One of the gimbals that interested me most at NAB was the new Pilotfly H2. Launched just before the show, several early reviews online seemed very positive. I was keen to check it out for myself.
The H2 can be used in the regular single handed configuration, just like the Came TV Single or Nebula 4000. It is more sculpted than other designs and has completely toolless setup and adjustment.
The handgrip is very comfortable and the internal battery has an amazing claimed battery life of 26 hours – something I am keen to test in the field. The whole kit packs down into a smart carry case.
If you prefer a more traditional configuration you can simply remove the battery grip and attach the optional $249 US handlebar grip. This takes its own batteries and has a thumb controller that moves the gimbal. In this setup it can be run underslung or inverted.
It uses a 32-bit Alexmos control system and each motor is encoded. In use it seemed very smooth and stable compared to earlier gimbals.
It has the standard horizon lock and follow modes, but it also has a mode that allows the gimbal to smoothly follow your direction of tilt as well.
It can carry cameras up to 2.2 kg, which means that it should easily carry most compact system and mid-sized DSLR cameras.
The H2 is $998 US and it available to buy now. For more information visit the Pilotfly website.
