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Review on ๐ŸŽฅ Vidpro MH-430 Motorized Pan & Tilt Gimbal Head โ€“ Complete Set with Joystick, Cables, Adapter, Carrying Case โ€“ Remote Control for DSLR Camcorder Video Equipment by Ryan Nguyen

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Better than some others; Controller can be upgraded

I have one of these that I use with the AG-CX350. I also have a Bescor MP-1E that I use with an old Canon XH-A1 and four NDI-HX PTZ cameras. Each has advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage over PTZ cameras is that you can use a higher quality camera with a larger sensor. The main disadvantage is that it is impossible to save and restore positions. The main advantage over Beskor is that he is much, much faster. This gimbal can spin fast enough to deal with almost anything sentient while the bescor struggles to stay ahead of a person walking 20 feet away. One of the downsides of this stabilizer is that it has a lot of play, especially in the vertical tilt direction. I haven't had time to analyze why that is, but it's pretty obvious that you can move the front of the camera an inch or more without moving the motors at all. Luckily this wasn't a big problem for me in practice as gravity always pushes the camera in the same direction, but under certain conditions it can be. Primitive. It uses DIP switches for the joystick in each direction, combined with a separate button to control the driving speed. This means that each direction either moves or it doesn't, and both directions must move at the same speed. One-handed operation is not possible if you don't value graceful movements (slow up/down). Totally independent speed control in both directions by adjusting how hard I push the joystick. Later I implemented variable speed zoom control via LANC for even more control. With this custom control box, this gimbal is pretty easy to handle. If you're comfortable with some really simple soldering and want to build your own custom control box, all you need is an Arduino, analog joystick and Pololu Dual MC33926. a motor shield, a couple of jumpers and matching DC connectors for the motor control part, plus a breadboard of about 2x2, half a dozen inexpensive components, a 1/8" stereo jack, a 1/8" audio cable, and a stereo mini-to -Stereo submini adapter for the LANC side. You can download the source code (along with a link to the LANC hardware schematic) by searching "arduino_ptz" on Github. me to save and restore positions completely. I will definitely add a reference to this project in the arduino_ptz README if it works. and a stereo-mini-stereo-submini adapter for the LANC side. You can download the source code (along with a link to the LANC hardware schematic), by searching "arduino_ptz" on Github. me to save and restore positions completely. I'll be sure to add a reference to this project in the arduino_ptz README if and when it works. and a stereo-mini-stereo-submini adapter for the LANC side. You can download the source code (along with a link to the LANC hardware schematic) by searching "arduino_ptz" on Github. me to save and restore positions completely. I'll be sure to add a reference to this project in the arduino_ptz README if and when it works. and a stereo-mini-stereo-submini adapter for the LANC side. You can download the source code (along with a link to the LANC hardware schematic) by searching "arduino_ptz" on Github. me to save and restore positions completely. I'll be sure to add a reference to this project in the arduino_ptz README if and when it works. and a stereo-mini-stereo-submini adapter for the LANC side. You can download the source code (along with a link to the LANC hardware schematic) by searching "arduino_ptz" on Github. me to save and restore positions completely. I'll be sure to add a reference to this project in the arduino_ptz README if and when it works.

Pros
  • 10 Piece Set: Vidpro Heavy Duty Gimbal Headunit comes complete with two DC geared motors, joystick control module, two (20ft) DC cables, 12v power supply, two cable velcro straps and a soft carrying case.
Cons
  • Not bad, but...