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Well hello there! How are you doing? Today I will be sharing my DJI Ronin-S product review and my initial experiences. First I’m going to give you a bit of a backstory of how I got to this point, and then I’ll jump into why I think you should buy the DJI Ronin-S.

My photography journey started over three years ago when I was going through a bit of a rough patch. My direction in life felt unclear, I had just graduated college, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next.

I had contemplated buying a drone for a while (but I didn’t end up doing that – at least not impulsively!) and decided that I wanted to get into photography somehow.

Before I even thought about buying a camera, I bought the DJI OSMO Mobile 2 (now the Osmo Mobile 3) a few years ago to use with my phone so that I could practice my videography. This was a game changer!

I did a lot of research, made a visit to Best Buy to look at their camera selection, got advice from some photography friends…and I decided that I wanted to buy a camera.

The camera I wanted, the Canon 5D Mark IV, isn’t necessarily considered a “beginners” camera, but I knew that going forward. I also knew that it was expensive – I had to save some money!

Once I saved up, I bought my camera and a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L lens to give me a wide variety of functionality (allows me to shoot landscapes, portraits, telephoto, etc).

I did photography for about a year to gain some experience and get familiar with my camera settings, and then I decided I wanted to upgrade my videography game from my iPhone to my DSLR.

This is where the DJI Ronin-S comes into play.

Do Some Research

If you have a DSLR or are about to buy one for videography, you’ll notice right away that attempting to film any video is painfully shaky unless you’re able to place your camera on a tripod or level surface!

I did some research on some stabilizers for my camera, and of course since I already own the DJI OSMO 2 I wanted to look into my options for a DSLR stabilizer.

I read the reviews, explored the different options, and even asked a couple of friends who own the product what their opinion was – and that pretty much sold it for me!

Did you know that DJI actually offers refurbished products as well? This is a great way to save quite a bit of money by going refurbished – typically these are products that someone has unboxed and decided to return, or something was wrong with it so it was returned and later repaired.

Each of these items has to go through a rigorous process to pass certifications of being a refurbished product, so you’re basically getting a brand new product at a fraction of the cost. A great option for those looking to save some money!

So I did my research and noticed that the Ronin-S Standard Kit brand new would have been $749, and the refurbished option was only $599…this was pretty much a no brainer for me.

If you’re interested in any refurbished products from DJI, you can check those out through my link here. I ended up buying the Ronin-S Standard Kit Refurbished.

What Is the DJI Ronin-S?

The Ronin-S is a scalable stabilizer system for DSLR and mirrorless cameras. It’s a necessary component to getting effortlessly smooth video and captivating camera movements that otherwise wouldn’t look good handheld.

The Ronin-S offers two different options: 

The Essentials Kit

And the Standard Kit.

What’s the difference?

The biggest difference between the two is the Focus Wheel. The essentials kit (which goes for $559 new) does not include the focus wheel, where the Standard kit does. But don’t fret – if you get the essentials kit and decide you want to add the focus wheel later, you can definitely do that.

I ended up going with the standard kit since I saved up my money for it. I thought the focus wheel would help me quickly pull focus, but I haven’t used it and probably didn’t need it (at least not right now).

Also keep in mind that the focus wheel requires additional parts that are sold separately, which I didn’t know when I first bought it.

I definitely could have gotten away with just the essentials kit, but I don’t regret it!

If you own a mirrorless camera, I would actually recommend the Ronin-SC which is designed specifically for mirrorless cameras…it weighs less than the Ronin-S and has smaller components to it. If you have a DSLR you will want to stay away from this one as it is not designed to hold the weight of a DSLR.

My Experience With the DJI Ronin-S 

When the box showed up on my doorstep, my excitement was unreal. I just had a long day at work and seeing that box at my doorstep made everything better!

I opened the box and was greeted by the rigid gray carrying case. It would definitely protect this equipment if the case were to get dropped.

Then as I opened the case, I could smell that great “new device smell”…anyone know what I’m talking about?!

There were lots of pieces and parts to put together, so before I got started I grabbed the instruction manual to see what to do first.

I was a little disappointed with the instructions – while illustrations are great, the print was tiny and not very clear as to what goes where.

The BEST thing you can do is look up a YouTube tutorial (I’m about to make one soon!) that explains how to set up your camera and what you’ll need to do in order to balance the stabilizer.

This allows you to visually see step by step what you need to do to balance each of the motors correctly – it can get tricky without the proper instructions. You can also obviously pause or rewind at any time (which I had to do several times!)

My First Test Run

I took my Ronin-S for my first test run at a beach in Malibu. Since I was going to be in the sand a lot, I decided to carry the Ronin outside of its case so that I wouldn’t have to re-balance my camera a whole lot. While it was sort of awkward to carry, I’m really glad I did this as it saved a lot of time and I wouldn’t have had a flat surface to utilize.

It took some practice to get a feel for how the camera moves and I had to do a few takes of certain shots, but it turned out pretty well!

If you want to see the result…check out the full video on my YouTube channel here.

The only downside or complaint that I have (is partially my fault) but after a while this stabilizer gets heavy!

I was also using a 24-105mm lens which added to the weight, but after this shoot in Malibu I had some pretty bad nerve pain in my right forearm…probably a lack of stretching and physical prep beforehand.

It sounds silly, but make sure you stretch before and after! This will help prevent and manage any pain.

After this shoot, I decided to add on the Switch Grip that I had also bought. This is basically just two handles that I’ve added on to the stabilizer to change the way I hold it. Instead of holding it like a baseball bat, this allows me to hold it like ski poles (sorry, weird analogy).

My Second Test Run

My second shoot was a music video I filmed with a couple of friends. I definitely made sure I had the switch grip installed and I had noticeable improvement in the amount of pain I felt. It was still there, but much more manageable.

During this shoot, I only had one sort of major malfunction where the camera decided to just go off on its own direction, which was really probably my own fault since it was only my second time using it. 

Otherwise, I was able to get nice smooth shots at multiple different angles. If you’re not completely still/balanced, you will see some of that in your video so it’s important to be focused and as stabilized as possible.

I had someone helping me avoid cables/obstacles on the floor so I didn’t have to worry about looking behind me and I could focus on what was in front of the camera.

If you’re interested in seeing this music video, you can also find it on my YouTube channel here.

Wrapping Up

Okay so we learned about what the DJI Ronin-S is, I gave an honest review and my personal thoughts & experiences, and even some recommendations based on what you’re looking for.

Hopefully this blog was helpful, and hopefully you are enjoying your photography/videography journey!

If you want to see more of my photography blogs and tips, you can check that out here.

If you decide that you’re ready to purchase, you can shop for any DJI product including the Ronin-S through my link here.

I would definitely recommend the Ronin-S to anyone who is looking to take their videography hobby or career to the next level, and if you have any questions or need any help feel free to let me know!

You can also find me on Instagram @taylordencermedia and on TikTok @taylordencer to see more photography/videography tips & tutorials. 

Thank you for supporting me and best of luck on your creative journey! Cheers!

Share your thoughts in the comments below – Do you own the DJI Ronin-S? Are you thinking about getting one? What are your goals?