What's up everybody my name is Alex Chung and today I'm talking about how I set up my Zhiyun Crane 3.
Being able to rig out your gimbal and attach certain accessories is very helpful especially
when you're shooting and it allows you to get better footage. So today I want to show you guys
how I set up my gimbal when I'm shooting commercials and weddings and hopefully this
helps some of you guys decide what sort of accessories you need to put on your gimbal
to help you guys make better films. And all the gear that I talk about today will be linked down
below. So diving straight in the first thing that we're going to be taking a look at is the Atomos
Ninja 5. It's an external recorder that you hook up via a HDMI cable and from there you can monitor
your shot and externally record onto an SSD. This is extremely useful for cameras that have
expanded external recording capabilities such as the EOS R, the Panasonic GH4, the 5, the Nikon Z6
and a bunch of other cameras. I'll definitely have a separate video talking more in depth about this
external recorder. With this 5-inch monitor you don't have to rely on that little LCD screen on
the back of your camera to see what you're shooting. And plus you have a lot of features such
as zebras, focus peaking, false color, histograms, waveforms and a whole bunch of other extra
features. So to mount it on my Crane 3 I simply take one of these smaller articulating arms that
is made by SmallRig and I first screw one of the ends onto the gimbal and then I mount on the Ninja
5, angle it to how I want it and then lock it off. And the last step is simply to attach the HDMI
cable from the monitor to your camera. I like using the regular longer cables and not the coiled up
ones because they're not as stiff. When you're performing gimbal moves sometimes I find that
these coiled wires will drag on the camera and mess up my movements. And with this rig I can
easily monitor what I'm shooting when I'm on the gimbal and I don't have to rely on this small
little flip out screen on the EOS R. The second thing that I mount onto my gimbal is the Prism
Lens Effects Triangle Prism. Prism Lens Effects is a new company based out in LA that specializes
in making unique prism glass for filmmaking. They have a bunch of great products out right now so
make sure you check out their website in the link down below. And what's great about this particular
prism is that it has the quarter inch thread mounted on the bottom and that way I can take
another one of these longer articulating arms also made by SmallRig and screw it onto the top of the
tilt axis on my gimbal. And then on the other side I screw on the prism and then angle it to how I
want and then lock off the entire arm. With this setup you just need to make sure that you rebalance
your gimbal after you've mounted on the prism and make sure everything is good to go before you start
shooting. And with the Triangle Prism mounted on like this I'm able to get some really cool unique
looking shots that I probably wouldn't otherwise get. Another accessory that I like to attach to
the Crane 3 is the Hollyland Tech Mars 300 and this is a wireless video transmitter that allows
you to send and receive video signals. I've actually made a whole video about the Mars 300
and you can check it out right up here. And basically these devices send video signals from
your camera to an external monitor for someone else to monitor your shot, check to make sure
what you're shooting, and have someone pulling focus using a wireless focus puller. And this
one is pretty straightforward. I attach the transmitter to the rosette mount on the Crane 3
with a SmallRig articulating arm and I'm good to go. And then on the separate external monitor I
have the receiver attached to it and have someone like a director monitoring my shot making sure
everything looks good. And again if that sounds interesting to you I have a whole video up here
so that you can check it out and learn more about it. The last accessory that I like to use is a
monopod. Now normally I have the little tripod feet mounted to the bottom of the Crane 3 but
sometimes I like to swap it out for a monopod. And it is surprisingly very easy to get cinematic
shots with this setup. And I've made another separate video about how you can get really
cool shots using just a monopod and a gimbal in a video right up here. I'll just plug in all my
videos in today. Make sure you go watch all of them. Besides being able to get really cool jib shots and
other kind of really cool shots, what I like about the monopod setup is that you can easily set it
down on the ground whenever you want. Especially with a monopod that has feet like the Zhiyun
telescopic monopod, you're able to put it down on the ground and just lightly hold on to it as you
need to take a break and just pick it up and go when you start shooting again. And I also find it
a little bit easier to shoot with the monopod and gimbal just because of how the weight is
distributed. The setup doesn't feel as heavy and it's a little bit more comfortable to use
than with just a little tripod feet. Even though I like the feet. Oh, that's not a fit. Oh, that's
a weird. That's weird. And again, if you want to learn a little bit more about these kind of cool
shots, you can check out the video that I have right up here. So there you have it. That is how
I like to rig out my Crane 3 when I'm shooting commercials and weddings. If you guys have
something different, other accessories that you'd like to put on the Crane 3, let me know in the
comments down below. And if you have other questions about the way I rig out my Crane 3,
let me know also down in the comments. I read every one of them. I actually do,
because I don't get a lot. That's why I read every one of them. And if you like this video,
hit that like button, make sure to subscribe, turn on the bell to get notified of every video
that I post. My name is Alex Chung, and I'll see you later. Bye.
