CineMilled PRO-Ring Handlebar System
Proud to introduce the CineMilled “PRO-Ring” Complete Gimbal Handlebar system. We have completely changed the way you will operate a gimbal, plus no more slipping or loosening handlebars!!Much more than a simple “Ring” the modular design allows you to tailor it to fit your needs. Basic kit comes with 4 corners, 4 14″ tubes and a set of grips.Operate from the nodal point and reduce tilting effort to a minimum!! More importantly be able to adjust and tune the effort. When used in conjunction with our ReadyRig “spindle” mounts it transforms the way you operate your gimbal along with a ReadyRig GS.
It will work with any gimbal and we have mounts for the Freefly MōVI, DJI Ronin(+M/MX) and Tilta Gravity Gimbals.
For the longest time now people have been asking me to either come out with better handlebars (that down slip or loosen) or my version of a MōVI Ring or “fig rig”
“Fig rig’s” or rings as far as I know where invented by skateboarding cameramen. Its a great way to operate while skateboarding. You can grab anywhere, easy to pass to others and most of all you grab the side closer to the CG thus puttin less stress on your wrists.
“I didn’t want to just make another ring… so I took my time and came up with a handlebar system based on a modular ‘ring’ design.”
I designed the PRO-Ring as a modular system. That way you can change the length of the side tubes to suit your particular situation. The corner pieces are extremely lightweight and milled to perfection (only 7.6oz including Kipp handles). They have 3/8″ and 1/4″-20 threaded holes in them on all 3 sides giving you multitude of possibilities. You can mount your monitor to them, accessories, baby pins (for gripping) anything you mine can come up with!The Side tubes are made from aircraft thin wall aluminum tubing, laser etched (metric and standard scales) and are almost the same weight as Carbon. The difference is they are much more robust.
You can mount to them, mayfer clamp, chain whip, gobo head etc…. Also they are the same 25mm size that MōVI and the Ronin-M use. So all of your handles top grips, side grips can still mount on them!
You can even use the large Ronin parts when used with our custom Delrin Shim. But the most important aspect is variability of the sizes….we offer 6.5″, 12, 14″, 16″,18, 30″ long tubes…. of course you can still just cut down one of the sizes and make a custom size for your application.
Perfect for passing up or down to another operator. Greatly simplifies complicated transition moves
Freefly MōVI M10,M15,M5 – Mounted with our CineMilled MōVI mounting plate, sliding into our Ronin Universal mount. Provides a great way to quickly mount and switch between the Ronin and the MōVI !! Also compatible with “toad in the hole”.
Use as just a “handlebar” or as a “RING” (half or Full ring). Each corner has a number of 3/8-16″ & 1/4″-20 threaded holes so you can mount baby pins for gripping…..monitor arms etc….lights etc…eliminating the need for accessories and clamps.
You can use ALL your original Ronin Grips, accessory handlebar clamps on our tubes! If you use Ronin parts you will need our Shim.
Place the comfortable lightweight foam handgrip where YOU want it and it’s easy to reposition more maximum leverage and comfort or even go without it!
Order with a few different tube sizes up to 4″-30″ long!! Longer tubes create amazing shot possibilities. Super Low mode….or super high mode! Super low and super high MODE…..by using the 30″ tubes you can get the gimbal super low to the ground and not have to hunch over. Still be able to operate. You can get the camera right off the ground to 12′ in the air….
Attach Ronin with Original top handle (Ronin) or using or our “universal” Ronin mount and optional attachment clamps/plates.
CineMilled ReadyRig “Spindle” Mount
So as a steadicam operator the last thing I want to do is actually hold any gimbal for any period of time. Unless there is a transfer happening I am always using some kind of support system…..a steadicam arm….or these days my favorite of everything I have tried…..the Readyrig.I have been using the ready rig for awhile now and was struggling to overcome the fact the any gimbal is extremely bottom heavy when operated from traditional handlebars with short grips. Places a big strain on your wrists.
Thats when I told myself it was time to come up with a better way of operating because the readyrig deserved it and it was the one aspect that was lacking. So as a steadicam operator I came up with the same system we use on our steadicam gimbals.
If you slide the gimbal up the rig becomes more bottom heavy… slide it down the post and you get closer to CG and it becomes more neutral.So i created a sliding “spindle” mount for the ready rig. Using high quality bearings… we made these adjustable spools that slide on the side bars.
Just like a steadicam post….slide the spindle mounts up! and you get more bottom heavy and the ring requires more effort to tilt…..slide them down closer to CG and the ring becomes more neutral and less and less effort to tilt…
The end result is that I feel now it changes the way you will operate a gimbal, it feels a lot more… closer to what a steadicam feels like to operate. Finger tip control is now possible. You can finesse your frame even with long lenses… you really have to try it to believe it.
Along with the similar boom and range you have with the ReadyRig this feels very familiar….very steadicam like.
JIB Mode – (go low to high)
Basically like I point out in the video the secret is that when you loosen the gimbal mount clamps, the delrin bushings act like a bearing and allow the gimbal mount to rotate and stay level as you change the angle of the side tubes….this allows you to use the pivot point of our “spindle” mounts to pivot on the bearings and turn your ring into a mini-jib.
If you use longer tubes 16″ (in the first part of the video or the 30″ you can achieve a impressive boom range…ground level to 12′ high! In one smooth move. naturally since you no longer have control of the tilt you can use the thumb controller to control your tilt or let a remote operator frame while you move.
This opens up a whole new range of possibilities!
The readyrig breaks down into a backpack, the ring also breaks down into the same backpack. So now I can travel with this system and allow me to get these amazing moves and capabilities in a very small travel friendly footprint.
Watch the video to get a better understanding of the jib mode.
Hand-Held Mode
There was one last mode that I needed to address. I needed to be able to do handheld with the Ready Rig.I quickly came up with a handheld mount, that is adjustable and goes in between the 2 tubes of the ring….you can mount you camera directly to it, you can mount a Ronford baker touch and go mount, and arri dovetail….many options…..I like the touch n go mount.
The same basic idea works here with the spindle mounts and the ready rig. Since you can adjust the position of the spindle…..you can tilt even a 30lbs Sony F65 with one finger. If you dont want it that sensitive you can always just slide the spindles up and make the payload more bottom heavy.
So you can do gimbal shots….and if you need handheld “kinetic” “shaky cam” you can still do it without breaking your back. Personally I will never do another handheld shot without my readyrig/ Pro ring combo.
The system allows you to use the PRO Ring do do handheld with your almost any studio setup. To enable fast whip pans and dynamic operating. When used in conjunction with the ReadyRig GS in this mode it takes all the effort off your arms and also give you full finesse and fingertip control of your camera to either make it shakey, dynamic or smooth it out.