Nimble Gimbal Suggestions?

[mercer]

I've decided to give my FP a final fair shot and hold off on selling it. But I think I need to stop fighting it and trying to make it something it isn't. So I'm considering getting my first gimbal. But I'm looking for the absolute smallest and simplest set up. Are phone gimbals usable with an FP if it's stripped down with a small, light lens?

Otherwise I'm going to use a tripod and a small slider for locked off shots and some shots with slight movements.

I'll be using this for a run and gun short film. Any gimbal and tripod suggestions?

[eatstoomuchjam]

To the best of my knowledge, phone gimbals wouldn't be usable with an FP.  Among other things, every one that I ever saw had a non-removable clamp for the phone.  Maybe you could clamp the FP with it and secure it with bungees/straps, but I'd expect that to be a path of pain and suffering.

DJI just recently released the RS4 mini.  It's about $370 and supports about 4 pounds.  I have no personal experience with it, but given that it's from DJI, I'd expect it to work well.

For about 2/3 the price (about $250), there is also the Zhiyun Crane M3-S.  Again, I have no personal experience with it, but I've had some other Zhiyun gimbals in the distant past and they worked well.  Not sure what its payload is, but I'd guess it's enough for an fp + light lens.

[mercer]

19 minutes ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

To the best of my knowledge, phone gimbals wouldn't be usable with an FP.  Among other things, every one that I ever saw had a non-removable clamp for the phone.  Maybe you could clamp the FP with it and secure it with bungees/straps, but I'd expect that to be a path of pain and suffering.

DJI just recently released the RS4 mini.  It's about $370 and supports about 4 pounds.  I have no personal experience with it, but given that it's from DJI, I'd expect it to work well.

For about 2/3 the price (about $250), there is also the Zhiyun Crane M3-S.  Again, I have no personal experience with it, but I've had some other Zhiyun gimbals in the distant past and they worked well.  Not sure what its payload is, but I'd guess it's enough for an fp + light lens.

Thanks for the reply. I didn't think a phone gimbal would work, and I think @BTM_Pix has already told me that at least twice... I guess I was hoping for a new, tiny product.

If only DJi would put their old raw camera from the Zenmuse? into a new DJi Pocket... 

I'll check out the two you recommended and look up the size specs. I usually steal locations, so I try to go as incognito as possible. Most people don't notice or care, but a gimbal may draw more attention.

Any cheap tripod suggestions? I have a new Benro that is decent but it's not very compact. Quick to set up though with the leveler on the bowl.

[BTM_Pix]

39 minutes ago, mercer said:

I've decided to give my FP a final fair shot

Fucking hell, that thing has now made more comebacks than Sinatra.

You can pick up a cheap used Crane M2 as that will handle the FP too as seen here

The M3 is showcased here by a YouTuber who is a bit of an FP specialist.

Although, like yourself, he doesn't always love it.

The M3 can take more weight so it might have more longevity for you when you finally give Frank the curtain call.

 

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

Take a look at the Scorp Minis, I have the first version.

Feiyutech have a neat wireless follow focus that could be used with it.

[mercer]

9 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

Fucking hell, that thing has now made more comebacks than Sinatra.

You can pick up a cheap used Crane M2 as that will handle the FP too as seen here

The M3 is showcased here by a YouTuber who is a bit of an FP specialist.

Although, like yourself, he doesn't always love it.

The M3 can take more weight so it might have more longevity for you when you finally give Frank the curtain call.

 

It really has. I love to hate that stupid thing. I wish I could just be happy with an R7 or a GH6 but there's just a texture to raw video that my paltry skills can attain much easier than with other codecs. If I could afford an R5 or something similar, I'd retire the FP and my 5D in a heartbeat.

Of course, I recently turned 50 years old, so I am at that age where I care less and less about things... the way I look, what I wear (Velcro shoes are in my future) and pretty soon, what camera I have. I figure I'll either go all in with an IBIS/AF gadget or just dust off my 5D3, shoot ML Raw and complain about how spoiled kids are with their new fangled gear. 

[eatstoomuchjam]

27 minutes ago, mercer said:

If only DJi would put their old raw camera from the Zenmuse? into a new DJi Pocket... 

Depending on what you're trying to do, and depending on whether they can even still be activated or have a mobile app that will work, you could try the old Osmo Pro and/or Osmo RAW.  I really liked the image from the Osmo RAW, but ultimately sold it because the fan noise drove me crazy.  Otherwise, it made a really great handheld camera - and there was a 4th axis accessory for it that made the user (me) look like some sort of clown while carrying it walking, but the footage was crazy smooth.

I never tried the Pro, but it'd probably look really good also - plus it used normal recording media and didn't have the tiny cooling fan that the RAW had.  Anyway, the pro on the used market goes for like $500-600 and the RAW goes for like $900.  For the money, since you already have the fp, I wouldn't do that.

Though depending on what all you want to do with a gimbal, have you considered just getting a Pocket 3 for those shots?  It's very good.

[mercer]

14 minutes ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

Depending on what you're trying to do, and depending on whether they can even still be activated or have a mobile app that will work, you could try the old Osmo Pro and/or Osmo RAW.  I really liked the image from the Osmo RAW, but ultimately sold it because the fan noise drove me crazy.  Otherwise, it made a really great handheld camera - and there was a 4th axis accessory for it that made the user (me) look like some sort of clown while carrying it walking, but the footage was crazy smooth

Yeah I meant the Osmo... I guess it got mounted to a Zenmuse? My drone and gimbal vocabulary us very limited. But I first saw footage from raw mudule camera when I was looking for ML Raw videos a while back. I believe some of this video was shot with the Osmo... probably the drone footage... the rest was with a 5D2...

You know as I was replying to your last comment< I was thinking about the Pocket 3 and how it could probably work because I"ll probably only use the gimbal for some tracking shots while most of them will be fairly static... well static and slider shots from a 12" slider for very slight movements.

[mercer]

22 minutes ago, Marcio Kabke Pinheiro said:

Take a look at the Scorp Minis, I have the first version.

Feiyutech have a neat wireless follow focus that could be used with it.

That gimbal is pretty cool. The right kinda price too. Do you have it? Have you used the follow focus? 

[mercer]

I've kinda been all over the place with cameras lately. As I mentioned a few replies up, I turned 50 last month and my GF has had a rough year medically, so my time is limited for filmmaking, but she's starting to feel better... and I'm starting to feel older. Part of me wants to take a couple short film chances with a more serious set up than I have tried before. Then there's the other part that wants to grab a GH7 (or something similar) and treat it like a French New Wave 16mm camera.

And then I'd love to throw paint at the wall and try to make something bigger with something unconventional... a ZV-E10 II and a gimbal... or even a Pocket 3.

To lend a nod to Andrew... a big part of me just wants a fun camera that I can do some shorts with (no misconceptions that I'll be a pro director one day) but I would like to have a certain level of quality.

You know what, never mind... I'll just watch camera reviews and cinematic videos on YouTube instead.

[eatstoomuchjam]

57 minutes ago, mercer said:

Yeah I meant the Osmo... I guess it got mounted to a Zenmuse? My drone and gimbal vocabulary us very limited. But I first saw footage from raw mudule camera when I was looking for ML Raw videos a while back. I believe some of this video was shot with the Osmo... probably the drone footage... the rest was with a 5D2...

The Zenmuse X5.  Zenmuse seems to be their name for their integrated camera/gimbal systems.  The current version is X9 which is used on Inspire 3 and Ronin 4D.

This is my very old and not very good video about the Osmo RAW.  After the initial boring part where I talk about the camera and all of its accessories at a table, the rest of the video is all me talking over actual footage.

 

59 minutes ago, mercer said:

You know as I was replying to your last comment< I was thinking about the Pocket 3 and how it could probably work because I"ll probably only use the gimbal for some tracking shots while most of them will be fairly static... well static and slider shots from a 12" slider for very slight movements.

The Pocket 3 is fantastic and it has some superpowers that the other gimbals won't have.  Like you can stand 30 feet away from it and control it with your phone, including choosing a person/object for it to track.  Like on a recent short film, I clamped it on a gun barrel and set it to track the face of the actor who was carrying the gun around.  As they moved the gun, the camera swiveled to track their face.  It was a great look.

I also have a cheap cable cam mount (Wiral) that, because it's cheap, can only carry a very light payload and it's a bit shaky while it does.  Put on the pocket 3 and it looks smooth as heck.

You will be stuck with a wide angle lens (no teleconverter, but there is an adapter to make it even wider), though, so depending on what you want to shoot, it might end up being a terrible option.

 

[mercer]

10 minutes ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

This is my very old and not very good video about the Osmo RAW.  After the initial boring part where I talk about the camera and all of its accessories at a table, the rest of the video is all me talking over actual footage.

 

[mercer]

21 minutes ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

This is my very old and not very good video about the Osmo RAW.  After the initial boring part where I talk about the camera and all of its accessories at a table, the rest of the video is all me talking over actual footage.

The B&W footage looks cool. The location probably helps a little. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully that blonde haired woman was/is a friend/girlfriend/wife and not a ghost you accidentally captured on video.

[eatstoomuchjam]

37 minutes ago, mercer said:

Hopefully that blonde haired woman was/is a friend/girlfriend/wife and not a ghost you accidentally captured on video

Heh.  Probably a friend.  But... it can be hard to say!

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

On 3/20/2025 at 2:23 PM, mercer said:

That gimbal is pretty cool. The right kinda price too. Do you have it? Have you used the follow focus? 

Not much - in fact I've playing with camera so much less, and I've bought a DJI Pocket 3 (that is more than enough for 80% of the moving shots in my case) that I will probably sell it.

I have the first version. Before only had the orignal Crane M (never got along with it) and a Feiyu A1000 (good, had an amazing feature that was axed in the folowwing Feiyu gimbals, you move the camera by and to point A and point B, and when pressing the trigger the gimbal repeats the movement in a programmable duration).

Stab is good, but sometimes I think that it have a "center" problem - moving to a direction, come back to the original position, never got the gimbal pointed exactly in the same stop; but since I have this issue in ALL gimbals, probably is an operation error.

I love the form factor with two handles, better grip in normal positions and is a breeze to get low angle shots. WOuld never come back to a single handle one.

Never used the follow focus, but it could probably the factor that make me keep it - just to use older lenses.

The second version have a AI tracker, which could be useful (not for me).

[maxJ4380]

I pulled the pin on a Zhiyun-Tech Crane 2S 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabiliser - COMBO. its an older model by now and there is two newer models i think.

The e-m1 iii comes in at 580 gr without lens. The sirui anamorphic is listed a 1 kilogram, both together, should be well within weight considerations.  The sirui would probably be the heaviest lens i have. Even with an ef to mft adapter and vintage lenses, i think i'm fairly safe.

I got the combo deal as i hope the added arm and rest makes a difference and it was only a $100 dearer although some stores it was $150-200 dearer.

I have watched a lot of youtube reviews in an attempt to make an informed decision.  I will say, i take a grain of salt with whatever is said on youtube. i'm cynical enough to think there is some bias towards the selling side of things especially with any youtube that has affiliate links involved. I have also noticed when ever a reviewer has two gimbals on display they seem to place them on the dodgiest of tables, as soon as the table is touched or a gimbal moved the whole tables moves. Not exactly confidence inspiring from a visual standpoint.  

I'm a bit surprised more hasn't been said in this forum about the various gimbals. Maybe that in itself could be taken as a sign... 

Anyway moving right along... I liked the fact the crane 2s takes the 18650 batteries. I'm not a fan of proprietary battery packs, they tend to cost you more, like anything that's "special". The later crane models seemed to have gone to battery packs and dji and the ronins are the same from what i have seen. The crane 2 motors seem quite large, nearly the same size or slightly smaller as the later crane models and some reviewers have made that comparison as well. Which i tend to think, bodes well for the crane 2s.  Also the later crane models are heavier as well and while they will carry heavier loads, i'm not that interested in lugging a heavier load at this time.

Some youtubers notice micro jitters with the crane, not all the time, just at some angles, not sure if thats an ongoing problem with balancing or the motors set to the wrong strength or hardware update perhaps, most ppl seem to get it sorted or they don't make too much of  an issue about it during the video. i have watched enough vids that i think i'm happy enough with the output i'm likely to get and I'm kinda hoping that most of these reviews are 4 years old and the issues have been sorted. Which also means we about due a new range of gimbals... Probably.

There does seem to be a lack of long term reviews and if you can find an answered question about what they still use, most of the time its they have moved on to something different. Actually i'm finding the whole youtube review thing a bit shallow, if i'm honest. You get 10 minutes of some guy yapping on, in front of a camera with basically a bunch of different pan and tilt product shots and maybe 90 seconds of actual gimbal footage. Some youtubes have a better balance. Well see what happens after it turns up.

 

 

[eatstoomuchjam]

4 hours ago, maxJ4380 said:

I'm a bit surprised more hasn't been said in this forum about the various gimbals. Maybe that in itself could be taken as a sign... 

4 hours ago, maxJ4380 said:

There does seem to be a lack of long term reviews and if you can find an answered question about what they still use, most of the time its they have moved on to something different. Actually i'm finding the whole youtube review thing a bit shallow, if i'm honest. You get 10 minutes of some guy yapping on, in front of a camera with basically a bunch of different pan and tilt product shots and maybe 90 seconds of actual gimbal footage. Some youtubes have a better balance. Well see what happens after it turns up.

 

To some extent, I think both of these things are related.  For the most part, gimbals haven't changed a lot in a long time.  Manufacturers got pretty good, a while ago, at making them.  If you buy the latest and fanciest gimbal made today, it won't me meaningfully different than a pretty good gimbal from 5-7 years ago.

A number of the changes/updates tend to be in other features like having a secondary camera where you can ask the gimbal to track people - or gimbal-integrated focus motors.  And really, there's only so much to say in reviews of those things.  Otherwise, a DJI will work a lot like a Zhiyun which will work a lot like a Feiyutech, all of which will probably work somewhat better than a Hohem (but the Hohem will probably still get the job done).  😅

Anyway, the Crane 2S is a solid choice!  Looking forward to seeing what you shoot with it!