CAME-TV are a Chinese company who have come a long way very quickly – they already produce several models of brushless gimbals and they have just added the Argo and Mini 3 to their product lineup.
The Argo is rated for cameras up to 3kg, so in theory could take a stripped-down Sony FS5 or Canon C100. It’s a toolless design that houses all the cabling internally, and CAME-TV say the battery will last around 15 hours. If you want to send a preview signal to a remote monitor there’s an integrated 5.8Ghz standard definition wireless video transmitter at the bottom of the rig with a handy D-Tap port for powering accessories.
The gimbal’s motors feature encoders for smoother motion and there’s a small remote joystick for controlling pan/tilt and switching between different follow profiles. It’s also possible to detach the gimbal for use on a jib for example, or to integrate it with CAME-TV’s own vest-and-arm stabiliser.
The rig fits in a carry case and in total everything weighs just under 7kg – so practical to travel with, even with airlines imposing ever stricter limits on baggage allowances.
The Argo is available to buy direct from the CAME-TV website, and packages start at the very precise figure of $1,288 US.
The Mini 3 is, well, the third iteration of CAME-TV’s gimbal for smaller cameras (it’s insights like that that keep you coming back to Newsshooter, I know). Improvements over the Mini 2 include motor encoders that increase battery life and help make motions smoother, a new uprated battery and a similar remote control to the Argo’s.
CAME-TV have also found room to squeeze in a wireless video transmitter in the bottom of the unit, which looks like it offers the same 25fps SD (720×576) signal as the Argo.
The Mini 3 gimbal is available to pre-order now from CAME-TV’s website for $1,188.00 US, which includes a $200 US pre-order discount. The Mini 3 is expected to ship around March 20.
Both the Argo and Mini 3 gimbals look like they could be handy options for shooters who want stabilised footage on a budget – although we haven’t been able to test them for ourselves yet to compare them to the competition, we’ll be sure to check both of them out at this year’s NAB show and report back.
