Zhiyun Crane 3 LAB - Unboxing Video (Creator's Package VS Master's Package)

What's up guys, my name is Alex Zhang and today we are obviously talking about the Zhiyun Crane 3. Hope you guys like that intro. Now in the last video that I put out, I talked about my first impressions of the Crane 3 and this time instead of just borrowing it for the weekend, Zhiyun was kind enough to send out their creator's package early to me and I've been able to use it for a a look at what's inside the creator's package. They also have a master's package which is a little bit different so stick around to the second half of this video to find out what the differences are between their creator's package for the Crane 3 versus the master package. As you can see, the Crane 3 has a totally new design that really sets itself apart from the Crane 2 and pretty much all the other gimbals out there in the market today with the addition of the To me personally, it is much easier to control and get smoother shots and steadier shots because now you have not just one but two points of contact when you're holding the back grip and the bottom of the Crane 3 versus just one point of contact with both your hands at the bottom of the Crane 2. With that being said, let's just dive straight into the unboxing and starting with the box itself. Okay, so this is what the box looks like and you'll notice that the handle for this box is actually the same handle for the Crane 3 case itself. Alright, so this is what the case itself looks like right here. It has the Zhiyun logo on the front and you'll notice that with this case right here, it is very different than the case for the Crane 2. The Crane 2, this one is the case for the Crane 2. It's like a soft but sort of like a semi-hard shell case that you get for the Crane 2. The case for the Crane 3 is so much different. It's that hard foam DJI Ronin-S case that you get. It's a little bit sturdier, it's a little tougher and I really like the case for the Crane 3. Now, you might be thinking why did they ever make this case for the Crane 3 so enormous, so ginormous, so like it is huge. It is a giant case, right? Why did they go and make such a huge case for the Crane 3? Well, I'll show you why in just a moment. Now, to open this case itself, you have two little latches on the front one right there, the second one's right there and these things are probably my biggest complaint honestly about the case itself because it's actually super hard to open. You have to kind of like dig your finger into the latch and it's kind of a small little latch opening so you have to dig into it. This one is the hardest one. I don't know why. I don't know why they didn't just go with the single latch opening thing that the DJI Ronin-S has on their case but whatever. Once you open these two latches, ouch, once you open up these two latches up the case itself, you see the Crane 3 right up and center, right up front, right here and right next to it, you have the base plate which is this guy right here. Take it out. That's what it looks like here. So, this guy has the lens support system in the front so if you're using like heavier zoom lenses, you get additional support out front so that doesn't strain your camera mount too much and something new on this base plate now is that they have this little slider mechanism, this thing right here. You loosen this and you're able to slide the lens support back and forth, extend it depending on like how long your zoom lenses are so it'll just give a little bit more support out front right there. Right below the base plate right there is the pouch that carries all the cables that you need for the Crane 3. So, this is what it looks like right here. It's a nice little pouch that if you open it, it looks like this. I'll show you right here. So, that's what it looks like. It carries all the cables that are necessary for connecting different cameras like the Canon cameras, the Panasonic cameras, the Sony cameras, Nikon, etc. All the cameras, the cables are in this pouch right here. You also get a couple of these Velcro cable ties which are really handy when you tie up some loose cables. You have two of them right here for you. You also get two of these HDMI cables that connect your camera to the Zhiyun Crane 3 and there's two cables. It's a mini to a mini and a mini to micro HDMI and you're able to monitor the image using the ZY Play app on your smartphone. You also have the cord for the battery charger right here inside the pouch as well. So, they really included everything for you inside this neat little pouch right here and everything is just tucked inside this pouch so that you don't have any loose cables flying around in the case. Next is the tripod legs which are right here. I really like the new design on the stand right here. It folds out like this. When you're not using the Crane 3, you can set it down and it folds up and it acts as the grip which you can easily control the Crane 3 with. What's new about the design is the addition of the rubber to the side instead of the all-metal one on the Crane 2. It just makes it a lot easier to grip. It feels more comfortable to hold especially when it's cold outside. You just don't want to be touching complete metal. It's freezing your hand off. So, I really like the new design on the grip. So, right above the tripod legs, you have the battery charger which looks like this. You connect it via micro USB and charge it like that. And you also have the three batteries that power the Crane 3, looks like that. Now, you might be thinking, why is the box like, why is there so much empty space in the box itself, right? Like, right here's empty space, here's an empty space, empty space, empty space. Like, there's two holes in the case itself. Like, why is there so much empty space inside the Crane 3 case? And the answer to that is for the accessories that come with the Trader's package or the Master's package that you get. Let's go over the separate accessories that don't come with the base kit of the Crane 3. So, the first thing that we'll look at is the new and improved monopod. This is the case that comes with. It's a really nice soft fabric case. It's not like a hard case at all. It's kind of stretchy. So, I really like this case. Here is the monopod itself. So, this one's much better. In my opinion, it's much, much better than the one that came with the Crane 2. That one is right here. And it just felt super, super, super flimsy and not stable at all. Like, what is that? And so, the one that comes with the Crane 3 is a lot better. I love that they kept the feet at the bottom so that you can have an easier time resting the Crane 3 gimbal on the ground. And it also has a new latch system that you can use to adjust the height versus the screwing mechanism that you find on the one on the Crane 2. And then at the top of the monopod right here, you can unscrew it, actually. Once you unscrew it, you can take out this base plate and flip it around to use either the quarter-inch side or the three-eighths-inch side. So, it's super convenient. Love that they kept that feature from the previous monopod. Moving on, these right here are the two Transmount Quick Setup Kits. Looks like this. It's basically like a special adapter that has a quarter-inch female threading at the bottom and then a quarter-inch male at the top. And what you're supposed to do is you're supposed to attach this to the top of the monopod and then attach it to the bottom of the Crane 3. And theoretically, you're supposed to just press down. Once you connect everything, you're supposed to just press down on the adapter. And the middle section right here, the middle section of the adapter is supposed to pop open and you're able to detach and then you're able to reattach the gimbal to the monopod really quickly. But I actually haven't been able to figure it out. I've attached it, pressing down. I keep pressing down on the adapter. Nothing really happens. So, if you guys have any suggestions, feel free to leave it down in the comment section below. Next, we have two different kinds of zoom and focus pullers. One of them is the Lite version and the other one is the Max version. The Lite version, obviously, is the weaker motor. It's designed specifically for your focus ring. The Max is specifically designed for the zoom control, but you can put it on the focus ring if you're not planning on using any zoom lenses at all. However, you cannot ever put the Lite version on the zoom control because of the weaker motors. If you try to use it, it's going to probably malfunction. It's probably going to break the Lite version of the focus controller. Let's go ahead and take it out of the box. We're going to look at the Lite version. The box comes with two focus gears, the teeth, if you will, that goes on around the lens. And then this is what the actual motor looks like. There's a little teeth on the side. And this has a 15 millimeter rod connection right there. And the rod itself actually goes onto this mounting mechanism right here. So this goes right underneath right here like that. You're supposed to have, there's a screw that tightens it onto the bottom of the base plate. You also get a USB-C connector cord that allows the gimbal to talk to the focus puller or the zoom control so that on the gimbal itself, you're able to pull focus or actually operate the zoom control. Now, everything comes neatly packaged inside this box when you first buy it. But what you can do is take it apart and you're able to actually put these motors and the focus pullers into the case itself. And that's what these empty spaces are for. You put the motors inside here. This is the Lite version, so that goes small, a little bit smaller. So that goes in there, right there. And the rods fit right there. And then you have the mounts and that goes inside like that. And you have the little screw in there. And that just neatly tucks inside the case. You don't have to worry about bringing this box or finding a separate case or a little bag to put everything in. If you guys want a separate video on how to mount the focus puller and the zoom control, let me know down below in the comment section. Next, we have the camera belt. This is probably one of my favorite accessories that they came out with. But we can't talk about the belt without introducing our next accessory, which is the quick-release base plate. Now, with this base plate, you're able to attach your camera on top of it. And then this whole thing, actually, you pop this little side thing right there. And what you can do with the base plate is once you attach the camera on top of it, you're able to just hook it to the side like this right here. And then you just snap it in place. And you can have your camera safely dangling on the side of the belt. And that just frees up your hands. And you're able to do other stuff. So that's really cool. Another thing is you notice this little dangling little part of the belt, right? And what this is, this is another adapter. It has a female quarter-inch mount at the bottom. And then at the top, it's a quarter-inch male. What you're able to do with this one, it's really cool. I love this feature. You're able to take the monopod right here, take off the legs. And you're able to screw it into the top of this little mount right here. And you're able to take off all the weight from your arms and redistribute it to your waist. And it makes it so much easier to use the Crane 3. Last but not least, we have the phone mount. Now, I really wish that they included this into the base kit because it was something that they were kind of hyping up, honestly, where you can attach your smartphone to the side of the gimbal and you can monitor your image via the ZY Play app. But the fact that it doesn't come with it means that you're not able to have your phone on the side of the gimbal for you to watch what you're filming, right? So I really wish that they included this into the base kit. But nonetheless, it's really straightforward to use. You attach it onto the side of the Crane 3, screw it in, and you open up the arms in the middle and you put your smartphone right there. And then on the back, it has a little switch, a little lever thing right here. You pull it and you're able to unlock and swivel the phone mount back and forth like that to your liking. And that's pretty much it. Very straightforward, very simple thing to use. And then with the phone mount itself, you're also able to put it inside the case of the Crane 3. It fits neatly right here in this slot right there. And you don't need to worry about ever forgetting about it. So all of that is the Creator's Package. Now, going back to one of you guys' questions, what is the difference between the Creator's Package versus the Master Package? And the answer is a backpack. Literally, that's the only difference. It is a backpack. Now, this one, this backpack right here is Lowepro's ProTactic 450 AW that my girlfriend got me. And then this, this is Zhiyun's own branded backpack that they're including in the Master Package. Does that maybe look a little bit familiar? Maybe? Maybe a little bit? I don't know. So they kind of, sort of, not really, but yeah, did straight up copy Lowepro's version of the backpack. But hey, if they make it good, I'm not complaining. So that's it. This one is a little bit longer. So if you're here at the end of this video, thank you so much. Give you a high five. Thanks for watching. If you like this video, please hit that like button. Make sure to subscribe. Hit the bell to get notified for every video that I post. My name is Alex Chung, and I'll see you later. Bye.