When professional videographers or photographers need to take stabilized recordings or pictures, they need a firm stabilizer to keep their camera or smartphone balanced and secured. You’ll never get stable picture quality if you’re holding your camera or smartphone because people’s hands are always going to be shaky. You need a device called a gimbal to give your camera or smartphone the stabilization it needs.
Gimbals offer pivoted support to your device. Not only do they secure your device, but they allow you to turn and rotate your device if needed. There are ways you can restrict movements and ways you can loosen movements on the gimbal without having to remove your device and change everything around. They’re like the mini version of the tripod.
Best Products
So, which gimbal is the best for your device? You’ll probably want a gimbal that is compatible with several types of devices, such as mirrorless cameras, DSLR cameras, and/or smartphones. To help you with your search, below are the top 5 best gimbals for mirrorless or DSLR cameras and smartphones.
1) Benro Red Dog R1 Handheld Stabilizer
The Benro Red Dog R1 Handheld Stabilizer is designed for DSLR and mirrorless cameras. It offers three-axis stabilization, 12-hours of battery life, dimensions of 333mm x 118mm x 302mm, sturdy construction, and 879 grams of weight. Benro is a brand name that is known for producing high-quality tripods, but now they’ve made their first gimbal product line with the Red Dog R1. It has a swivel handle for capturing multiple angles and simplifying the ability to move the gimbal around from one place to another. Some of its shooting modes include Locked-down mode, Universal-follow mode and Horizontal-follow mode.
2) Feiyu MG Lite
The Feiyu MG Lite is designed for DSLR and mirrorless cameras. It offers three-axis stabilization, 6-hours of battery life, dimensions of 318mm x 119mm x 267mm, handy control stick, 360-degree camera rotation, and 887 grams of weight. Although it can be difficult to calibrate the device, update the firmware and you should be okay. Three modes are available for the Feiyu MG Lite: Lock, Panning, and Panning / Tilting. The control stick lets you manually move it in 4 different directions to get a more precise angle.
3) MOZA Air 2
The MOZA Air 2 is better for heavier DSLR and mirrorless cameras. The weight capacity goes up to approximately 4.2 kilograms. It features three-axis stabilization, 16 hours of battery life, dimensions of 490mm x 250mm x 260mm, and great functionality. The biggest downside is that the charging time takes a lot longer than comparable gimbals. People love the time-lapse features of this gimbal. If you’re going to shoot video or pictures all day long, then you’ll love time lapsing those images together for a quick video summary.
4) Zhiyun Smooth 4
The Zhiyun Smooth 4 is a gimbal designed for Apple iPhones that are between 62mm and 85mm in width. The gimbal includes three-axis stabilization, 547 grams of weight, 12 hours of battery life, dimensions of 328mm x 123mm x 105mm, and many other features. Since many people record videos for YouTube and social media on their iPhones, then the Zhiyun Smooth 4 is the perfect gimbal to purchase for this purpose.
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5) Wewow Fancy Smartphone Stabilizer
The Wewow Fancy Smartphone Stabilizer is a small gimbal for the Apple iPhone. However, it is straightforward and easy to use because it only has one axis of stabilization. It is highly portable and contains an integrated power bank that offers 8 hours of battery life. The dimensions are 113mm x 43.5mm x 23mm, and it weighs 180 grams. On the downside, it doesn’t have many physical controls, and it is more difficult to stabilize. But if you’re on a budget and you want to capture basic footage quickly, then you’ll be happy with this gimbal.