Zhiyun offers two different kits for the Crane 3S, the EasySling Kit and the SmartSling Kit. The only difference between them is the handle! So which Zhiyun Crane 3S kit is the right one for you? Hopefully I can help you guys figure out!
So if you take a look at the Zhiyun website,
you'll see that there are two options
when you're trying to purchase the Crane 3S,
the Easy Sling Kit, and then the Smart Sling Kit.
Now, the only thing between them,
besides the $90 price difference, are these two handles.
If you don't wanna watch this whole video,
I'll tell you right now that the Smart Sling Handle,
this one right here, the Smart Sling Kit, rather,
is the better option.
You're welcome, and I'll see you
in the first 15 seconds of my next video.
For those of you guys who want an in-depth explanation,
let's dive straight into it.
For $649, you can get a dead handle,
meaning it doesn't electronically talk
to the gimbal itself.
However, for $739, you can upgrade
to the Smart Sling Handle, which is the electronic one,
and it's also the same one that you can find
on the Crane 3 Lab.
So for those of you who are thinking
about investing into the 3S, you might be wondering,
well, which kit should I get,
and which one is better for me?
So let's take a look at some of the advantages
and disadvantages of both handles,
and we'll first start with the Easy Sling.
This one is the non-electronic one,
and it just simply screws right onto the back of the 3S.
If you're familiar with the Weeble S or the Weeble Lab,
you'll feel right at home with the Easy Sling Handle.
You just operate it like a normal handle.
It's got a little anti-twist lock
that will prevent you from accidentally loosening it
while you're shooting, and it's also got a nice rubber grip
that's comfortable to hold for long periods of time,
and on the bottom, it's got a 3 1⁄8-inch hole,
which is the same size as the screw on top
for you to mount other accessories.
If you don't want to mount it to the back of the gimbal,
you can also use it to extend your grip at the bottom.
This is especially useful if you're mounting cinema cameras
or heavier setups because it gives you more room
to comfortably grip at the bottom of the gimbal.
As far as the good things go for the Easy Sling Handle,
that's about it.
One of the things that I don't like about the Easy Sling
is how you have to mount it so close to the roll access arm.
Right now, I have my Canon EOS R
with the Tamron 24-70 zoom lens on there,
which is a pretty simple setup,
but in order to properly balance this,
you have to push the pan arm pretty far back,
which makes it virtually impossible to operate like this.
Now, Zhiyun does include an extender plate,
but once you mount the handle on,
the Easy Sling sits about an inch higher
than the Smart Sling Handle,
and that, to me, really throws off
the weight distribution of the entire gimbal.
The other thing is that unlike the Smart Sling Handle,
the Easy Sling doesn't talk to the gimbal electronically,
which means you aren't able to quickly see
a lot of crucial information like,
oh, hey, I have half battery life left.
With the Easy Sling Handle,
you have to turn the gimbal kind of sideways
in order to press the power button,
and based on how many lights are lighting up,
that'll tell you how much battery life is left,
and that's pretty inconvenient to have to do all the time,
whereas on the Smart Sling Handle,
a lot of that information is already provided
on the OLED display.
If you've used the Crane 3 Lab,
you'll know exactly how useful this handle is.
To mount it, you simply slide it in all the way
until it clicks in, and then you latch it all the way down,
and this thing is not gonna go anywhere.
The Smart Sling Handle will tell you
how much battery life is left,
whether you're connected to your camera or not.
It's got a record button for video.
You can switch between modes really quickly
versus having to awkwardly reach for the different buttons
on the opposite side of the gimbal.
You can change your camera's ISO, shutter speed, aperture,
and you have different settings in the menu system
that you can change right away
without having to go into the ZY Play app.
Also really important is that
if you're using a zoom controller,
you have to have the zoom rocker on the handle
in order to zoom in and out
without having to go into an app.
The Smart Sling Handle has great ergonomics.
It's really comfortable to grip for long periods of time,
and when you're holding it in underslung mode,
it makes weight distribution of the entire payload
much easier to handle.
No pun intended.
I just realized that.
Stupid.
A couple of the disadvantages to the Smart Sling Handle
is one, you can only attach it to the back of the gimbal,
whereas on the Easy Sling,
you're able to mount it in the back or at the bottom.
And number two, when you're updating the firmware
of the whole gimbal,
you have to make sure that the Smart Sling Handle
is attached and locked in properly all the way,
or else you won't be able to turn on the handle
after you've updated.
So ultimately, which one should you get?
Like I said in the beginning of the video,
I 100% think that you should be getting
this Smart Sling Handle
just because it offers so much more functionality
over the Easy Sling.
Yes, it is $90 more,
but if you're already considering investing
into the Zhiyun Crane 3S,
you might as well go all out
and just upgrade the handle as well
so you get the most out of your package.
I hope this video helps you guys out.
If you have any more other questions,
leave it down below in the comments.
I'll be sure to come back and check and answer everything.
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I will be making more videos on the Crane 3S,
so make sure you stay up to date on everything.
My name is Alex Chong, and I'll see you later.
Bye.
