There are three things us customers would want: Size, Performance and Price. But a lot of the time, we could only get two. Say you want a compact camera the size that wouldn't strain your back, and it has performance that meets your lifestyle. There exist such a camera in our wonderful world of Photography, and it's called the Leica M. The sacrifice would be the Price.
As with all things in life, change is the only constant. As one gets older, one's loading capacity goes down, while one's tolerance towards Price gets higher. Yet all of us would strive for Performance regardless of our age.
Can we not have all three ? Maybe we just might. Let me use this gimbal which I'd bought 4-5 years ago as an illustration.
The gimbal is made by Zhiyun. When the Crane 2 first came out, it has a whopping 3 kg payload, probably the mightiest camera stabilizer at the time for a reasonable price tag of USD 500.
It was inexpensive, it's still working fine today. But throughout the years, I'd maybe use it .....like 3 times only. The darn thing is big, and it gets heavy with a camera on it, and it gets even heavier if I were to walk around with it for hours. I just couldn't enjoy the moment whenever I was lugging around this setup.
Many generations of camera stabiliser had gone by, and each new product is considered to be a "game changer" . Truth is, I'm actually getting numb with the term "game changer". I feel a little humility by turning down a notch or two would be nice. Trying to stand out like a sore thumb in today's world of algorithm is tough, I get it. It is what it is.
The new DJI RS4 Mini seems to have embodied the holy trinity. It's compact enough, its performance surpasses the Crane 2 by about 5 miles, and its price has put a smile on my face. Maybe a real game changer has finally arrived ?
I'm tempted by this RS4 Mini, but I won't rush out and grab myself one. When I'm out shooting, my priority remains focused in Still shot photography, and filming will forever be my secondary.
