Mullins Media Co.'s video: Do NOT buy the Moza Slypod Slider - Aircross 2 gimbal is ok - Review real world thoughts

After researching sliders for a few weeks the nerd inside of me decided to try out the Moza Slypod. It looks SUPER unique, there is nothing else like it! Because I was also looking for a more beefy gimbal that could control my camera, a Nikon Z6, I decided to buy the Moza Aircross 2 as well. I was hoping this would be the perfect gimbal / slider pair. I was wrong. First off, I have been a full time content creator for 10 years and I can count on one hand how many photo / video accessories that I have returned. I am not picky, I am very easy to please. I don’t review things for a living, I create content. I have used the zhiyun crane for years and I also own a DJI gimbal and have used the Ronin S many many times. Let’s start with the Moza Slypod-e review. Obviously it needs to be charged to work, if it’s not charged, it’s a super expensive (and short) monopod. Any other slider you can still use with no batteries. Not the slypod. Second, getting anything to mount straight proved to be the most difficult task. When screwing on the camera / an L-plate / or a ball head, it never lines up perfectly. When the item is tight, it’s no longer straight. If the tripod mount on the slypod could turn / twist and then lock, the problem would be solved. But as is, I have NO idea how to get anything perfectly parallel with the tripod mount. Maybe the $90 optional head would negate this problem but I am not sure. While we are complaining about tripod mounting, let’s talk about how it is impossible to get a perfectly level push in shot. The center of gravity shifts as the camera moves, making the entire slypod slider tilt down slightly. There is no way to mount a second tripod to this slider either, just one hole. The weight shift is too much, even for huge tripods. Last thing I want to mention is the “safe” load is only 9lbs but the “maximum” is 22lbs I believe. Why is there such a huge difference and why is the safe and maximum number different. Kind of makes me nervous to fly 5K worth of gear around. Next on to the Moza aircross 2. I decided to get this gimbal over the Moza air 2 because of price and I did not the extra weight because I shoot with a pretty lightweight Nikon Z mirrorless system. Love the wheel on the side (it mostly just looks pretty) but I wish it could be programed to control focus without having to buy a follow focus rig. I love that the gimbal can start recording on my camera but I do not like how that is pretty much all it can do. I can change settings, but it’s MUCH faster to just do it on the camera. I wish I could program the gimbal buttons to turn on / off auto focus or auto ISO. My number one complaint about the Moza aircross gimbal is that when panning, using the wheel / joystick CANCELS the panning!! It’s maddening!!!! You can not pan follow and then manually tilt!!! It’s insane! Every other gimbal I have ever used does this!!! One big thing I liked is the ability to change lock / follow / along with the speed very quickly and easily. I also liked that I could see everything (including battery charge) on the screen without an app. So, slypod sucks, gimbal is ok. Next, let’s put them together. This was supposed to be AMAZING. I was so excited to use these two creation tools together. Nope. It was awful too. I put the gimbal on and started flying around my house. I quickly learned that everything I was doing, I could do with a normal (and much cheaper and longer) monopod. The slypod is too slow to do any dramatic or fun movements, it’s easier and faster to just manually move a monopod up or down. Also, when holding the slypod, you can no longer reach the gimbal controls, a joystick or optional handle with a joystick would actually make the slypod useful. The app is ok. Firmware updates and remote controlling things is pretty straight forward… but preprograming things is not easy. Getting the slypod and aircross 2 to do something meaningful automatically was a pain. Also, even when I did figure it out, the extra weight of the gimbal on the end of the slider made my tripod queasy. Nothing stayed straight, every shot dipped down as the slypod extended. Overall, I’ll keep the gimbal. It’s an upgrade from the Zhiyun crane that I had and compared to the DJI Ronin S, I think it’s a better value. I am 100% sending the slypod back. If you have any questions or want help setting up a Nikon Z camera to work with the gimbal, let me know!