. STAY CLEAR DON'T DO IT!!
And just send me the link to the $4500 M10 so I can steer others away as well.

 

[Carapau]

If you are still umming and aarring over the load then the M10 does start to make sense, especially if thinking about the A7 and external recorder. The main thing to realise is that the M10 needs a bit of weight in its load to work well. If you can accept that slight negative then you wont be disappointed by the M10 and the price is pretty good so go for it.

 

[Kari]

I use bmpc 4k with ef 16-35/2.8 as a main camera on slightly modified (longer tubes) M5 and i get fantastic results. Weight is similar than same setup with epic (around 200g less). To be honest i have to disagree M5 couldn't handle heavier cameras. Motors are physically same size than M10, don't know about the controller but i have never managed to get anything warm with load. What are the issues people are having with M5 and heavier cameras, i'd like to hear?

 

[Kari]

Also i have to add that i have never managed to tune M5 so well with lighter cameras like bmpcc or gh4 as it is now with bmpc. I noticed it likes some weight and load.

 

[ovdt]

Okay, I own M5 and M10 and what I can say about these:

* You can use Red Epic with a light lens on M5. It works perfectly. We use C300 on M5 constantly. We don't have a single issue.
* Without the cage upgrade, M10 performans worse than M5 for aerial filming. If you want M10 to perform as good as M5, you need full cage upgrade. After the upgrade, you can use lighter cameras.
* The motors on these gimbals are the same. Only the construction of the gimbal is different. M10 is more rigid; all connection parts are aluminium where M5 is plastic.
* BMCC is pain to balance on M5. It's much easier on M10. The reason is, with M5 you can't move the roll bar for balancing; which limits the the design.

You can get M5 and happily use it almost for everything

 

[SleepyC]

I tried to use a c300 on my M5 with a larger lens Weight was around 6.5 lbs and I started to hear noise from the motors and they did get warm... has anyone put HOURS on to their M5 with 6 - 7 lbs on it and can say it did not fail or damage the unit?

 

[Bartman]

You can use Red Epic with a light lens on M5. It works perfectly.

what was the weight of the camera/lens only (not including the gimbal) in this configuration?

 

[Kari]

I agree bmpc is pain to balance to M5 and needs custom bnc cable to be made for fit. But once it's done it will fit and balance perfectly. Changing roll bar to adjustable would make it much easier. SleepyC my camera/lens/converters etc weight is over 6lbs and i dont have issues. But you might need to reduce pan stiffness quite a lot from autotune values especially when flying in cold.

 

[ovdt]

what was the weight of the camera/lens only (not including the gimbal) in this configuration?

Lens choice is a bit limited. The biggest lens set that can be used on Red Epic on M5 is Zeiss Super Speed series. (except the 18mm).

Other than this, most Canon EF lenses (16-35, 24mm, 14mm, 28mm, 35 mm) balance perfectly.

Zeiss Distagon series also balance perfectly.

You need to make Red Epic back heavy so, you can push the camera forward. There is not enough clearance at the back of the gimbal, so you are limited to certain lenses.

And the Red Epic should be naked; I power the camera with a Movi M10 battery and it lasts around 15-20 minutes.

 

[Bartman]

ok, thanks!

 

[sk8brd]

so how good is the m5 guys with a gh4 ..any of you getting shots so stable you don't need to stabilize in post? raw video wise how does it compare to zennmuse if any of you used both.. i'm getting ready to jump ship from dji...after the last defective gimbal arrived i have pretty much had it with dji stuff tbh.

 

[SleepyC]

so how good is the m5 guys with a gh4 ..any of you getting shots so stable you don't need to stabilize in post? raw video wise how does it compare to zennmuse if any of you used both.. i'm getting ready to jump ship from dji...after the last defective gimbal arrived i have pretty much had it with dji stuff tbh.

100%.

Handheld and in the air. I have had nothing I can post for a while (Production owns the footage) but it works perfectly. May take a few tweaks on the tune (i.e., just bumping up the stiffness 1 - 5 points, not like AM tuning)

I want more MOVI's! I want a 10 and a 15.. but my wife took my CC away.

 

[sk8brd]

thanks for you input sleepyc

 

[PMaughan]

so how good is the m5 guys with a gh4 ..any of you getting shots so stable you don't need to stabilize in post? raw video wise how does it compare to zennmuse if any of you used both.. i'm getting ready to jump ship from dji...after the last defective gimbal arrived i have pretty much had it with dji stuff tbh.

Mines very good especially now I've ditched the toad ' hole, getting much better stiffness and no wobbles which I was getting when flying into into wind. I would say you wouldn't need to stabilise what I'm getting now.

Just bought some longer tubes for the cage to see about using an Epic with it.

 

[PMaughan]

Oh and I'd say the footage is as good as the zen when the zen is playing nicely with the added bonus of better horizon on the movi.

 

[sk8brd]

thanks pmaughn for the input. i'm sold on the m5. just being able to use a variety of cams and different lenses is huge plus alone.