Running with a DJI Ronin SC and different lenses video

Testing different lenses on an old DJI Ronin SC while running through the woods.

Running with a DJI Ronin SC Gimbal and different lenses - Video.

I’ve bought a new gimbal, no, not the DJI Ronin SC, that’s as old as God’s dog. I’m talking about something else, more on that another day. For now, this is about the old Ronin SC.

I’ve owned this for a few years and have had loads of use out of it. It’s a great gimbal.

It’s cheap, lightweight, easy to handle, and it does a great job of stabilising small DSLR and mirrorless cameras. The DJI Ronin SC was a game-changer. So much so that it’s still taking up space in my man cave over 3 years later.

Today, I thought I’d take it out for one last shoot in my local woods, and run through some different lens tests. See what I did there?

It’ll be a useful test for anyone considering this old little beast of a gimbal, and I needed the exercise.

It’s still available here on Amazon, but take a good look around for second-hand versions. With the newly released RS3 Mini and RS3 Pro’s currently flooding the lightweight gimbal market, there are some great bargains available on the old Ronin SC.

DJI Ronin SC

This is not a Ronin SC review post, and I won’t waste your time writing a load of bumf about it. I’ll just quickly run through the tests I did on this morning in the woods, and offer some comments. It’s best to watch the video.

Please also bare in mind that I’m a big heavy bloke running over uneven ground. The fact that the Ronin SC can stabilise anything in this scenario is bloody impressive. It’s an unfair test really, so it’s worth pointing that out. This is an extremely hard test for the Ronin SC.

DJI Ronin SC and Samyang 12mm Fisheye

The first lens I stuck on there was the Samyang 12mm Fisheye. A lens that I love to use, and one that I know is pretty useful on a Ronin SC. While it doesn’t have any in-built lens stabilisation, the super wide fisheye field of view covers up any wobble or shake well. I was able to run pretty fast, as fast as my 18-stone body allows, and muck around creating some cool low-to-the-ground shots, with low wide rushing foreground zooming through the frame below. Superb.

I also gave it a go in lantern mode on the tree canopy, with and without stick input, to create some unusual clips. It pulled off everything pretty well, however, it was possible to see a little shake if you looked closely enough in 4K. But whatever. You could easily just run a little bit more carefully and lose that.

Brilliant. If you’re interested in the Samyang 12mm lens, check out this BLOG POST on it, where I take a look in more detail.

DJI Ronin SC and Sony 16-35mm f4 Zeiss

The Ronin SC is pretty much the reason why I bought the Sony 16-35mm f4 Zeiss version in the first place, and it has since become one of my most used lenses. I chose it specifically for its smaller size than the old 16-35mm f2.8 lens, and loved that it had in-built lens stabilisation, as it was to become my main lens for video work on gimbals, tracks and sliders.

So, with that high bar set, it was great to show off just how good it was running through the woods on a Ronin SC. You’ll see examples at 16mm and at 35mm. I considered testing it at 24mm and then comparing it to a little Samyang 24mm lens that I own, but sacked this off as I just didn’t see the point. The Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f4 was great at 35mm on the Ronin SC. I made a few cool shots and skipped straight to the Sigma Art 50mm f1.4.

BTW, did you like my spinning lantern shots? These are cool to make, get creative, and fill your boots. Here’s me dancing with a tree….

DJI Ronin SC and a Sigma ART 50mm f1.4

Completely the wrong lens for this kind of thing, but what the heck. I chucked the Sigma 50mm f1.4 on there too.

The Sigma 50mm f1.4 is too big, too long and too heavy. The Ronin SC is a great little gimbal, but this was just too much for it when running. There’s barely enough room in the Ronin SC to balance it, and once balanced, it’ll foul the arms as you try to move around. I got into a right mess with it.

The footage was shaky, and so I then sacked off my original plans of pushing the Sigma 50mm to 75mm with the APS-C crop mode, there was no point.

I will point out though, that this is a fine lens, it’s one of my favourites. It does indeed work well in the Ronin SC, but not in this scenario. Officially, it’s not compatible, but with some careful balancing and perhaps the use of additional weights, it’ll balance quite well and offer some great shots in the right circumstances. Give it a go with subjects, portraits and for cool little abstract city scenes, while walking on eggshells, and not stomping through the woods like a pissed-off gorilla.

In conclusion - Running with a DJI Ronin SC

Samyang 12mm - Great. Lots of fun and cool shots are to be had.

Sony Zeiss 16-35mm - Awesome. The perfect lens for the Ronin SC, IMO.

Sigma Art 50mm f1.4 - Don’t waste your time running with it.

DJI Osmo Action 3 - The wild card, is completely pointless, but check out the closing shots of the video.

Running in general - Is best avoided, IMO…

Cheers all, check out the rest of my BLOG and YouTube Channel. I write about stuff that interests me, and create videos about camera gear, mountains and Not Poodles.

Out.