The Manfrotto MVG300XM is a fantastic gimbal for pro real estate videographers on the move.
What separates one gimbal from another today? This is sort of like asking, what’s the “best” camera? Obviously, you might get 10 different answers from 10 different people on both subjects.
For me, as a real estate photographer and videographer — speed of setup, ease of use and results are the most paramount characteristics. What makes the Manfrotto MVG300XM such a joy to use is the quick setup, the amazing ease of use and of course, results!
Setup is a snap!
If you’re familiar with gimbals, one of the big annoyances — in general — is set up and breakdown. In order for the gimbal to fit neatly back in its case, this usually means breaking it down completely. This also means when you open it back up, you’re essentially starting over and balancing the rig every time. If you use your gimbal with the same camera and lens combo — which I generally do — you can mark the three arms with a silver sharpie. This will help you the videographer get set up more quickly.
Real World? If your workflow is anything like mine, what I invariably do to save time is leave the gimbal setup and place it in this state in my car. This usually leads to me buying more gimbals because they don’t last long getting tossed around in the back.
What’s so great about the Manfrotto MVG300XM is rather than defacing your gimbal with a sharpie or trashing it in the back as you go over bumps and potholes. Manfrotto has smartly included “memory dots.” What I love about these is I am able to move these dots into position once the gimbal is balanced. So the next time I set up with the same camera and lens combo, setup only takes seconds. It’s a tremendous time and productivity saver. I don’t mind breaking it down now because the setup is quick and easy!
Ease of use — innovation — results
In addition to being much faster to set up, Manfrotto has given us some neat innovations with the Manfrotto MVG300XM. The telescopic “GimBoom” allows the videographer to get higher up to simulate low-flying drone shots. Moreover, the GimBoom allows the videographer to do “jib-like” movements that can start lower and go much higher.
The move quick release system is a joy to use allowing me to change setups quickly. The quick-release allows you to connect without having to line anything up, you just drop it in. They call it a 360-degree release — and it’s really cool, simple, fast and innovative!
But the bottom line for me is results. Sure, the setup is faster, the move system is easy to work with, and the gimboom gives me more options. All those things are great and “nice to have.” But if we have those things and the footage is garbage, then what difference does it make really? Which explains why I’m so smitten with the system because, in addition to being easy to use and set up, the results are simply smooth and sublime!
As a real estate videographer on the move, I really enjoy the addition of the Manfrotto MVG300XM to my kit — it’s now my go-to gimbal.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some videos to go shoot!
