DJI Ronin-SC Announced – Smaller and Lighter One-Handed Gimbal

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by Jakub HanJuly 17^th, 2019

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Today, DJI announced the newest addition to their “Ronin family of gimbals”. Please welcome the DJI Ronin-SC. It is smaller and lighter than the Ronin-S, features a maximum payload of 4.4 lbs (2 kg) and brings some new features like Force Mobile and ActiveTrack 3.0.

Ronin-SC Gimbal. Source: DJI

Last year, when DJI announced the Ronin-S, they were entering an already quite crowded market of one-handed gimbals. Because of their good name and popularity of their bigger Ronin-branded gimbals, the Ronin-S too became quite popular. The number of views on our DJI Ronin-S Review and Tutorial walk-through video only confirms its popularity.

As many filmmakers pointed out, one of the specs of the Ronin-S didn’t make them so happy. Mostly its weight: The DJI Ronin-S gimbal weighs 4.1 lb (1.86 kg) which is ok for a short shooting, but not so comfortable for longer shoots. To make handling of the Ronin-S easier DJI released the Switch grip dual handle. You can find out more about it in our article from last week.

The truth is that the Ronin-S can carry quite heavy payloads – up to around 7.94 lb (3.6 kg), which is twice its own weight. Many mirrorless camera setups are, however, much lighter and don’t need such a high payload. The problem was that DJI didn’t offer a smaller Ronin gimbal for lighter setups. Until today. What is the new Ronin-SC like?

DJI Ronin-SC – Smaller and Lighter One-Handed Gimbal

As I mentioned above, the new DJI Ronin-SC (C stands for Compact) is a single-handed 3-axis gimbal aimed at lighter setups. The maximum payload is 4.4 lbs (2 kg), which should be enough for most mirrorless cameras with native lenses. It might even work with certain DSLR lenses with adapters, but there is always a danger of the resulting setup being too front-heavy (proper balancing is often limited by the roll arm of the gimbal).

Ronin-SC Gimbal – 360 degree roll. Source: DJI

The new Ronin SC weighs 2.4 lbs (1 kg), which is 41% lighter than the Ronin-S. It can be easily taken apart to fit into backpacks and cases. Like its larger sibling, the SC also features good and durable build quality with materials like magnesium, steel, aluminum and composite plastic.

Its dedicated battery offers users up to 11 hours of operation. Thanks to feedback from the Ronin-S users, DJI now incorporated 3 axis locks on the pan, tilt and roll axis of the Ronin-SC. This simplifies balancing the camera as well as transportation. Additionally, the Ronin-SC features a new position lock system. Once the gimbal is balanced, it is much faster to remount the camera and start working again.

Ronin-SC Gimbal – Sport mode. Source: DJI

Similar to the Ronin-S, users can control the gimbal movement with the responsive joystick and easily access different modes and gimbal settings with the use of the Mode (M) button and the front trigger button.

New Intelligent Modes

Using the redesigned Ronin app, users can set up to 3 different custom profiles, adjust various settings such as motor output and run balance tests to ensure that the camera system is properly balanced. The popular 360-degree roll movement can be saved in one of the custom profiles by simply selecting it in the app. Sport mode, which increases the response speed of the gimbal, is easily accessed by holding the Mode (M) button. The Ronin-SC offers the same modes as Ronin-S but with several new additions, including Force Mobile and ActiveTrack 3.0:

• Force Mobile (similar to Force Pro) synchronizes the movement of the connected mobile device (currently it only works with iOS devices) with the Ronin-SC gimbal. This works at a max distance of 82 feet (24.9 m – tested in an open unobstructed environment) using the new Bluetooth 5.0 connection.

Ronin-SC Gimbal – Force Mobile feature. Source: DJI

• ActiveTrack 3.0 can make the Ronin SC accurately follow selected subject using a mobile device. The new algorithms include deep learning and optimized calculations for human figures. Similar to the technology found in some DJI drones and the Osmo Series, ActiveTrack 3.0 uses the mobile phone’s camera view and sends this information to the Ronin-SC. Users can mount the mobile phone to the top of the camera’s hotshoe with the included phone holder mount, open the Ronin app and select the subject to follow automatically.

Ronin-SC Gimbal – Active Track Feature. Source: DJI

Other intelligent modes inherited from the Ronin-S include:

• Virtual joystick: Control gimbal movement remotely using the virtual joystick,  useful when the Ronin-SC is mounted on a tripod or monopod.
• TimeLapse and Motionlapse: Create timelapse content, adjusting settings including interval, clips and frames per second. With or without movement.
• Motion Control: Set movement paths with Motion Control by selecting up to 10 different points.
• Panorama: Automatically capture panoramas in multiple rows or columns.

The Ronin-SC is compatible with a variety of DJI accessories including a new, lighter external focus motor, Command Unit, DJI Force Pro, DJI Master Wheels, and some third-party accessories.

Ronin-SC Gimbal is compatible with various accessories. Source: DJI

Pricing and availability

The DJI Ronin-SC is available now – we included links below our article. There are two versions of the Ronin-SC available:

• Ronin-SC Standard includes the essentials and is priced at around $439 US (€359)
• Ronin-SC Pro Combo adds the focus wheel along with the external focus motor and the Remote Start Stop (RSS) Splitter for $539 US (€459)

Ronin-SC Gimbal is compatible with various accessories. Source: DJI

DJI Care Refresh is also available for the Ronin-SC. For an additional $49 US (€39) it offers comprehensive coverage as well as up to two replacement units within one year. DJI Care Refresh Express is available for faster replacements. DJI Care Refresh also includes VIP after-sales support and free two-way shipping. Covered regions for the Care Refresh are US, Canada, EU, Switzerland, Norway, UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China.

What do you think of the new DJI Ronin-SC? Would such a compact gimbal fit well into your workflow? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.