Questions about the “game changer” MoVi camera stabilizer? Here are some answers

 

 

When Freefly Systems introduced its virtually unshakable, gyro-based MōVI camera stabilizer last month, it was quickly labeled a "game changer" for the imaging industry. But the device and its head-turning US$15,000 price tag have raised as many questions as answers since the launch.

To help dispel fact from fiction about the MōVI, Freefly has just released a clever video (below) addressing some of the concerns. In the video, which you'll quickly figure out is shot in one continuous take using a MōVI stabilizer, a tech rep breaks down the differences between the two systems: the MōVI MR and the MōVI M10, both of which sell for the same price. The main distinction between the two models is that the slightly lighter weight MōVI MR is designed to be used on a CineStar-series, remote-controlled hexacopter or octocopter, while MōVI M10 has additional features on its gimbal to make handheld operation easier.

Freefly is currently taking pre-orders of the two MōVI stabilizers for a refundable US$2,500 deposit but the company doesn't expect to start shipping the products until the third quarter of this year. The main reason given is that, along with receiving high demand, the MōVI stabilizers are literally made by hand at the Freefly offices in Seattle, a fact cleverly pointed out in the video.

For more answers on MōVI, check out this PDF-format FAQ document on the Freefly website. You might also be interested in this interview we conducted with an inventor who created a gyro-based camera stabilizer similar to MōVI nearly a decade ago.

(Via Vincent Laforet)