Polecam Adds Ronin Gimbal for Red Bull Cliff Diving in Texas

LONDON—Polecam Systems said it super-stabilized John Gillan’s Polecam by fitting and interfacing it with a new Ronin-M gimbal for coving the the latest Red Bull Cliff Diving event.

“Whether it’s a Jimmy Jib or a Polecam—strong wind is always tricky for a jib but I knew that with the recent developments of gimbal technology this could be the answer. Steffan and his team were great in getting this ready in time and the results were brilliant” said Gillan, director of photography for event coverage.

Polecam said Gillan shot with his Toshiba IK-HD1 camera mounted with the Fujinon XT17 zoom lens. With the 4.5-77mm range and the lens controlled by the Polecam ZIF handle, this combination is working a treat on the gimbal head, and can be used even in the windy conditions encountered in these locations.

This event in Texas was hampered by massive flooding this year. The ramp had to be raised 5 meters due to the increase in water level. At one point, a resonance vibration started in the Ronin-M due to the stiffness of the boom. There wasn’t the time to adjust the tension on the boom’s wire struts, but Polecam said a tweak on the Ronin-M App fixed it.

“This is something we have been looking at for a while and will soon be launching our own bespoke gimbal....” said Steffan Hewitt, the founder of Polecam Systems. “In the meantime, interfacing third-party gimbals seems a simple and very effective solution.”

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