By site editor Dan Chung:
We reported on the new Nebula 4200 brushless gimbal from Chinese firm FilmPower at the BIRTV show in Beijing recently. The unique aspect of the design is that it offers five axes of stabilisation instead of the traditional three. To do this FilmPower have taken a 3-axis gimbal and mounted it onto a pair of mechanical stabilising arms which stabilise the vertical and horizontal movement of the the gimbal.
In other respects the Nebula 4200 has all the features you would expect to see in a modern design. It uses a 32-bit controller which I assume is controlled with Alexmos. It has tool-less adjustment and can carry payloads of up to 1.6kg – perfect for smaller mirrorless cameras, DSLRs and maybe even the new Sony FS5 or RED Raven.
You can actually buy the Nebula 4200 as a 3-axis brushless gimbal if you prefer. There is a more conventional double handgrip model and also a grip-style Lite version. The Lite is effectively a new version of the popular 4000 Lite that was the first grip-style gimbal for a7S, BMPCC and GH4 to hit the market. The price is a little higher, but you get a tool-less design and 32-bit controllers.
The pre-production unit we saw in Beijing wasn’t fully operational so at this point I have no idea how well these little arms will work when compared to something like the Steadicam Steadimate, Flowcine Serence or Exhauss Exovest. All of the other solutions are bigger and much more expensive but do allow the operator to put his or her hands directly onto the brushless gimbal grips. FilmPower have put the stabilising arms after the control grips; I’d like to see how positive the gimbal control will feel as a result.
Below is our video from BIRTV:
If you are an early adopter and really want to be at the cutting edge then you can pre-order the Nebula 4200 from tomorrow from the FilmPower website. The 5-axis version is $999, the 3-axis double handle is $899 and the 3-axis Lite version is $799.
This from FilmPower:
The Nebula 4200 Gimbal features stabilization of five axes to control for the vertical, horizontal, pitch, yaw and roll axes while shooting. Offering single or double handle based operation, this gyroscope allows the user total control of their vision while ensuring the stability of the shot. While built to last , the handles are also easily repaired should they suffer any damage.
What else makes the Nebula 4200 so remarkable? Aside from the 5 axes controls, the Nebula 4200 Gimbal contains a 32-bit board dual sensor controller. In addition to increased operation speeds and precision control, this new 32-bit board allows users to carry up to 1.6kg (3.5 lbs), permitting usage of a broad range of DSLRs and mirrorless cameras (e.g. Canon 5DSR/7D2/70D/100D/750D and more). Tool-less balance adjustment also permits the user full versatility of the gyroscopes control without the cumbersome equipment. Equipped with Bluetooth wireless control for setup and manipulation, the Nebula 4200 Gimbal further eliminates any physical bumps during use. A wireless joystick can also be purchased as a compatible accessory.
