dji Ronin S2 Quick Start Manual
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dji Ronin S2 Quick Start Manual

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DJI Ronin S2
CDA Quick Start Guide
Setup and Basic Operation
Centre for Digital Arts
Concordia University 2022

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Summary of Contents for dji Ronin S2

  • Page 1 DJI Ronin S2 CDA Quick Start Guide Setup and Basic Operation Centre for Digital Arts Concordia University 2022...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    P. 41 Create Settings Prepare the Camera-P. 9 P. 42 Practical Advice Assemble and Balance the Gimbal- P. 15 P. 43 The DJI Ronin App Test the balance with Auto Tune- P. 23 Connect the Camera- P. 25 P. 44 Downloading the App P.

  • Page 3: What Is A Camera Gimbal

    A gimbal is a device that allows smooth camera motion when handholding a camera. The DJI Ronin RS 2 is for small still cameras. It has three motors that balance the movement of the camera. In ordinary use, the motors adjust to the movement of the hand grip.

  • Page 4: About This Cda Quick Start Guide

    Not all the features of the gimbal are covered in this guide. I recommend the complete DJI user guide that can be found here: https://www.dji.com/ca/downloads/products/rs-2 There a more concise paper DJI quick start guide in the bag, that is much less useful that the complete user guide.

  • Page 5: Setting Up The Gimbal

    Setting up the Gimbal DJI Ronin RS2 Centre for Digital Arts...

  • Page 6: Warning About The Gimbal Motors

    Warning about the gimbal motors Don’t power on the gimbal until the gimbal is balanced and the motors are unlocked. Turning on the power when any of the gimbals’ motors are locked can damage the device.

  • Page 7: Steps For Setting Up The Gimbal

    Steps for Setting up the Gimbal Follow these steps for setting up the gimbal. They should be followed in this order: 1. Charge the gimbal battery 2. Prepare the camera 3. Assemble and Balance the gimbal (with the camera on it) 4.

  • Page 8: Charge The Battery

    1. Charge the battery The battery is in the grip, and will last for about 12 hours in normal mode but less in super smooth mode. The gimbal uses less power when it is properly balanced. There is a USB charging port at the bottom of the grip.

  • Page 9: Prepare The Camera

    2. Prepare the camera Which camera to use? The DJI Ronin RS 2 can work with many still cameras. The complete list can be found on this page: https://www.dji.com/ca/support/compatibility In this guide, I refer to the Sony mirrorless cameras as these are the still cameras in the EV depot with the best video recording quality.
  • Page 10 2. Prepare the Camera Attachments, batteries and media Before using the gimbal it has to be balanced with the camera. Prepare the camera so that everything that is needed in and on the camera is attached or inserted. The neck strap should be removed. Place the battery and SD card inside.
  • Page 11 2. Prepare the Camera Avoid heavy zoom lenses. The Sony mirrorless cameras come with zoom lenses like the Sony FE 24-70 GM mm. There is no benefit to using a zoom lens on the gimbal since you cannot zoom while shooting! Zooming alters the length of lens that upsets the forward weight of the camera that upsets the gimbal balance.
  • Page 12 Camera and lens control requires a USB C connection from the gimbal to the camera (more on this later). Sony a7r III with the Sony FE 50mm f.1.4 lens The DJI compatibility pages do not list all the supported lenses. https://www.dji.com/ca/support/compatibility...
  • Page 13 2. Prepare the camera Quick release plate: Put the quick release plate on the camera. There is a higher and shorter quick release plate. The higher one does not lock properly, so use the shorter one only. Mount it on the camera with the arrows pointing forward and backward.
  • Page 14 2. Prepare the camera Which frame rate to choose? In general, when shooting video with the Sony mirrorless cameras (or other still cameras) use the 30p frame rate rather than 24p when possible. Motion looks smoother at 30p on cameras these cameras. Shooting at high frame rates for a slow-motion effect (S &...

  • Page 15: Assemble And Balance The Gimbal

    Watch this video by Jason Roberts for a detailed explanation of setting-up the gimbal, balancing and auto tuning the gimbal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0iq89cTDkQ Once you are more familiar with the setup, DJI have a shorter, more precise video on balancing. This is good to refresh your memory the next time you balance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObjjN5JxY2k On the following pages, I will underline some important details about assembling and balancing the gimbal.
  • Page 16 3. Assemble the Gimbal The battery grip: The battery grip lock is a bit deceptive and not very confidence building. Press the button inside the lock lever and move the lever to the unlock position to insert the grip, then move the lever to the locked position to tighten.
  • Page 17 3. Assemble the Gimbal Expanding the gimbal: Roll axis The gimbal is expanded by unlocking the roll axis motor. The gimbal has three motors for the three axes: tilt, roll and pan. Lock the motors when mounting the camera to the gimbal. Always unlock the motors before turning the gimbal on.
  • Page 18 3. Assemble the Gimbal Gimbal orientation: This is how the gimbal should be built and orientated. The front of the gimbal has the trigger and dial. The rear has the touch screen. The roll motor is on the back of the gimbal.
  • Page 19 3. Assemble the Gimbal Mounting the camera: Mount the camera on the gimbal before performing the balancing. When mounting, do not position the camera too much forward or backwards on the sliding lower quick release plate. Put it in the middle. Do not tether the camera to the gimbal with the USB cable at this point.
  • Page 20 3. Assemble the Gimbal The lens strap: There is a lens strap for supporting larger lenses that must be placed on the camera before the gimbal is balanced. Lenses larger than the 24 mm Sony prime will need the lens strap to help reduce stress on the lens mount.
  • Page 21 3. Assemble the Gimbal The lens strap: In the top image, the strap handle is mounted forwards, as suggested by DJI. In the bottom image, the strap handle is mounted backwards, because that’s the forwards only way to make it work! Do not tie the lens strap on the lens so tightly that it is forcing the lens down.
  • Page 22 3. Assemble and Balance the Gimbal Follow the balancing procedure in the right order: Follow the balancing process in the instructional videos. In each of the videos, you will notice that there is a specific order to the balancing process. Make sure to follow the procedures in the right order.

  • Page 23: Test The Balance With Auto Tune

    4. Test the balance with Auto Tune About the touch screen: Auto Tune You do not need the Ronin app to operate the gimbal or control the camera. All the basic functions are in the touch screen. The touch screen has four menus that can be found by swiping in one direction or another.
  • Page 24 4. Test the balance with Auto Tune Turn on Super Smooth Green icon Start Auto Tune: means After you balance the gimbal, unlock the balanced. motors of the three axes (tilt, roll and pan) and turn it on. Auto Tune Use Auto Tune on the gimbal touch screen to test your balancing.

  • Page 25: Connect The Camera

    5. Connect the camera Physical connection: Once the camera is balanced, connect the camera to the gimbal with a USB C or other cable to control the settings on the camera with the touch screen and dials. Which cable you use, depends on the model of the camera and what functions you need (see next slide).
  • Page 26 5. Connect the camera This page on the DJI Ronin site shows compatibility for different models of cameras and which menu settings to change: https://www.dji.com/ca/support/comp atibility?product=rsc-2 What cable you choose can change what features can be controlled remotely. For the a7r III, the USB C cable is best for video shooting.
  • Page 27 5. Connect the Camera Menu settings on the Sony a7r III to initiate remote camera control: 1. Go to the Network menu page and turn off “Ctrl w/Smartphone”. 2. Then go to Setup Menu page four and for USB Connection choose “PC Remote”.

  • Page 28: 28 Basic Operation

    Basic Operation DJI Ronin RS 2 Centre for Digital Arts...
  • Page 29 Winter Warning The DJI Ronin cannot be used outdoors in winter conditions below -10°C. Page 13 of the DJI Ronin RS 2 User manual states that using the grip (therefore the gimbal) below -10°C may cause permanent damage! Also on that page, it encourages charging the grip in a place that is above...
  • Page 30 The tripod can be folded to increase the length of the grip, it can be expanded against your torso or you can just use the grip. See the Accessories section of this guide for how to attach the handles. Upright Mode (from the DJI User guide)
  • Page 31 Depending on the weight of the camera, the handle lock may not be sufficiently strong enough for this operation, despite the claims of DJI. Use at your own risk. Remember that you are responsible for any damages to the equipment.
  • Page 32 Choose a Follow Mode: Most Common Modes Which follow mode you choose determines which axes react to the grip’s movement. The follow mode can be chosen on main touch screen page, right below Auto Tune. The three most useful follow modes: PF: pan follow- only the pan axis follows the grip’s movement PTF: the pan and tilt axes follow the grip’s movement FPV: the pan, tilt and roll axes will follow the grip’s movement (all...
  • Page 33 Portrait mode: this turns the camera 180 degrees so Flashlight position (from the DJI user guide) you are shooting vertically instead of horizontally. Keep in mind that vertically shot video will be pillar- boxed on any standard video display.
  • Page 34 Choose a Follow Mode: Sport Mode Sport Mode In addition to changing the follow speed, you can enter ”sport mode” for a very quick reaction time. This is for shooting fast moving action. Press and hold the M button on the back of the gimbal. It must be continually held down.

  • Page 35: 35 Manual Control Of Axes

    Manual Control of Axes Manual control of the axes: Swipe left on the touch screen to access the system Dial settings and enable Push Mode. This allows manual Joystick control of the axes. You can manually control the axes even while the gimbal is automatically adjusting them with the follow mode.

  • Page 36: 36 Other Basic Gimbal Controls

    Other Basic Gimbal Controls Trigger: Double press the trigger on the front of the gimbal to re- centre the gimbal. Press the trigger three times to make the camera turn to face the operator (unless selfie-mode is disabled). trigger Rec button: Press halfway for autofocus (make sure lens is set to AF).

  • Page 37: 37 Controlling Exposure Remotely

    Controlling Exposure Remotely In the (Sony a7Rr) camera menu, set the exposure in Movie Mode to Manual Exposure. (camera menu 2, page 1). The f stop (aperture) dial on the prime lenses should be turned to “A” (auto). The camera should be connected to the gimbal with the USB C cable. If you can, set your exposure before you start shooting.
  • Page 38 Controlling Exposure and Roll Axis Simultaneously But what if you need to control exposure and the roll axis manually while shooting? In this case, go to a two person operation: the gimbal operator controls aperture or ISO manually with the gimbal dial while the second person controls the roll, tilt and pan parameters with the virtual joystick on the Ronin app, or vice versa! (See the section of this guide on the Ronin app.)

  • Page 39: 39 Controlling Focus Remotely

    Controlling Focus Remotely The switch on the lens should always be turned to AF regardless of whether you want the camera to autofocus or whether you want to control the focus manually (remotely) with the gimbal dial. Sony a7r III: For autofocus: turn the lens switch to AF and set the focus menu setting to Continuous AF (AF-C) in the menu (Camera menu 1, page 5).

  • Page 40: 40 Important System Settings

    Important System Settings Swipe left on the touch screen to get to the system settings. These are the two most important settings: Push mode: this enables manual control of the axes Silent Mode: good idea to turn this on if you are recording audio Other settings: Disable Selfie: this stops the camera from turning to face the gimbal operator when the trigger is pressed three times...

  • Page 41: 41 Create Settings

    Create Settings Swiping right from the main menu screen on the gimbal touch screen takes you to the create screen that has four options: Timelapse, Track, Panorama and Time Tunnel. Timelapse, Panorama and Time Tunnel are all variations of timelapse photography that allow you to combine camera movement with photos taken at a specific interval.

  • Page 42: 42 Practical Advice

    Practical Advice This guide concentrates on setting up the gimbal and learning the basic controls. Becoming familiar with the operation takes much more time and practise. Here are some some more basic tips on using any gimbal by Peter Makholm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gksaY-RpwG8 Also, some general advice for safety: if you are following or tracking a subject, have a friend spot you while you operate...

  • Page 43: 43 The Dji Ronin App

    The DJI Ronin App DJI Ronin RS 2 Centre for Digital Arts...
  • Page 44 The DJI Ronin App: Downloading Some features of the camera can also be controlled by the DJI app on your smartphone or tablet. The DJI app must be downloaded from the DJI website: https://www.dji.com/ca/downloads/djiapp/dji-ronin The user account is: cda@concordia.ca The password is:...
  • Page 45 The DJI Ronin App: Create Create menu/ Virtual Joystick: The create menu in the app has three of the four options that are on the create menu in the gimbal ( Timelapse, Track and Panorama). One extra feature is the virtual joystick that allows you control all the axes of the gimbal, even the roll axis.
  • Page 46 DJI Ronin App: Create Create Menu/Track: The Track function is best done with the app because it gives you a visual interface. In Track, the camera follows through on a series of preplanned movements. You can store up to ten sequential positions for the camera.
  • Page 47 The DJI Ronin App: Create Create Menu/ Force Mobile: Another option in the create menu is Force Mobile. When you enable force mobile, you can control the gimbal just by moving around your phone. The gimbal follows the phone’s movements.
  • Page 48 Accessories DJI Ronin RS 2 Centre for Digital Arts...

  • Page 49: 49 Twist Grip Dual Handles

    Twist Grip Dual Handles Watch this video from DJI on how to setup the Twist Grip Handles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyyGK0-0rPU The kit does not include the Tethered Control Handle. You must remove the rubber protector from the front of the gimbal to mount the arms.
  • Page 50 Twist Grip Dual Handles Mounting the left handle upwards by rotating the left arm to the “2” position is the best way to get low angle shots with the gimbal. Use this method instead of the ”underslung” operation mode where the camera is hanging from the handle.
  • Page 51 Accessories There are accessories for the RS 2 manufactured by DJI and other companies, for example the Raven Eye transmission system by DJI. Please feel free to suggest any for future upgrades to the kit. Please include the reasons for your suggestion.
  • Page 52 Thank you for reading this guide If you have any suggestions or comments please email: philip.hawes@concordia.ca...

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