20 Oct The Essential Guide to Phone Gimbal Stabilizers
An outstanding smartphone gimbal can transform your photography, enabling you to unleash your inner Kubrick and capture beautiful, fluid tracking shots effortlessly.
Smartphone gimbals are specifically designed to eliminate camera shake and jitter, countering up/down/left/right movements as well as forward/backward ones for cinematic quality footage.
Gimbals are an increasingly popular choice among independent filmmakers and videographers, here are the key aspects to keep an eye out for when selecting one:
Stability
Gimbal stabilizers use brushless motors to keep smartphone cameras stable, creating beautiful, smooth shots that look as though they were taken by professionals. They’re an upgrade over the inbuilt stabilization found on most phones – though OIS (optical image stabilization) has come a long way over the years, nothing beats phone gimbal stabilizers for performance!
Gimbal stabilizers typically work by tracking movements on two to three axes to keep smartphone cameras level, tracking your movements in real time and compensating accordingly, eliminating vibrations that would cause shaky videos otherwise.
Some cameras are equipped with features designed to smoothly pan with the subject being shot – creating cinematic footage and providing more professional results than simple follow and POV modes. This can make an enormous difference.
Gimbals can also help smooth tilt and roll motions, or up and down movements, which are hard to control with just your hands alone. A gimbal makes these shots easier when trying to capture something revolving quickly like skateboarding stunts or something similar.
Gimbals not only stabilize tilt and roll movements, but some also offer additional features such as face tracking, object tracking and fast standby that may come in handy when shooting videos with multiple people or taking selfies without holding onto your phone yourself. While not necessary for all smartphone users, filmmakers or video content producers would find these features invaluable when producing high-quality video content.
Portability
Modern smartphones often don’t provide enough camera stabilization when filming videos, leading to camera shake and poor pans. Gimbals provide enhanced stability to ensure smooth footage with professional-looking pans.
Gimbals not only prevent shaky video footage, but they can also allow you to film fast-paced or dynamic scenes with confidence – such as moving up or down stairs and even driving a car! Vloggers find this especially useful, giving them more flexibility in terms of what can be captured on video.
An affordable phone gimbal stabilizer can be the ideal accessory for smartphone users looking to create high-quality videos using their phones without investing in an SLR or mirrorless camera. Offering all of the same valuable features found on larger gimbals – such as follow modes and built-in controls – but at an even more attractive price point, many lightweight portable phone gimbal stabilizers make video creation simple while offering quality results. They’re lightweight enough to transport and foldable for even easier storage options!
If you need an easy gimbal that you can take with you on the road, look no further than the Hohem iSteady V2. Featuring a strong frame and clamps as well as high adjustability levels and lightweight design – making this mid-tier model an excellent option for mobile use.
The DJI OM 5 handheld gimbal offers superior portability. Much like its predecessor, this handheld device features a compact form factor and extended battery life. Equipped with the fourth generation ActiveTrack technology for better subject tracking abilities. Plus, its user-friendly operation and included storage case ensure hassle-free transportation!
Performance
Most phone gimbals come in 2- or 3-axis variants, with 3-axis models providing the best stabilized video footage. Each 3-axis model utilizes accelerometers and gyroscopes to self-balance your smartphone as you move. Furthermore, an IMU records movements across three axes: pitch – tilting up and down; yaw – rotation side to side; roll – similar to what airplane wings perform when they dip their wing (allowing some models to create Inception mode’s swirling barrel-roll effect).
Instead of just stabilization, most smartphone gimbals also include additional features to elevate your cinematography game. They can track your subject and follow as it moves, capture smooth tracking shots, create time-lapse videos, or create sophisticated time-lapse videos – and some even come equipped with their own selfie stick so that you can frame and shoot on-camera videos easily!
No matter your lifestyle – be it vlogging, student life, travel, parenthood or media professional – there is a phone gimbal out there suitable to your needs and budget. Take time when selecting one to ensure it can accommodate the size and weight of your smartphone as well as selecting one with high quality motors that allow for smooth operation and an intuitive software package for use.
At an accessible price point, look no further than the Hohem iSteady Mobile Plus Gimbal for top-quality filmmaking gimbal performance and ease-of-use than what can be found with an integrated power bank that uses USB. Its stable performance will leave an impression while using Movi app will allow for precise camera control as you create cinematic effects such as orbit, dolly zooming, vertical 360 degree spontaneous rotations. Plus it comes complete with its own power bank so your battery won’t run out during filmmaking – bonus!
Style
No matter if you’re an aspiring filmmaker, travel vlogger, or content creator on the move – a phone gimbal stabilizer will make your videos look professional. The difference between the 3-axis system of DJI Osmo Mobile 6 vs SE compensates for pitch, yaw and roll motion from smartphones – giving you smooth footage. Plus you’ll be able to easily capture beautiful landscapes, dynamic action scenes or time lapse photography with ease!
If you’re in search of an economical yet lightweight gimbal solution, check out the Zhiyun Smooth-Q. Designed to accommodate almost every smartphone — including iPhone XS models — the Smooth-Q includes an intuitive remote control for ease of operation as well as its own camera app for even greater control options.
DJI OSMO Pocket 2 Gimbals are another fantastic choice, perfect for people looking for an economical 2-in-1 smartphone gimbal with built-in 4K camera and excellent stabilization features. Their impressive camera quality and stabilization abilities cannot be beaten within this price range.
Unlike its Zhiyun counterpart, the DJI OSMO was designed to work seamlessly with your smartphone camera application; however, its proprietary app collects location data and requests permission for various features; if this doesn’t sit well with you then perhaps another model should be considered instead.
Price
Gimbals can be great tools for video production, but can be expensive. This is particularly true if purchasing bundles that include stabilizer, telescopic selfie stick and camera lens – however discounts and seasonal sales make these devices much more cost-effective.
If you’re shopping for a high-quality gimbal, spending the extra money to acquire one that features 3-axis stabilization is well worth your while. 3-axis stabilizers allow smooth tilt, roll, and panning movements making them ideal for use by vloggers, filmmakers and mobile photographers.
DJI’s Osmo Mobile 3 smartphone gimbal is an impressive example of premium smartphone gimbal technology, boasting excellent stability, long battery runtime, and an array of filmmaking modes such as object tracking and gesture control SMART modes as well as slow motion and timelapse filmmaking features.
The Zhiyun Smooth Q4 gimbal is another top pick among smartphone videographers, offering superior performance at an economical price. Foldable yet sturdy, its LED light makes use easier in low light situations while the magnetic clamp makes attaching and detaching phones quick and effortless.
If you’re searching for an inexpensive yet versatile gimbal that can support multiple cameras, the Hohem iSteady MT2 may be just what you need. Although not as capable as more advanced models, this gimbal offers good stability, solid build quality and long battery runtime; suitable for smartphones, GoPros, DSLR cameras as well as various accessories like lenses and tripods.