Karma Grip by GoPro makes your wild adventure smooth
If you have used GoPro camera then you would understand how annoying it is with shaky videos. Hero5 camera does have an electronic image stabilization feature, but the output is not as good as the Karma Grip. The camera stabilizer on the Grip can be found on the Karma drone which also comes with the handheld mount. The handheld mount is battery powered too. Karma is temporary disbanded due to recall. One can easily purchase Karma Grip as a standalone item for ground shooting at $300. Even though the asking price is high it does well with the flexible GoPro and is comparable to 3-axis gimbals.
This ready to use stabilizer is compatible with Hero5 Black. One can also opt for $30 harness and is available for Hero4 Black, Silver, and Hero5 Session. Hero5 Session is set to arrive in the year 2017. The Karma Grip connectivity with the Micro-HDMI and camera’s USB Type C gives you control and power on the handle. The handle also gives you a lot of options from where you can opt to power the device, change of shooting modes, start and stop video recording and add highlight tags to the videos. With the help of tilt lock button, one can know the battery status too.
Be default, the camera is focused forward but with the help of tilt lock button one can do more. By pressing this button the angle of the camera can be changed to above and below and can be kept that way. Double tapping will enable the lock option and will follow the subject with ease. So even if you be on the move, the camera will lock to the subject. One of the few problem that you might face with Karma Grip is the absence of tilt or pan controls. The Grip cannot stand all by itself and there is no provision for tripod mount.
GoPro does give you mounting ring which slips easily between the stabilizers and handle section. The metal collar then can be mounted on any GoPro mount or any other third party mount. GoPro also provisions for an extension cable which is connected between the stabilizer sections and handle. Using this tweak, one can mount the camera on the helmet or on your body. The Karma Grip is powered by rechargeable battery which takes around 6 hours for full charge via 1 ampere charger. A fully charged grip can be used for 1 hour and 45 minutes. To decrease the charging time, GoPro is offering fast charger which will cut down the time from 6 hours to just 2 hours.
For charging the camera or the Grip, USB Type C port is given. For transferring you don’t need to remove the camera. Motor noise is easily picked up the microphone in the camera. Karma Grip has got a great motor stabilizer which drastically improves the output. It makes the most out of GoPro camera. Even though there are many gimbals out there, there are not many which is as good as grip and it also improves the resourcefulness.
