A great camera ACCessory in the AK.....the Accsoon 3 axis gimbal

     First off, just to be clear, I am not being paid for this review.  I did not receive
the gimbal for free as some reviewers do.  I paid the same price as anyone else
will that buys this gimbal (you can find it from $529-$599 on Amazon.)  So
Accsoon is not influencing me in any way.  I'm just giving my honest
opinions on the gimbal.  With that out of the way....let's get on to the review!
(If you want to just skip to the demo footage, click here.)

What is the 'coolest' thing in this picture?

The Accsoon A1-S  3 axis gimbal in front of the Mendenhall Glacier 

     I'm going to be like that annoying neighbor and blame drones.  But unlike him, I
have a reason outside the usual 'someone must be spying on me.....stupid drones.
You see drones have been so popular with filmmakers not only because of their ability
to get aerial views that were previously impossible or cost prohibitive, (a Tyler mount
and helicopter rental were the 'old school' option$$$) but also because of the

silky smooth footage that they gave you.  It was like your camera was gliding on

tracks.  This smooth footage is directly attributable to the 3 axis gimbal that

holds the camera on the drone.  In fact, older drones which did NOT have gimbals, 

honestly gave you pretty crap footage.  It was only once the 3 axis gimbal was
introduced onto a drone, that their popularity 'soared'.

No gimbal?  Jello footage with extra wobble!

     It didn't take long for companies to introduce a handheld version.  The Movi M10
was the first one I am aware of, and  it was pretty expensive ($14,995 when
introduced.)  But as is usually the case with technology, before long,
competing companies were everywhere and now handheld gimbals are 'the'
accessory to have, well, right after you buy a drone anyways.  Most filmmakers
and video companies have not only a drone, but some sort of a handheld gimbal.
Also, as mirrorless cameras became even better, (Sony A7III, Panasonic GH5,
BlackMagic Pocket Cinema camera) and many others, single handed 'pistol grip'
style 3 axis gimbals were introduced to work with these smaller cameras.

Now some of you may have been working in video long enough to remember the
Merlin Steadicam.  This system used counterweights to try and deliver a mini
'Steadicam look.'  My main issue with this older system was the 'pendulum'
effect you'd get, as it was just too 'touchy'.  It was almost impossible to keep
a level horizon.....especially when going around a corner.  This was sort of the
'forerunner' for the modern single handed 'pistol grip' gimbals for small cameras.
I found this old B&H video promoting the Merlin interesting as it really shows
you how good the tech in these new 3 axis gimbals is.

 Can you spot the rare sighting of a level horizon??

     One newer gimbal which has been drawing a lot of attention is the Ronin S.
It is made by DJI who draws on it's obvious experience creating gimbals for
drones and earlier 2 handed gimbals like the Ronin M.  This Ronin S however
is one of the 'pistol grip' style one handed gimbals.

Ronin S

     These one handed gimbals are similar to the Merlin, except instead of using
weights to counterbalance the camera, there are three motors doing the 'heavy
lifting'.  One reason the Ronin S received so much attention was that it put the back
motor lower than the standard single handed gimbal, so as not to block the
view of the screen on a DSLR or mirrorless camera.  But DJI is far from
the only company to do this.  Some of the other gimbals which also have the
angled back motor are: the Pilotfly 45, Nebula Slant, the Ikan Pivot, Ikan DS2-A
Beholder and the Feiyutech A4000 and the Accsoon A-1S.  This feature is really
nice though, because not only does this give you an unobstructed view of the
camera's screen (for cameras where the screen cannot flip out to the side) but it
also allows you to balance more camera and lens combinations, since you can
slide the camera back farther, without the possibility of the camera hitting the back motor

Accsoon A1-S has the tilted back motor

No blocking of the screen

     Another feature of the Ronin S, is a screw in tripod on the base of the gimbal so 

that you can balance it (or take a break from holding the gimbal) pretty much anywhere. The Accsoon A1-S  also has one of these tripods.

Removable tripod

Balance anywhere, take a break anywhere!

     Recently,  I was able to mess around with a Ronin S on a shoot I was working
on with another company and it seemed to work really well with the GH5 camera
that they were using.  The only real downside to the Ronin S that I noticed was that
it was a fairly heavy rig......and especially with one handed gimbals, it's nice to have
as light of a rig as possible.  So, when, I began to look for a gimbal for my company.
I wanted something like the Ronin S with all or most of it's features.....only I also
wanted the gimbal to be lighter than the Ronin S!  The camera I was planning to use as
my 'gimbal camera' was a Sony A6500. The A6500 does not have a flip out screen, it
can only tilt up and down, so it's fairly important to have the angled motor so that you
can view your screen while filming.  Other features of the Ronin, like it's hefty payload,
the included tripod, and the 'Inception' or 'Infinite Roll' mode (which allows you to
rotate 360 degrees) were also really nice.

Inception mode

     Honestly, I really liked the Ronin S, except for the weight.  Call me shallow,
I wanted something as close to the Ronin S as possible, but much lighter!
As I did my research I came across the Accsoon A1-S gimbal.  It had the angled motor.
It could hold cameras up to 3.6kg or around 7.9 pounds.  It had the screw in tripod
on the bottom so you can balance it anywhere. Battery life claimed to be 12-15 hours.
No tools needed to setup your camera.  All features of the Ronin S.  But, it was
significantly lighter than the Ronin S.  As a bonus, it could also control the zoom of
any Sony power zoom lens from the handle of the gimbal......perfect for walking
forward while zooming out or vice versa to get that 'dolly zoom' effect.  Ok, that
might be a stretch, but for quick B-roll shots it's nice to be able to change focal lengths
on your lens.  With the Sony 18-105PZ lens it will also kick in the 'clear zoom'
function giving you a total zoom range of 18-210 using the zoom controller on the
gimbal.  And since the zoom is internal, the gimbal easily compensates for any
small weight distribution change, allowing you to use the zoom at any focal length
while on the gimbal without having to rebalance when you change the zoom.
Total cost for this gimbal was $599 or $100 cheaper than the Ronin S (although I have
seen it on Amazon since I bought it, even cheaper for $529.)  I took the plunge...and
hit 'order.'

Yay!  It's here....but wait...what's wrong #&*^!!!

     When I received my gimbal, I quickly opened it up, and balanced it as best
as I could.  Then I turned on the gimbal.  A blue light came on indicating it
was in 'standby' mode but the motors did NOT turn on (for your info, the blinking
green light indicates the battery status....the more blinks of the green light, the more
power left on the battery.)  The blinking blue light is the one that indicates which
mode you are in......pan follow, follow, lock mode, 'inception' mode etc.....
I tried switching modes, turning it off and on again moving the joystick, recharging
the batteries, literally everything I could think of.  Nothing changed, the gimbal would
not turn on and. I just got the 'blue light of doom'.   Here is a videos showing you
exactly what this looked like.  Note, the camera is balanced, but that is due to me
balancing the three axis, the motors are not on and never come on.

      UGH!  After waiting impatiently for the gimbal to arrive.....and when I got it it didn't work!       

This is the exact situation that people dread.  You went ahead and bought something

from an unknown company and now you need support.  My first problem was finding
out how to contact them.  I had bought the gimbal through Amazon so I went back to
Amazon and  found an 'email the manufacturer a question' type button which I
used to send an email.   Within 15 minutes, I had a reply in my email box directing
me to their Facebook page where I could open a DM (direct message) to chat
with tech support.  Now I will note, that due to the time difference between Alaska
and Hong Kong, I usually had to initiate contact around 11 at night and stay up a
couple hours to work through some things.  It was also a weeklong holiday
in Hong Kong.  Allowing for all that, plus the probability of English being
the 2nd language of the person who was helping me, I felt pretty good about the
speed with which they helped me.  They had to email me a program to run
on my computer while hooked up to the gimbal but the program wouldn't
run so they ended up having to email me drivers as well.  Unfortunately it
was a Windows only program and I'm a Mac shop so I had to borrow my wife's
laptop.  This whole process took a couple days, but eventually the problem was
diagnosed as non functioning motors.   As soon as that diagnosis was made,
a new gimbal was shipped off to me.  I really have to say, Accsoon showed that
they are going to take care of their customers if there is a problem.  To me, that is
a very important quality for a business to have.  I don't expect perfection and I
understand mistakes can be made.  But it's how you deal with those mistakes and
take care of your customer's that is important.  Accsoon get's high marks from
me for understanding this!

Diagnosis 'motors aren't working'.  Yup, clear as mud!

     After receiving the new gimbal, I charged the batteries and started it up.  This time
everything worked perfectly. I found there is also an app on your phone which 
allows you to control the gimbal.  It has a variety of settings.  One of the first things 
you can do is check the balance and see how good of a job you have done.....the better 
balance you have achieved, the less work the motors have to do.

I think my balance job might be ok.....

     The app also allows you to use motion time-lapse, motion control, panorama

and ultra wide modes.  You set the position of the camera, enter a keyframe and

then move the camera to it's next position and set another keyframe and repeat until

you have your 'motion path' set.  You can program it for how long it takes to move

from one keyframe to another and if using the motion time-lapse, how often it will take a

picture....1 frame per second, 1 frame every 5 seconds, etc....The app really works well 

and you can also control the motion of the gimbal from a virtual 'joystick' on your phone,

in the same way that you control it from the built in joystick.  This might be useful if you

were doing two camera interviews and you were manning the other camera for example.  

The app for this gimbal is actually surprisingly good!

     Unfortunately during the time between getting the nonfunctioning one and getting
the functioning one, I had injured my right hand and arm.  But hey, it's a one handed
gimbal after all so I decided to shoot some example footage using my left hand.
So please note, I am not an experienced gimbal operator and this was actually
my first time ever using a gimbal... (although I used to shoot with my Merlin
a decent amount so I know some of the shooting techniques) and this is
using my left hand.  I know that slow motion footage isn't nearly as useful
when watching test footage but I had to use a little as it just looks so cool!
Don't worry, there is plenty of regular 24p footage in the video.  As a matter
of fact, there is probably so much example footage that you will be insanely
bored before the end of the video.
     Finally, a quick word about gimbals.  You may notice a little bit of vertical 'bobbing'
movement in this footage.  This is not a criticism of the Accsoon A-1S gimbal but
rather something that is common to ALL 3 axis gimbals.  The gimbal is correcting for
the pan, tilt and roll axis but it cannot correct for the 'bobbing' motion that occurs when
you walk.  Thus, you must learn the 'ninja walk' sometimes called 'heel/toe'....or you must
use your arm as a 'spring like' stabilizer to take out any up or down motion.   There
are also accessories out there with springs built in, which claim to help get rid of
this bobbing motion.  The good thing is, the more you use the gimbal, the better
you get at removing this motion.  When you first try the gimbal, you may be disappointed
in your footage because of this 'bobbing'.  Don't worry, keep working on it and you
will get better.  Trust me, I've only used it a couple times and I already see the footage
looking better and better each time I use it.  Enough with that....here's what you want
to see!

                                                     Accsoon A1-S footage

Pro's
Fairly light gimbal (around 2 pounds) especially compared to the Ronin S

Slanted back motor gives you view of your screen and allows you to mount 
more camera/lens options

3.6kg (7.9 pound) payload gives you a lot of options as far as cameras and
lenses you wish to use.

Strong motors (same payload as the Ronin S!) means that you don't get 
'micro jitters'.  This also allows you to touch the camera without making
the gimbal 'panic'.  For example, you can use the touch screen focus
on the back LCD panel of the Sony A6500 and the gimbal doesn't care
at all that you are touching the camera.

Very good battery life

Tool less adjustments for everything

Built in tripod lets you balance the gimbal anywhere.  This also gives 
you an extended handgrip when you fold the tripod legs in, so you can 
operate using both hands for extra support. 

Easy operation.

Great app gives you motion timelapse ability with multiple keyframeable points,
panorama mode, ultra wide angle, and motion control modes, a virtual joystick 
to control the gimbal remotely, the ability to adjust parameters for smoothness 
or strength of motors, a 'balance indicator' screen which shows you how close you are
on your initial 'balance' and an 'auto tune' setting to set the motors for the payload
which you have put on the gimbal.  It also has an 'update' screen allowing you to
update firmware on the gimbal through the wireless bluetooth connection to the phone
and app.

You can start and stop recording from the gimbal handle, as well as move it
with the joystick if you are in 'all lock' mode.  In a normal 'follow' mode it 
will follow your hand movements as you pan and tilt the camera.  You also
have a 'zoom' setting which allows you to control Sony power zoom lenses.  On
my Sony G 18-105 power zoom lens, it also would allow you to keep zooming into 
'clear zoom' territory and so you'd get  an 18-210 zoom with the zoom control on 
the gimbal handle.  This is great when you are 'run and gun' shooting B-roll which
is exactly where this gimbal would excel with it's light weight.

360 movement on all axis allow you to go into 'underslung' or 'flashlight' mode
without stopping and resetting the gimbal.  In fact you can start in 'underslung' mode
and 'crane up' without pausing to give you a fake 'crane' shot.

Battery and SD card door is unobstructed so you can change batteries
and cards without taking the camera off the gimbal.  

Nice included carrying case.  Packs up pretty small, would be a great travel gimbal.

Support when something goes wrong with the gimbal was actually quite good.

Buttery smooth footage looks fantastic!

Cons
You cannot power the camera off of the gimbal battery.  Some gimbals
allow you to do this which is very nice when using mirrorless cameras which
eat through the batteries. 

Handle is aluminum without some sort of rubber 'handgrip' or otherwise
contoured to your hand (reminds me of a 'Mag light' flashlight handle.)

Handle.  It works fine but a handgrip might be nice....

Zoom control seems to be backward (push towards T to go wider and
push towards W to get tighter.)   At least with my Sony A6500 and 
18-105 Sony G power zoom lens.

Ronin S and some others have a 'trigger' which allows you to pull it to make
the gimbal go into 'lock all' mode.  When you release the trigger it goes back
into 'follow' mode where the gimbal will follow your pans and tilts.  This can
be nice as it allows you to get some 'combo' shots where part of the shot is locked
off like a slider or crane shot, but part of it follows your movements.  Trying to 
switch modes from 'lock off' mode to 'follow' mode doesn't really work to do
this.

The buttons and joystick are the only parts on the gimbal made of plastic.
Everything else is metal or aluminum.  But the buttons and joystick are pretty
important (the ability to switch modes or turn the gimbal on and off.)

No screen or easy way to tell which mode you are in.  You have to remember which
color light, corresponds to which mode.

Which mode was this again???

When you pack the gimbal into the case, you must loosen up all knobs and
loose all your balance adjustments (although you can note down the numbers
each axis is at so as to quickly set it back up again.)

     So a final word on gimbals.  I found that when I was first flying my drone that I
needed to set every setting on the gimbal to be very slow and smooth.  Then I
needed to slow the heck down!  I wasn't trying to race the drone, and I found that
for most purposes, less was more.  In other words, if you move too fast, the
footage doesn't look as nice. You often get a 'jerky' gimbal shot in there as you
start to loose framing on the shot and have to correct, to reframe the shot. It is
hard to correct a shot when you are rapidly losing framing without making
the gimbal 'jerk' a little.  This is one reason, that slower, and smoother, was the
way to get  much more 'cinematic' looking footage.  It allowed you to be slow
and smooth with your gimbal movements as well.  And when using the Accsoon,
I basically needed to again learn to slow the heck down!  Unless you are
doing a 'tracking' shot where you are following a walking subject, you will almost
certainly want to move slower than you think you should.   Most camera movement that
we see in the movies, are fairly subtle (again, this is discounting chase scenes and such.)
This is one reason that sliders were and are popular.  Even a 24 inch slider can give you
enough travel to make a shot look cinematic.  And it is easy to keep a slider shot nice
and slow.  You really have to work at it with gimbal shots as you sort of 'default' to
whatever your walking pace is.  And your walking pace is almost certainly too fast
for many things.  Test a variety of speeds, but if you are not trying to 'keep pace'
with a faster moving subject, the slower speeds seem to work better.
     Any questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.

Gabe Strong

Cinematographer/Editor/Owner

G-Force Productions Digital Cinema

www.gforcevideo.com

www.facebook.com/gforceproductionsbusinesspage