what do you think about the Steadicam Axis

[Mohamed benmeddour]

Hello everyone,

I saw that Steadicam recently released the Axis, and I’m really interested in hearing your thoughts on it. For those of you who have had a chance to use it or know a bit about it, what do you think of its overall performance and features? 

In particular, I’d love to know in what types of projects or shooting conditions you feel the Axis would be most effective. Are there any specific advantages you’ve noticed, or situations where it excels compared to bigger models? Conversely, are there any limitations or scenarios where it might fall short, making other rigs a better option?

I’m looking forward to your insights!

Best regards,

[Michael Della Polla]

I own one and love it. If you are coming from movi operating this is a big step up and help. I actually recommend this mostly for gimbal operators because the payload limitations are tricky so you need to consider stripping the camera down like you would on a gimbal. 
Ac’s who think you have a bigger rig can get frustrated when you keep pushing to strip it down more and more but I try to explain to them it’s like a gimbal with more precision and control.

 

So I’d say it’s all about what you’re after. I’m hoping to save up while doing jobs with this to afford a volt3 someday.

[Matt Pignataro]

I have owned one since December and am pretty happy with it. Bought it used from B&H, which unfortunately necessitated returning the A-30 arm back to Steadicam for repair thanks to the previous owners who were clearly trying to fly a much heavier camera than the rig was designed for. But now that it's repaired and running, the Axis has been great for me. 

To answer the OP's questions, I primarily freelance with a marketing agency that runs Sony FX6s for cameras. The Axis is perfect for this segment of small box cameras with a small crew. When rigged up with the FX6, Sigma 28-45mm f1.8 lens, and all the associated goodies, the sled is coming in at 26.4 pounds. Like all steadicams, it's really great for walk and talks which is something we struggled to get smooth shots from with the agency's previous hardware setup (a ReadyRig with a Tilta ring holding a DJI RS4). 

The A-30 arm is definitely an entry level arm, so that is the one limitation I'd throw out there. You don't get any control of the isoelacticity like you do with the 50X and 70x, so the arm is a bit finicky near the extremes of travel. Once tuned correctly though, it does what it needs to do. I also am not a huge fan of the Zephyr vest - I'm definitely looking forward to trying some of the alternatives at CineGear this June. 

One thing that I'm still fine tuning on the Axis are the pan controls. There's a submenu for tuning the inertia and the drag for the pan axis, then as I understand it the main pan control influences how much these are felt. What I've noticed is the pan 'rebounding' if one of these submenu settings are up too high (pretty sure it's the drag). I'm also still trying to get the pan axis to not move with the arm when I start walking. It's taking me a second to find my frame when I start to move, which is obviously not ideal. I'm sure it'll come with more practice. 

Overall though, I'm very happy with the Axis. 

[Edward David]

thanks for this review!  is there a way to swap out the monitor. also can you switch the arm to like a 50x or some other arm?  yea zephyr vest is pretty crappy :)

[Matt Pignataro]

Thanks Edward. Yes you can easily use whatever monitor you like. I'm just using the rebranded Feelworld that comes with the kit. It's fine for now. Eventually I may go to an Atomos Shinobi 7".

I'm a steadicam noob, so I'm not sure if you can use this sled with the G-50X. The A-30 is working fine for me for the moment, but I am still seeing some lagging with the upper arm. I'm told by Steadicam service that this is normal with this arm and that it's not as smooth as the higher tier arms. 

And yea, I can see a new vest purchase at some point this year. The Zephyr is rough - hard to believe it's $3000!

[Edward David]

also how would you fly an alexa 35 on this?  is there a way to power thru the sled?  or get a b mount battery on a gold mount plate and use d tap to power stuff?