To Ecilop or not to Ecilop?

[DDuncan]

Ok, so I'm heading toward buying and building an Ecilop Easy Plus. Done tons of research, and it looks like a fantastic AV platform.

But...

I see so many Octo's and discovery's lately, that are RTF, tuned and tricked out for the same amount or cheaper. This is a mass appeal to all multi/octo fans out there that use these for a professional shooting platform. If this were your decision, which way would YOU go? I can't promise it'll influence my decision, but I'm interested to see varying opinions...

Oh, and this isn't a RTF vs Build your own debate. Build your own is always better, for obvious reasons. Just taking all things into account: ease of use, readiness, etc.

 

[jamienz]

I had an ecilop - "upgraded" to an S800.... sold the S800/Zenmuse. Ecilop is amazing when set up right. Best value for money system for creating smooth video in my opinion.

 

[jcmonty]

you lost me at octo's and discoveries. An octo and discovery and completely different animals, with complelely different purposes for the most part.

I can't speak for the ecilop, but with the brushless gimbals out there (DIY and ones on the market) - it's hard for me to see the point in getting an ecilop. To each his own

 

[DDuncan]

Good point jcmonty, I mention octos and discovery's just because I've seen so many lately. Really just a 'cover all' statement.

On your other point, i couldn't agree more. I think the price is the key, a great brushless gimbal would cost 70% of the gross Ecilop. That doesn't even start taking the rest of the machine into account.

 

[jcmonty]

Not sure the price on the Ecilop, but BL gimbal are actually cheaper than most servo gimbals. My BL gimbal roughly cost me $350 and it's holding up to my 950g GH3 no problem. Granted it's something i worked with teh designer and we experimented a bit, but the point is that the prices aren't that out there right now.

Now if you are talking the MOVI.. that's a whole 'nother topic Though we are working on a large, MOVI-esque in size, 3 axis version right now. It should be interesting.

 

[jamienz]

One thing that I like about the Ecilop is that its an integrated package - you don't have to worry about putting things together, the frame and gimbal work together really well. You never get props or landing gear in the shot and it has vibration isolation built in. So far I think its easier to set up than a brushless gimbal, but that will probably change soon as the brushless setups get easier and more of them come plug and play a-la zenmuse.


If you buy the right equipment for the Ecilop its a pretty easy setup these days and works as well as the brushless gimbals in my opinion.