2014Gimbal forum
Comparison of PRO and XCS gimbals for camera rigs
12 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
Note (as of October 2026)Curt O. Schaller, the developer of Artemis and Trinity, has no longer been with ARRI since the end of 2025. To our knowledge, ARRI currently has no dedicated team and no official contact persons for its stabilizer systems. In our view, the future of this line is uncertain. If you are buying new, get written confirmation from ARRI beforehand on how long service and spare parts are guaranteed. Have used rigs checked by the manufacturer before you buy.
DisputedParticipants disagreed and reached no conclusion. Read the findings as positions, not as an answer.
What the thread found
- Both gimbals perform comparably well with each offering a different feel and handling characteristic
- The XCS gimbal has an ergonomic handle design with a kipp lock mechanism that requires only a half turn to move between loose and locked states
- The XCS gimbal is built to tighter manufacturing tolerances, maintaining neutral center balance when rotated 180 degrees, while the PRO gimbal is assembled to a tolerance of approximately 4 seconds drop time
- Gimbal feel can be altered by changing the lubricant thickness used inside, with XCS using a thicker lubricant by default which may make the PRO feel faster to some users
- The XCS gimbal is native to 2 inch posts but offers interchangeable sleeves to accommodate 1.5 inch or 1.58 inch posts without purchasing a new gimbal
- The XCS gimbal has a more robust physical construction compared to the PRO gimbal
Depends on
- Discussion references gimbal models from around 2014, with participants noting that manufacturing tolerances and specifications may have changed since then
- One participant claims recent PRO gimbals perform identically to XCS gimbals, contradicting earlier assertions about tolerance differences
- Load capacity comparisons mention other models like the Artemis ACT2 but direct load specifications for PRO and XCS are not clearly stated
Gear in this thread
Parts
Same gear or parts
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