Comparison and review of Tilta Float + dji Ronin RS3 Support vs Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready camera stabilizer + dji Ronin RS3
If you are wanting to update your film equipment to the latests standards of professional camera stabilization for the filmmaking industry, and if you are already tired of carrying a heavy weight cinema cameras with your own hands on a handheld gimbal 3 axis stabilizer, then you must consider investing on the Tilta Float + dji ronin RS2 /dji RS3, or the new Basson Steady Blackbee Hybrid ready + dji ronin RS2 / dji RS3.
Side by side photo Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready and the Tilta float center post.
Photo: Side by side comparison between Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready center post + dji ronin rs2 gimbal, and the Tilta float center post.
Basson Steady manufactures camera stabilizers since 1997, so its 25 years of experience, and builds wearable hybrid camera stabilizers since 2007.
This year 2022 the Blackbee HR and the model Silverarrow HR versions were updated to be compatible with the Dji Ronin RS2 and RS3as well as to be compatible with the DJI Ronin 4d.
Basson Steady Blackbee Hybrid ready and the Tilta Float, share in common that both are wearable hybrid camera stabilization systems compatible for Dji Ronin RS2 and RS3 gimbal stabilizers. The Basson Steady Blackbee HR is also compatible with the new dji Ronin 4d, but the TILTA float is not compatible with DJI Ronin 4d as it comes from factory.
In order to make it compatible you must remove the center post for a few reasons, first the TILTA float does not have a way to support the monitor and grips to control the Ronin 4d, second the center post does not have any wires so send video signal or power voltage from monitor to the handle where the monitor should be located, also due to the excess of weight of the hole thing, and also due to the strength that causes the long center post, its just to much weight to the arm and to the waist belt.
So in order to use the DJI Ronin 4d with the TILTA float you must remove the center post and then buy an accessory that you connect to the top of the shock asborber arm, it's a practical solution to avoid carrying the weigh with your arms, but on the other side is not the best set up because you are limited to the boom range of the arm so there is limitation to make high mode and low mode shoots, it will not be like having an Arri trinity alternative, it will be like holding a ronin 4d gimbal on top of a shock absorber arm mounted on a waist belt.
Photo: Accessory for TILTA FLOAT to be able to use the DJI Ronin 4d
Photo: Basson Steady blackbee hybrid ready center post with dji ronin rs2 gimbal
Tilta float center post with dJi Ronin rs2 gimbal.
Can we compare the Tilta float versus the Basson Steady Blackbee Hybrid ready?
Well, in this blog we will try to explain the differences and the things in common.
Both are different products with different specifications, with different price ranges.
Tilta Float is for lightweight dslr cameras up to 4 or 5kgs and the Basson Steady Blackbee Hybrid ready can carry any camera up to 27lbs or 12,5 kgs and even a little more if you use it as a normal wearable camera stabilizer.
The Balckbee HR, its different too, because it has also a third way to use it, you can buy the Endless 4 Rotary head to convert it in to and Endless 4 hybrid camera stabilizer, something similar to an Arri trinity 2.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee HR + Endless 4 rotary head
Both the Tilta float and Basson Steady Blackbee HR are wearable hybrid camera stabilzers with a good quality, with different designs but with one thing in common, both hybrid electro mechanic gimbal stabilizers.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready + dji Ronin rs2 complete set, includes a professional steady triple padded vest, a center post and double shock absorber arm.
Photo: Tilta Float complete rig, center post, arm and waist belt
Are this two models an affordable alternative to ARRI Trinity 2, or the Basson Steady Endless 4?
The Float System, has a selling price of u$s1,349. That means the whole system with the DJI Ronin RS 2 gimbal u$s 979.- can currently be purchased for around u$s 2,328.- or if you add the latest version of the Dji ronin RS3 pro u$s 1.279.- the whole pack goes for u$s 2.628.- plus two v-mount batteries for u$s 149 each, so for almost u$s 3.000.- more or less you can have this kit running, a pretty affordable solution for beginners working with smaller dslr cameras.
On the other side the Basson Steady Blackbee HR has a selling price of u$s 7.800.- plus 3 v-mount batteries each for u$s 149.- and a SDI HDMI 4k monitor for u$s 380.- that you must add on your own. Makes a total of u$s 8.627.-
This means the whole Basson Steady Blackbee Hybrid Ready plus the DJI Ronin RS 2 Pro u$s 979.- can currently be purchased for around u$s 9,606.-
Or if you add the latest version of the Dji ronin RS3 Pro u$s 1.279.- the whole pack goes for u$s 9.906.-
So it's quite acceptable and affordble for the load capacity of this hybrid steady, specially when compared to the Arri trinity 2 rig that has a selling price of u$s 84.970.- for a complete set similar to this one with a similar camera lifting load capacities.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready stabilizer with dji ronin rs 2, in horizontal position for perfect balance of the center post
Then the Tilta Float set includes a stabilizer arm with a support waist belt, let me clarify that the vest is not a vest its a support waist belt with no buckles just a velcro, and a steady-cam-like center post.
Photo: Tilta float waist belt support
Photo: Basson Steady professional vest
The Tilta Float was conceived to carry the dji Ronin RS 2 or RS3 gimbal with a small dslr camera and it is supposed to function in a similar way as ARRI Trinity but much more affordable. The aim of the system is to help with the weight distribution when filming with lightweight set ups specially dslr cameras.
On the other side the Blackbee hybrid ready its a high end hybrid camera stabilizer with much more load capacity and professional specifications, compatible with lightweight, mid weight and heavy weight cameras. Also compatible with most Dji RONIN RS2 and Dji RONIN 4D gimbals or other similar gimbals.
This professional camera stabilization system is ideal for professional cinema cameras from 6 lbs = 3kgs up to 27 lbs = 12,5kgs, it is ready and compatible with hybrid rotary heads ENDLESS 4.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready + Basson Steady Endless 4 rotary head carrying Red Digital cinema cameras
At the top of the center post now we provide D-TAP 14,8v to power your DJI Ronin RS2 & Ronin 4D gimbals. You can also attach your phone as a monitor to the handle of the steady to control the Dji Ronin RS2 gimbal with the App wireless.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready
Now you can mount to one the of the clamps on the handle of the steady a wireless Tilta Thumb controller for the DJI Ronin RS2 gimbal and also attach it to the handle of our steady to control the lens focus as well as to press record start and stop.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready + wireless Tilta Thumb controller for the DJI Ronin RS2 gimbal
You can also add to the Dji gimbal the 3d focus system lidar scanner to the Dji Ronin RS2 and Dji Ronin 4d gimbals to add autofocus capability to non autofocus cinema lenses.
Photo: Accessory for dj i Ronin rs2/ rs3, dji 3d focus system lidar scanner
You will also be able to attach to one the of the clamps on the handle of the steady the monitor of the Ronin 4d. This wireless High-Bright Remote Monitor can connect to the Hand Grips of Ronin 4D. This enables remote control of focus and gimbal movements with high precision, starting and stopping of recording, which can now be remotely adjusted even when Ronin 4D is mounted on top of our Hybrid gimbal-steady camera stabilizer.
This new steady can be used in 3 different modes, FIRST as a regular steady, SECOND you can add any Dji RONIN gimbal on top of the steady, and THIRD with the gimbal rotary head.
In the lower part of the central post now includes a sliding base with two sockets for v-mount batteries, which allows having a better foot that helps to keep the stabilizer more stable and a better balance control since sliding this base helps Improve the rolling, due to the physical laws with greater foot better stability.
It comes with 3 v-mount sockets instead of 1, which increases the time of usage by 3, and the cneter post has inside 3 USB cables that can be plugged to the v-mount batteries that these days allmost all v-mount batteries comes with USB output port.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready with 3 v-mount batteries
The new gimbal handle puts total control over your camera into the palm of your hand, because now it has 3 articulated clamps with 1/4 male screw to attach any 5 inch or 7 inch monitor as well as a phone to control the camera via app, and a third clamp to attach a wireless lens control to control the zoom or focus of your lens. on the handle you have now multiple connections to power any device, now it comes with hdmi, sdi, usb-c and apple i-phone ligtning cable.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid multiple powering options in the palm of your hand
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid multiple powering options and connections in the palm of your hand
Today all new devices have can be charged via USB, so you can take advantage of that and power or charge any device such as the wireless lens controller hand unit and motor, as well as any other device such as your Cell Phone that can be used to monitor and to take full control of your video camera via app, or to power any USB led light, you can also charge or power any USB power bank.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready, clamps on the handle for multiple monitoring options and focus controller in the palm of your hand
The new CENTER POST can hold two LCD MONITORS, to do that now it comes with a NEW GIMBAL MONITOR MOUNT, that allows you to have the monitor pointing directly to your face at a reduced distance regardless of the angle you are pointing the camera and regardless of the axis of the steady.
You can now shoot backwards while walking forward with your steady without compromising framing your shoot and also allows you to verify without any effort if the FOCUS IS CORRECT OR NOT. So there are NO MORE BLIND SPOTS, this new monitor mount comes with a 14.4volts power cable and also an HDMI cable, this new way to mount the LCD MONITOR comes with a male 1/4" screw to hold any LCD monitor, we recommend to use a small LCD monitor such as the 7" smallhd or the new 5" smallhd monitor.
Photo: Basson Steady Blackbee hybrid ready, clamps on the handle for multiple monitoring options and focus controller in the palm of your hand
Basson Steady offers worldwide free shipping and tax free. The listed prices of Basson Steady products in this blog and in our website are expressed in u$s dollars and includes Free shipping worldwide door to door delivery by Fedex, it also includes sales tax, vat or tva and also includes free custom taxes up to 98%.
All brand names, models, trademarks, and registered trademarks and photos from this blog and or mentioned in this description are property of their legal owners and are being used here only for description.
How well does this Tilta Float system work in the field?
This stabilizer it’s a nice product very well manufactured in terms of aesthetics and finishing quality, but it has many downsides when you want to use it professionally in the real world.
It seems that it was designed to make it as lightweight as possible to reduce the final weight, but also as to reduce the manufacture cost, so it is a very good looking product with several downsides, only recommended for beginners and for very lightweight cameras such as dslrs.
For example one of the downsides is the back mounted vest which is not a vest its just a waist support with no buckles just velcro, it’s very uncomfortable even with lightweight cameras such as dslrs. Then the mounting system rosette it is another downside, very uncomfortable too when the arm needs to be taken on and off frequently.
Probably the double shock absorber arm is the best part of this system because it is well made even despite its compact size, anyway it has a limited load capacity because it only supports up to (10kg in total ) including the hole center post with batteries, monitor, and dji ronin rs2. Which has a total weight of 6.3kgs in total with two v-mount batteries of 130wh.
So the real load capacity of this arm is for cameras of 4kgs and maybe1kgs more.
One downside of the arm is that the connector that goes to the bottom of the handle or yoke has no bearings, so it’s friction there all the time you can feel it in the palm of your hand specially when you do pannings.
The handle or yoke of the center post it’s very small, like made for the hand of a kid, it’s quite uncomfortable to hold it firmly for any normal adult hand size and it is also slippery because it has no grip.
Regarding to the center post it is very nice and very lightweight and works very well, it only has a couple downisdes, one is that uses NATO plates, so for small and cheap dslr cameras it’s ok, but when you want to put a profesional compact Red camera to the Dji Ronin RS2 or RS 3 , it is a little bit scary.
Photo: Side by side comparison Tilta and Nato plate
Photo: Side by side comparison Basson Steady sliding plate vs Tilta Nato Plate
The other downside is that both battery sockets are not connected together, so when you put the two batteries you can only use one at a time, and the other is only for counterweight, you need to unplug one to connect the other.
The tripod support where you are supposed to balance the center post horizontally and vertically, it only works for horizontal balance, because its a small piece of metal that you ad to your existing tripod or support, the problem with this docking bracket is that when you want to perform a 360 degree turn vertically to check the balance it can not be done due that the center post will touch the tripod or support.
Photo: side by side comparison docking brackets, Tilta baby pin docking adapter and Basson Steady professional docking bracket with hanger for vest support
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Which one should should you buy?
The Tilta Float stabilizer systems is well known by beign an affordable product and a great option for beginners workings with dlsr cameras only, it’s something that you can pick up at your nearest camera store. So If you have a limited budget, do not hesitate its an excellent product for the price. Regardless of the differences and downsides mentioned here, the Tilta float performs well with the Dji Ronin Rs2 or RS3 with any dslr camera, it is also a very lightweight solution and very affordable too.
But If you are planning to become a semi professional or professional filmmaker, planning to use larger cameras such as full frame dslrs, or digital cinema cameras such as RED or Arri cinema cameras, and you have the budget for it , then do not hesitate either and buy the Basson Steady black bee hr or Silverarrow hybrid ready, because they are a great option, and a complete set up at an affordable price for any professional, with similar specs and excellent stabilization results as the Arri Trinity 2.
Below you have just a few more reasons why Basson Steady hybrid camera stabilizer is the leading hybrid camera stabilization system alternative with 25 years in business designing and building only professional camera stabilizers since 1997.
But, don’t take it just from us.
In an independent Camera stabilization analysis, Basson Steady camera stabilizer model Endless ( the endless model is a Blackbee HR or Silverarrow HR hybrid ready with and Endless rotary head on top, as similar set up like an Arri trinity alternative ) Basson Steady scored in top position as the best, Vest system stabilizer.
Hear it straight from other professional sources
According to Studio Binder report about 15 best camera stabilizer systems, they qualified Basson Steady hybrid camera stabilizer model Endless as the best vest system stabilizer on the market
Pros: This stabilizer is really fun to watch. If you ever get the chance to operate it, you’ll quickly begin to understand why so many engineers and scientists seem to be a common profession among comic book villains.
The Basson Endless is the Mac Laren of stabilizers. This thing has shock absorbers, a place for 2 monitors, HDMI wires installed in the post, and can support cameras up to 8kgs inside the rotary head and 16,5kgs cameras if you remove the rotary head, It is super quiet and can be used while running sound without any issues.
The Basson Steady hybrid camera stabilizer Endless supposedly doubles the amount of time an operator can be in the field before they become fatigued when compared to other vest systems, due to the new design of the triple padded vest and the new isolated double shock absorber arm.
You can adjust the monitors to allow very complex movements while still keeping your subject perfectly framed. The vests are super comfortable, and the design is very sleek.
Cons: Reserved for high-end cameras and ultra budget filmmaking.
According to Cinescopophilia website a professional source for filmmaker
“Endless is an Amazing 8-axis Hybrid Camera Stabilizer”
Basson Steady introduce the New World’s First 8 Axis Hybrid Camera Stabilizer with Electronic Horizon & Electronic Pitch.”
Hear it also from another professional film company from Dubai:
Taken from Mudville Dubai blog, professional filmmaking company from Dubai.
Today we got confirmation on our tracking number for our specialist steadi system, its basically a steadicam on steroids with a gyro head, it allows us to setup quickly, move between the shots and the best thing it works with our EpicM and EpicX.
It take us more then a year to decide on the best rig for our company and we are happy to say it will be here next week sometime. We invite all to come an view and can't wait to have it on set.
What do you think, are you ready for a Basson Steady?
for further information about our hybrid camera stabilization system please visit our website:
The best source for steadicam operators and filmmakers worldwide.
We are manufacturers and designers of professional camera stabilizers, providing the most advanced camera stabilization systems for the community of motion picture and camera stabilization operators from all over the world since 1997.
Contact us:
Basson Steady in U.S.A (United States)
For more information or for specific requests, please contact our customer service:
Miami U.S.A: +1 (305) 83-44752
Tel / whatsapp: + (54911) 44726757
(Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 17.00 (U.S.A East coast time)
email: pplaul@hotmail.com
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