Cinema pro and gimbals.

[bumbling]

after playing with the app, it's pretty decent, but i'd like it to be updated to work with gimbals, as also using filmic pro, which is really powerful, but is a little overwhelming, so cinema pro isn't as powerful, but the 21:9 is decent, without resizing, and generally i'd like to use the wheels on my smooth 4 to follow focus and adjust the ISO and shutter speed on the fly, i know it'd take both sony, and the gimbal manufacturer to work together for it to work, but it'd just take it to another level, also please give 21:9 and 24fps in the default camera app.

[Jon.Hidden-Coley]

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@DougieDoge wrote:

Oh wow, that's a really cool solution! What Zhiyun model are you using and do you use the native camera, Cinema Pro or ZY Play by Zhiyun?

I've been in contact with Zhiyun and they said that the Xperia 1 wont work with any of their gimbals so I'm wondering how you make it work  If the Zhiyun won't work with my Xperia 1 I'm not sure what other gimbal to try...

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The gimbal is a Smooth 4 and I use the Cinema Pro app. The Zhiyun Play app is useless on my Xperia 1, but Filmic Pro works with the gimbal although I haven't yet tested that. I had a lot of problems with Filmic Pro crashing constantly on my Xperia 1 so I got a refund. I was invited to join Filmic Pro's beta testing program and since the latest update things seem to be running ok but I still prefer Cinema Pro at the moment. I don't mind forfeiting the controls on the gimbal, I just want stable images.

[DougieDoge]

Oh nice that's the one I've had my eye on! Hm okay well that's kind of a bummer, I was hoping I could use Zhiyuns app along with Cinema Pro - you got lucky with the Filmic Pro situation though! 👍

Too bad that the controls won't work on the Smooth 4 as that's one of the reasons people seem to prefer/enjoy it, I mean the focus/zomming wheel is a big selling point of it 🙁

BTW what ND filter do you use? 

[Jon.Hidden-Coley]

Just a cheap 52mm variable ND filter from Ebay. It does the job for me until I can justify buying a better quality one.

Yes, that's the drawback with having to rely on an app to control a gimbal! When I first got my Smooth 4, I had an iPhone and only the Zhiyun Play app could control the gimbal. There was no support for the gimbal within Filmic Pro or Mavis at the time so I was a bit disappointed by the limitation.

[DougieDoge]

Ah okay that's fair, I'm gonna try to make the solution you got when I get home in the winter!

Yeah that's really strange that they decided to go down that route, I get that the communication between the gimbal and the app is necessary but not for changing modes and stuff like that on the gimbal itself! 😟 🤷‍♂️

It seems like most companies are aimed towards iPhones which is unfortunate considering the great strides the latest Androids have made during the last few years. 

[Jon.Hidden-Coley]

I've just looked at my Zhiyun Play app and noticed there's no option to select the Smooth 4 so maybe they've taken it away in an update. It might be worth you looking at the new Smooth Q2, that option is there.  I fancy one of those because it has the POV feature, something neither the Smooth 4 or my older Smooth Q has. Plus you can position the phone beyond the tilt axis motor.

[DougieDoge]

Oh really, I wonder what that could mean? Yeah I've also been considering it but I was drawn towards the Smooth 4 because of the focus/zomming wheel. But would the POV function on the Smooth Q2 work even though the Xperia 1 isn't compatible to connect to it?

When you say that the phone can tilt beyond the motor do you mean what's shown feature  in the video (at 0:40)? It feels like this is something that could work without a connection between the phone and the gimbal... 

https://youtu.be/atm0KGSgnXg

[Jon.Hidden-Coley]

To be honest, I'm not sure. I'm just assuming it will work with the Smooth Q2 because the option is there. I know the option to select the Smooth 4 in the Zhiyun Play app was there when I first got my Xperia 1 because I tried it out but it just wouldn't play ball. I guess that's why they've removed it from the list.

Yes, with the position of the tilt axis motor on the Smooth Q2, you can slide the phone beyond the motor which you can't do on the Smooth 4. It makes balancing a phone the size of the Xperia 1 much easier, especially with the added weight of an ND filter! I had to add a counterweight to help balance my phone with the ND filter.

[DougieDoge]

Hmm yeah that makes sense then that they would remove it, I asked them if they were planning on developing a version for the Xperia 1 but their reply didn't really answer my question.

Oh dang well that's awesome! It's too bad that the Smooth Q2 is more expensive than the Smooth 4 but if it means that I can use my wide angle then that kinda settles it I guess. Just hoping that the Smooth Q2 can be operated without a connection to the phone.