One of the most popular Gimbal Stabilizers announced at NAB 2015 was the smaller DJI Ronin-M. Though the system is about half the size of the original Ronin, there are still quite a bit of accessories that you need to travel with, so many owners will want a solid case.
DJI Ronin-M Gimbal Stabilizer for Cameras up to 8 lbs
Unlike the original Ronin, the Ronin-M does not come standard with it's own case and despite the excellent build quality, there are many fragile parts to the Ronin-M including exposed wires and a fragile remote that you want to transport in a hard case (not soft).
So here's one Hard Case we opted to use for our DJI Ronin-M kit, as it meets carry-on size requirements when flying, and is custom designed to neatly carry every single part including a spare battery.
Custom Hard Case for DJI Ronin-M Gimbal Carry On Size
Of course if you want to save some cash, and want to try and modify one for yourself, you can always start with just the basic Pelican iM2600 case with Foam (found here).
Pelican iM2600 Storm Case with Foam (not modified for Ronin-M)
Kris
Has anybody tried the i2600 Pelican case with the Ronin M? I bought it based on seeing a video from this site but after looking at all the included pieces I'm not sure how it's going to fit?
Gabriel
Pops,
For me the pro of the Ronin were: Smooth footage (I could pull of some amazing shots), I was able to open the articulating screen on my Gh4, it comes with clamps for mounting, and the carrying case... The Cons: Heavy, really Heavy, and very Heavy.
The Pros for the Ronin M: Light, very nice build quality.
The Cons for the Ronin M (for me): I couldn't open my articulating screen, wasn't as smooth.
It was a tough decision, because I really wanted to like. I still want reasons to buy it back, but ultimately I need smooth footage. Though... I will be buying this case if/when I buy it back. Perhaps I will post some comparison footage.
Emm, great work.
Pops
I presently have both the original Ronin and the M. I too am still not sure the pro and cons of each. The auto balance seems to be more accurate on the M. But.. I've been experiencing some odd behaviors when trying to transition between all 3 modes. I do have the most current IMU firmware installed as well. Honestly, no handheld gimbal is going to work miracles. But.. I don't feel these are better than my home built 16bit rig either (footage wise). Other than they far more professional "looking" and versatile for camera setups. But.. I find I'm normally running the same camera anyway.
Sorry, I don't have any words of wisdom to share at the present time either. The best tool is the one that works for you. One is too heavy and the other is meh thus far.
Gabriel
Emm,
I am one of the ones that returned my Ronin M and kept my original Ronin. If you figure out the best configuration for your Ronin M please share them. I would much rather the weight of the Ronin M, but really my #1 priority is smooth footage. Thank you!
Emm
Post author@Ryan G - The Ronin M and Came-Mini are very very different. The Ronin-M is the size of the CameTV 7800. The Mini or Mini2 is half the size. The Moza Lite i'm guessing would still be bigger than the Mini.
Ryan G
@Emm - Have you had a chance to use the Moza gimabl? They just released a "Lite" version that seems like a good alternative to the Ronin M or the Came Mini.
Emm
Post author@Mark r - Yes I have been fiddling with manual tuning. Too stiff is not a good thing, but not enough power means it can't handle extra weight. I had Sony + metabones + tokina 11-16mm on there and the moment I added a front ND filter it started sagging (while powered on). The original Ronin could compensate very well, but this smaller one needs some tweaking, and i'm still trying to find my preference.
Emm
Post author@T2 - No I haven't, but it seemed pretty limited with it's profiles.
T2
Emm - Have you handled the Defy G2X yet?
Mark r
Hey Emm have you tried manually tuning the ronin m? I wasn't so sure about it at first but found a tip where you increase motor stiffness until it vibrates, then back off a bit. This has made a HUGE difference to my footage and now everything is silky smooth. I shot a wedding the other day and it was really amazing. It started tilting at one point in the day (I think it got knocked) but a 20 sec re-calibration and all good.
Also regarding transportation I'm finding that I can pack the main part of the gimbal into a 15" padded laptop sleeve which I can then put in a backpack. It feels pretty well protected and super portable.
Emm
Post author@Kevin Martis - The Ronin-M has lots of mixed reviews, and I agree with most of them. Many of those reviewers even ended up returning the item (as they try to compare it with original Ronin performance).
For me, this version from DJI is not as stable as the original Ronin, even if you're just using a small camera setup. There's some tuning to do, and I haven't used it long enough to know how to perfectly fix these little issues. If you asked me right now, I would say it's good, and better than most gimbals, but not 'great'. I'm sure many of the problems could just be me, and that I need to just change a few things. Maybe once I have enough time to spend tweaking it and understanding it, I can say something different. For the money, if you need to fly up to 8 lbs, yeah it's worth it so long as you don't expect the same performance that you find in the big Ronin.
But as I keep reminding people the Nebula 4000 is an 8 bit system that supports tiny cameras ONLY. The CAME-MINI2 is a 32 Bit system, but still only is best used somewhere around 2 lbs. The RONIN-M is listed to support 8 lbs (4x the supported weight, but it is twice the size of the CAME-MINI2). There's no denying they are very different, and if you want overall versatile, get the BIG RONIN, or at least RONIN-M.
Kevin Martis
Emm,
Useful I guess. More useful would be your trusted, expert, unbiased, opinion on how the actual Ronin-M compares against Came Mini, Nebula, Varavon, etc and the other Gimbals in the $800 to $1400 range. I know you say they are all different animals etc., which is true. If you had to buy one versatile animal in this range, what would it be?
Most of us just can just buy one, and can't buy 3 different types. Even though Ronin M has had mixed reviews it seems to be the safest bet in that range? All things considered.
I know you won't come out and say one is the best overall value, but maybe the plus's and minus's of the Ronin M would be fine. So hard to pull the trigger in this class, they just keep getting better & cheaper.