I'm looking at a few options for mounting my phone lower (closer to) and slightly in front of my camera so the center of gravity is lower. Has anyone else seen this done (even with a non-DJI setup)? Would put less stress on the motors during extreme tilts, considering the setup won't be so top-heavy anymore.

The idea is to get the smallest phone you can get that works if not you somehow modify the camera with a long ribbon so it's just the ribbon and the camera is to your wallet or something.

I wonder what purpose does the side phone holder joint serve since you really can't use it for anything other than to operate the app on the go. I've been using it for a bit and it doesn't really seem practical in real life situations, It seems like a hindrance rather than an aid.

Abraham Reyes Posted at 7-29 17:46
I wonder what purpose does the side phone holder joint serve since you really can't use it for anything other than to operate the app on the go. I've been using it for a bit and it doesn't really seem practical in real life situations, It seems like a hindrance rather than an aid.

I have wondered the same.

AntDX316 Posted at 7-29 17:22
The idea is to get the smallest phone you can get that works if not you somehow modify the camera with a long ribbon so it's just the ribbon and the camera is to your wallet or something.

Understood, but I am looking for a solution closer to what I have described- relocating the phone to a lower position slightly above the camera lens. Just seems the physics (for balancing) would work better like this than with a phone mounted higher above the camera. Someone has to have thought of that and come up with a solution. Either way, if/when I come up with an alternative rig I'll post back.

Abraham Reyes Posted at 7-29 17:46
I wonder what purpose does the side phone holder joint serve since you really can't use it for anything other than to operate the app on the go. I've been using it for a bit and it doesn't really seem practical in real life situations, It seems like a hindrance rather than an aid.

It's not a side phone holder, it's a cold shoe mount that you can screw left or right (manual page 3) to the "RSA"-port (=Ronin Series Accessories). You can also mount the optional Ronin controller (not included in Pro combo) there or the focus wheel (Pro combo). The port is covered by a lid that you need to unscrew first. Once installed, you can use a mini magic arm, a ball head or something like this and put a monitor on there, a video transmitter (i.e. Hollyland Mars 300) for remote pans & tilts with Force Mobile, a microphone, what have you. Or just the phone as you would on the camera's hot shoe for Active track. Then it's a bigger controller.

akibo Posted at 7-30 12:04
It's not a side phone holder, it's a cold shoe mount that you can screw left or right (manual page 3) to the "RSA"-port (=Ronin Series Accessories). You can also mount the optional Ronin controller (not included in Pro combo) there or the focus wheel (Pro combo). The port is covered by a lid that you need to unscrew first. Once installed, you can use a mini magic arm, a ball head or something like this and put a monitor on there, a video transmitter (i.e. Hollyland Mars 300) for remote pans & tilts with Force Mobile, a microphone, what have you. Or just the phone as you would on the camera's hot shoe for Active track. Then it's a bigger controller.

Oh, yeah! Sorry, you must have not understood what I meant. Most of us know the 8 pin ports are for.  I actually own the Ronin-S since it's release and have used it with different accessories. My question was regarding the use of the phone holder on the side of the Ronin-SC (not on top of your camera's hot shoe mount).

Abraham Reyes Posted at 7-30 13:31
Oh, yeah! Sorry, you must have not understood what I meant. Most of us know the 8 pin ports are for.  I actually own the Ronin-S since it's release and have used it with different accessories. My question was regarding the use of the phone holder on the side of the Ronin-SC (not on top of your camera's hot shoe mount).

I didn't misunderstand. We were both stating the obvious: that apparently the phone to the right side of the gimbal serves no purpose, or not more so than, say, a phone holder mounted on a broomstick, in case  you were waitung for calls while brooming. And that the official DJI images featuring this are deliberately misleading because they do suggest a purpose. However, I'm glad they included the cold shoe ...
Regarding the question whether there was a possibility to mount the phone beneath the lens for Active Track, I support your request. For various reasons, one being that the balance could be improved. Another one is that underslung mode (or however DJI calls this) is impossible with an installation of that height. Am I wrong? What about test shots chasing your cats, dogs or kids?


But again stating the obvious, if the phone was positioned under the lens, the camera would block it's screen. So how were we supposed to draw that rectangle?

Right now, without access to the Roinin SC (waiting for it), I think mounting the phone to the back of the camera is the best solution (least parallax mismatch, doesn't make the setup top heavy). Ideally you have a flip-out display. Or, as in my case, the display is almost useless anyway (A6500 - display dims considerably while recording UHD, for shooting outside I either have to use the viewfinder or an external monitor).

Thoughts on that?

akibo Posted at 7-30 22:39
I didn't misunderstand. We were both stating the obvious: that apparently the phone to the right side of the gimbal serves no purpose, or not more so than, say, a phone holder mounted on a broomstick, in case  you were waitung for calls while brooming. And that the official DJI images featuring this are deliberately misleading because they do suggest a purpose. However, I'm glad they included the cold shoe ...
Regarding the question whether there was a possibility to mount the phone beneath the lens for Active Track, I support your request. For various reasons, one being that the balance could be improved. Another one is that underslung mode (or however DJI calls this) is impossible with an installation of that height. Am I wrong? What about test shots chasing your cats, dogs or kids?

Coming to think of it, to really make Active Track more user-friendly, > there should be another mount for the phone, could also be 3d party, like from SmallRig or so.

> the Ronin app should allow to zoom the preview, so that we could match it with the focal length of the camera's lens. Yes, I know that Active allegedly also works for longer lenses, but I would find that a real improvement.

akibo Posted at 7-30 22:39
I didn't misunderstand. We were both stating the obvious: that apparently the phone to the right side of the gimbal serves no purpose, or not more so than, say, a phone holder mounted on a broomstick, in case  you were waitung for calls while brooming. And that the official DJI images featuring this are deliberately misleading because they do suggest a purpose. However, I'm glad they included the cold shoe ...
Regarding the question whether there was a possibility to mount the phone beneath the lens for Active Track, I support your request. For various reasons, one being that the balance could be improved. Another one is that underslung mode (or however DJI calls this) is impossible with an installation of that height. Am I wrong? What about test shots chasing your cats, dogs or kids?

Get it fist and test it and then we can keep discussing.

akibo Posted at 7-30 22:52
Coming to think of it, to really make Active Track more user-friendly, > there should be another mount for the phone, could also be 3d party, like from SmallRig or so.

> the Ronin app should allow to zoom the preview, so that we could match it with the focal length of the camera's lens. Yes, I know that Active allegedly also works for longer lenses, but I would find that a real improvement.

Okay, I see my fallacy now. With the phone behind the camera, I would block it's tiny lens ...

akibo Posted at 7-30 22:52
Coming to think of it, to really make Active Track more user-friendly, > there should be another mount for the phone, could also be 3d party, like from SmallRig or so.

> the Ronin app should allow to zoom the preview, so that we could match it with the focal length of the camera's lens. Yes, I know that Active allegedly also works for longer lenses, but I would find that a real improvement.

Zooming the preview to match focal length sounds ideal to me too!

"the Ronin app should allow to zoom the preview, so that we could match it with the focal length of the camera's lens."perhaps add a focal zoom indicator value
adjusting/matching focal length seems lika a good way forward. I played around with different lenses and noticed discrepancies

I wonder if there could be a way to show the actual image of the camera on the phone. Like when you use, e.g. the Sony app. Then we could draw the rectangle on the phone screen and follow the subject, no matter where the phone were.

This works for me as an alternative... mount the phone holder on the quick release plate. This should give you the best center of gravity, if you're okay with losing the camera screen. It also made me realize that I wasn't balancing correctly - make sure you follow the tilt and roll guides till the end, and you balance the distance arms as well.

Ben Olayinka Posted at 2020-9-9 01:30
This works for me as an alternative... mount the phone holder on the quick release plate. This should give you the best center of gravity, if you're okay with losing the camera screen. It also made me realize that I wasn't balancing correctly - make sure you follow the tilt and roll guides till the end, and you balance the distance arms as well.

[view_image]

I may try this out. I have no problem balancing my a6400 with the phone on the hot shoe mount, but I find that it limits some tilts when the camera tilts back, as the phone hits the roll motor axis.  This may just be the solution for my problem, as long as I can make my phone camera lens stick out to the side further than the camera's edge.  

Now it's the rod for the focus wheel attachment that is hindering the full range of motion.