Hands-on with Freefly’s shockingly awesome $15,000 Movi camera gimbal

DNP  Handson with Freefly's shockingly awesome $15,000 Movi camera gimbal

One of the hottest gadgets at NAB isn't quite what you'd expect. Freefly, the company behind a series of professional-grade cinema hexacopters, is demoing its new Movi three-axis stabilized camera gimbal. We heard some rumblings about such a device last week, but the $15,000 price tag is quite a turnoff -- until you see it in action. We dropped by the company's booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center to check it out with an attached Canon EOS-1D C. Movi weighs in at just 3.5 pounds, jumping to 10 pounds once you mount the Canon camera and lens.

It's a very robust system, despite the weight and footprint, letting you pull off shots that otherwise may require hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment, and a substantial crew. In other words, you can capture incredibly compelling motion scenes with just a single camera operator. Don't take our word for it, though -- join us past the break to see Movi in action, along with a glowing testimonial from director Vincent Laforet, who Freefly tapped to shoot the gimbal's very first sample reel.

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Source: Vincent Laforet

Vizualized: Bay Area bids adieu to Space Shuttle Endeavour (update: video)

Vizualized Bay Area bids adieu to Space Shuttle Endeavour

NASA and the US government may have moved on from the shuttle program, but it's clear that the American people are still in love with our nation's cosmic cargo planes. An estimated 20,000 people showed up at the Ames Research Center/Moffet Air Force Base in Mountain View, California this morning to see Endeavour buzz the tower. With so many folks itchin' to see Endeavour's farewell tour firsthand, the line to get in was lengthy, but we braved the crowds to bring you some shots of the action. Enjoy.

[Thanks to Chris Williams for helping with some of the crowd shots]

Update: Canon/RED guru and LA-based DP Vincent Laforet caught the shuttle's final approach and landing at LAX. You'll find the slow-motion clip, shot at 5K resolution on a RED Epic at 96 frames-per-second with an 800mm Canon f/5.6 lens, just past the break.

Continue reading Vizualized: Bay Area bids adieu to Space Shuttle Endeavour (update: video)

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Vizualized: Bay Area bids adieu to Space Shuttle Endeavour (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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