One thing I should have mentioned is that I must be able to fold/break down for car/plane transport. I was also thinking a Tarot but I don't know much about them and find it difficult to get reliable information on them - it's all promotional and poorly translated. If I thought I could save a lot on one (vs. an S800) I'd consider it.
Actually, I have between $6K-$8K. I'd like to fly the GH4, 5DM2 or the BMPCC.
Best way to go is to build one yourself. Forget about the crappy DJI frames and get something reliable. Lots of frames out there. My advice is to forget the other two cameras and build around the GH4.
I'd agree on the frames. I'd even suggest get rectangle FC or Aluminum arms. I've switched on all mine and it's much easier to keep motors aligned than on round arms, esp with the newer low KV motors.
As to the 4k Camera. I sort of agree, but you have to be willing to spend more on storage. When you double the size of the resolution you capture, you quadruple the size of the data, ie, storage space. Takes longer to edit, bigger computers etc.....
I'm probably going to get a 4k GH4, but will keep 2 of my hacked gh2's, as the video is pretty good and the size is pretty small. I will limit my 4k shooting even though I have more storage than I need. It adds up fast.
I can't help on the frame as I don't have any that fold. Mine go in my car or van.
I do know I'd probably go with the KDE 3520 motors. I have 4 on a quad and I fly a 3 axis gopro or 2 axis gimbal with hacked gh2 and just his week flew it with the gh3. Slow flying was pretty good but not sure if the light weight gimbal can hold up for the gh3, but I'll use it and just fly slow. If I'm charging a good penny for flying, I'd go hex or X8.
There seems to be problems with some of the low KV motors with high pole count so I'd stay away from them for a year. 3520, 3515's / 400kv seem to be ok.
I'd look into the Hexcrafter, Vulcan UAV, or Carbon Core frames which all use arms that aren't round. I don't know much about the folding qualities, but I do know they talk about folding on a couple of those.
Not sure what to tell you on the FC, there are lots out there and all have pros and cons. I'm still looking for the "one". Sounds like you may be looking the DJI way and if you do, you could look to the Zenmuse z-15 for gh3/ gh4 if you are ok with one setup and lens. Good footage coming from them if you don't need more options for camera's or lens.
For gimbal, I'm a either all in or go cost effective & save money. If I could afford it, I'd go with the Movi for 5 grand. If not, I'd go for a 32bit Alexmos based gimbal. There's a boatload to choose from and you could get into one for $600 - $2500 depending on who you go with.
If you have jobs lined up, you may not have time for the Alexmos and have to go with Zenmuse z-15 or the Movi. Being under the gun in production may dictate ease of setup and use.
So many decisions, so little time. Good luck.
....There seems to be problems with some of the low KV motors with high pole count so I'd stay away from them for a year. 3520, 3515's / 400kv seem to be ok.
For gimbal, I'm a either all in or go cost effective & save money. If I could afford it, I'd go with the Movi for 5 grand. If not, I'd go for a 32bit Alexmos based gimbal.
"the Alexmos gimbal controllers continue to be problematic. they're difficult to tune and the settings will be different from one board to another as well as from one camera to another. there's definitely a learning curve and it's steep even after you''ve been using them for a while."
That's the million dollar question. I'm gradually getting better at tuning. I have 3- 8 bit boards, 1 mini, and 1 32 bit 3 axis. I've sometimes wondered if they were different and have swapped them out when having problems. Problems were still there. I have gotten better since putting on a new IMU's, cabling, and ferrit rings. Not sure what has helped, but I'm now getting more consistent and better results.
I may be cheap and foolish for looking to the lower priced solutions such as Alexmos. But I'm willing to put in the extra time. This technology is so fast paced, that spending extra money seems to only get you a head start. It could easily be bypassed in 12-18 months.
I've been following a few post on gh3/zenmuse setup and see there are problems there. I'm guessing for every Gh3 Zenmuse setup, there may be 25, 50, 100, or 1,000 setups with Alexmos per every Zenmuse / gh3 setup. Who knows. I'm a camera slut, so I can't see spending a lot of money on a gimbal that only runs 1 camera with 1 lens. It'd would be nice for the moment, but better have deep pockets because it won't last long unless your lucky like the gh3 to gh4 upgrade with the same body.
Again, hoping for continued improvements on all fronts. It only gets better with technology.
Adanac, curious as to if the 6k-8k has been spent yet and what you ended up buying.
I haven't purchased anything yet and will likely go with an S800 due to time constraints and limited experience.
IMHO, that is the WORST choice you could make. It took one flight for me to realize what a POS that thing is, and the second flight it scared me with the vibration and blinking white lights. The only thing that's decent is the zenmuse, which hides the flaws of the aircraft very well. I know the Evo made some improvements, and I haven't seen it, but I'm sure I would not be happy with it.
You can buy a very nice used cinestar or similar, and you don't have to build a thing. There are many folks that have upgraded to heavy lifters and are selling perfectly good CS8's for between $3k-$7k. Get a CS8 and it will be good for any DLSR camera, or a zenmuse for a specific cam. Some type of Alexmos gimbal might be good for different cameras, but it won't work out of the box like a zen or movi until you get the tuning down right.
IMHO, that is the WORST choice you could make. It took one flight for me to realize what a POS that thing is, and the second flight it scared me with the vibration and blinking white lights. The only thing that's decent is the zenmuse, which hides the flaws of the aircraft very well. I know the Evo made some improvements, and I haven't seen it, but I'm sure I would not be happy with it.
You can buy a very nice used cinestar or similar, and you don't have to build a thing. There are many folks that have upgraded to heavy lifters and are selling perfectly good CS8's for between $3k-$7k. Get a CS8 and it will be good for any DLSR camera, or a zenmuse for a specific cam. Some type of Alexmos gimbal might be good for different cameras, but it won't work out of the box like a zen or movi until you get the tuning down right.