Some of you may recall the “original” MōVI Carbon was announce back around NAB 2017 time (I wrote about it here) and at the time it featured an integrated Sony a7sII + Sony 24-240mm lens combo, which at the time was the go-to 4K mirrorless camera. It is not quite clear whether the original MoVI Carbon ever made it to market, maybe they had a small run of them, but whatever the case was, now it looks like that Freefly are back with a MoVI Carbon integrated stabilizer gimbal based around the Panasonic GH5s camera and a Fujinon cine zoom.
According to Freefly Systems, the MoVI Carbon is the world’s first handheld and drone-mountable, cinema grade 5-axis camera stabilizer. The engineering team at Freefly have miniaturized, optimized, and cut every possible gram of weight from their 5-axis design so you can shoot in the world’s most interesting places. MōVI Carbon features two high-bandwidth inner axes which keep the camera perfectly stable in even the most demanding conditions at a full 240mm zoom.
Images by Freefly Systems
MōVI Carbon tips the scales at just under 20lbs, and features an integrated camera/lens design with an integrated FIZ control, a Panasonic GH5S, and a customized Fujinon XK 20-120mm T3.5 cine zoom lens, giving you roughly a 40-240mm effective focal length to work with, which should cover 99% of most shots needed for most productions.
The Panasonic GH5s was selected due to its compact form factor and strong internal codec capable of capturing world-class images in 10bit 4K/24, as well as 4K up to 60p on internal SD state cards and the Fujinon 20-120 lens for its sharp, vivid images and cine ergonomics that helped with lens control.
The GH5s + Fujinon XK combo is neatly tucked in a custom black shroud making the gimbal ready for anything the most demanding filmmaker can throw at it. I can definitely see the MoVI Carbon being used on car commercials or any sports events involving fast-paced moving objects; the 40-240mm FF equivalent focal range plus the high-sensitivity of the GH5S sensor can deal with a huge range of situations and conditions and operators can get smashing shots of cars, boats, bikes or whatever.
The MoVI Carbon can enable you to get low level dynamic drone shots from focal ranges no other system can achieve and the ability to swap the gimbal in seconds to a moving car or motorbike can be indispensable on the right production.
Freefly MoVI Carbon Specifications
- Total Weight with two batteries:
- 19.2lbs
- Total Weight without batteries:
- 17.8lbs
- MōVI Carbon Dimensions:
- 410 x 345 x 425mm (L*W*H)
Utilizing the Toad in the Hole, MōVI Carbon can be mounted to the included MōVI Ring Pro, or to optional ALTA 8, TERO, or 3rd party vehicle mount equipped with a Toad.
Freefly Systems MoVI Carbon “In the Box”:
- MōVI Carbon
- Panasonic GH5S
- Fujinon XK 20-120mm
- 2x MōVI Pro Battery
- 2x MōVI Pro Battery Charger
- MōVI Controller Receiver RP-SMA (Pre-installed)
- 2.0mm Driver
- 2.5mm Driver
- Schneider Compact ND Kit 114mm (ND 0.6/0.9/1.2)
- Schneider 4.5″ Round Clear Ultraviolet
- Aux UART to FRX Cable
- MōVI Ring Pro
- MōVI Carbon Travel Case
The MoVI Carbon is priced at $45,000 USD, and yes this is a high-end stabilizer that would suit specialized productions or productions companies frequently requiring similar (and more expensive) tools to capture fast moving objects in the car world or similar industries. However, the good news is that even of you don’t have $45K, Freefly has a rental option.
For those that are not yet ready to commit to owning a MoVI Carbon yet, or those that have a special job that Carbon would be perfect for, you have the option of renting one from Freefly for a week starting at $3,500.
For more details and to learn more about the MoVI Carbon head over to Freefly Systems.
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