Whereas contemplating a smartphone gimbals for my telephones, two manufacturers instantly got here to thoughts, DJI and Zhiyun. Zhiyun makes gimbals/stabilizers for cameras and smartphones. It smartphone fashions have the Easy product title and for the previous couple of months I’ve been testing out the Easy Q3.
The Zhiyun Easy Q3 is
obtainable for $89 or $109
if you’d like the combo bundle that comes with some further goodies; storage bag, ZY Cami one-year prime service card, and a wrist strap. The zippered carrying/storage case itself is well worth the $20 further worth. The Easy Q3 in all fairness priced and likewise an awesome first gimbal in case you are eager about enhancing your smartphone video outcomes.
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Gimbals present 3-axis stabilization with inner motors that activate after you mount your cellphone after which activate the gimbal. The gimbal stabilizes tilt, pan, and roll whereas additionally offering numerous controls on the gimbal to pan, zoom, and transfer by means of numerous digital camera choices. You smartphone is related by way of Bluetooth to the gimbal and smartphone software program assist information you thru capturing content material with attention-grabbing views. The gimbal additionally acts as a selfie stick and even as a tripod and is a necessary instrument for video creators.
Like
- Compact gimbal
- Included tripod attachment
- Highly effective smartphone software program
- Inexpensive
Do not Like
- Battery life not so long as anticipated
- A lot of choices could also be complicated at first
{Hardware}
The Zhiyun Easy Q3 could be very shut in dimension to the DJI Osmo Cellular 4/5, however can be extra reasonably priced. Its smaller type issue makes it simple to pack the case and gimbal together with you all over the place. The Easy Q3 additionally comes with a tripod attachment for the underside that serves as an prolonged rod for holding on to the gimbal too. The tripod base could be very extensive and creates a secure platform for utilizing the gimbal hands-free.
Take the gimbal out of its bundle and cost it up by way of USB-C. I extremely suggest you view the Fast Begin Information that can present you easy methods to full unlock, lengthen, and setup your gimbal to be used. It is only a few steps to setup the {hardware}, together with sliding up the primary vertical arm and tightening the screw, rotating the lean axis fixing buckle, after which rotating the roll axis fixing buckle that has the smartphone mounting bracket connected to it. Slide aside the smartphone clamp, it has rubber braces on both facet, and insert your cellphone with the cameras going through away from you.
One factor to notice in regards to the vertical arm screw is that this isn’t meant to totally lock the vertical arm so do not crank down too exhausting on the vertical screw. It’s used to regulate the smoothness of the slide slot and lock within the contact factors in order that energy flows to the motors all through the remainder of the gimbal.
Previous to turning on the gimbal, you’ll be able to carry out a little bit of handbook balancing. In panorama orientation, transfer the cellphone left or proper inside the cellphone clamp till it’s regular and nearly stage with the bottom. In portrait mode, you’ll be able to truly slide the cellphone mount itself left or proper, there are steel bars between the 2 clamp items that slide left to proper within the mount, till it’s nearly stage to the bottom. You do not want excellent balancing because the gimbal will align every thing when turned on, however it helps to get the stability shut in order that you do not have the cellphone awkwardly positioned or the gimbal working too exhausting to keep up stability.
There’s a LED mild above your smartphone, when in panorama orientation, that may be rotated 180 levels so you need to use the sunshine whereas recording selfie movies too. Tapping and holding on the highest of the sunshine turns it on after which tapping it toggles by means of three ranges of brightness. The built-in mild is a superb function we don’t see on the DJI competitor.
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On the again facet of the gimbal deal with is the facility button and set off button. The USB-C charging port is on the proper facet with the zoom rocker on the left facet. On the working face of the gimbal, accessible and controllable with simply your thumb whilst you maintain the gimbal, are indicator lights, mode button, seize button, and a directional joystick.
4 of the buttons have a number of actions entry with single, double, or triple presses. The set off button is without doubt one of the most used with a single press toggling on/off Sensible Observe mode, a double press repositioning the cellphone to middle it, and a triple press switching your cellphone between panorama and portrait orientation. A press and maintain of the set off additionally toggles PhoneGo mode. Discover the a number of button choices for the mode button, seize button, and energy button. The joystick merely strikes you left, proper, up, or down.
Specs
- Gentle: Built-in LED with 180 diploma rotation and three brightness ranges
- Smartphone capability: 150 to 280 grams
- Battery: 1300 mAh for 7-15 hours of battery life and three hours to totally cost
- Dimensions (folded): 45 x 154 x 180 mm
- Dimensions (unfolded): 90 x 127 x 279 mm
- Weight: 340 grams
Software program
You should utilize the gimbal alone as a stabilizer to your cellphone, however you will not expertise the entire particular results and inventive choices except you utilize the included software program. The ZY Cami software program is accessible for Android and iPhone fashions and offers you with a full capturing and modifying various to the digital camera software program in your cellphone. There are alternatives for video, photograph, pano, dolly zoom, timelapse, hyperlapse, and good choices.
The primary use of a smartphone gimbal is to seize video content material and the mode button on the gimbal is targeted on this expertise. Pan observe mode (PF) implies that the lean and roll axis motors are locked and the pan axis follows the motion of the stabilizer deal with. The joystick is used to regulate tilt and pan axis on this mode. When Lock mode (L) is enabled the three motors are locked and won’t observe the motion of the stabilizer deal with with the joystick once more controlling tilt and pan. In Observe mode (F) the roll axis motor is locked with the lean and pan axis motors following the motion of the stabilizer deal with.
The Level of View mode (POV) is fairly radical in that every one three motors observe the motion of the stabilizer deal with. Vortex mode is accessed from both the POV or PF modes with the POV indicator mild flashing whereas on this mode. PhoneGo mode is enabled by urgent and holding the rear set off button. The F indicator flashes when this mode is enabled and on this mode the digital camera pans and tilts following the motion of the stabilizer at quick velocity whereas the roll axis is locked.
The ZY Cami app additionally has a strong editor that allows you to totally edit your captured content material proper in your cellphone. You may trim your video, add music, add subtitles, add stickers, change playback velocity, reverse the video, zoom, rotate, add filters, modify colours, and extra. The Prime service, one 12 months is included with the combo bundle, offers you entry to on-line modifying, on-line video storage, and extra templates for superior modifying of your movies.
Consumer guides, tutorials, and content material from different creators are all contained inside the ZY Cami app. Viewing different content material is sweet for inspiration and for offering concepts of how one can enhance your content material too.
Experiences and conclusions
I shot movies utilizing the Zhiyun Easy Q3 with a OnePlus 9 Professional, Google Pixel 5a, and TCL 20 Professional 5G. My Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 has too odd of a type issue to work within the gimbal, which was anticipated. The cellphone clamp securely held these telephones and the rubber inserts protected the end on the telephones. You may even mount your cellphone in a case if it’s not a cumbersome case.
The Sensible Observe mode was very spectacular the place a inexperienced field seems that you simply place in your topic after which the gimbal follows that topic wherever they transfer. That is additionally helpful when utilizing the tripod to document your self doing issues in entrance of the digital camera.
The panoramic mode with the tripod is superior since you’ll be able to set the Easy Q3 down on a secure floor, allow pano within the software program, after which hit document to observe the gimbal work together with your cellphone to seize a superbly aligned pano shot. I at all times appear to maneuver up or down a bit once I attempt taking pictures these simply with my cellphone.
The dolly zoom choice is an attention-grabbing impact that we have seen in films prior to now and it is generally known as the Hitchcock impact. You progress in direction of or away from the topic whereas zooming in the wrong way. This impact was used on Chief Brody in Jaws to nice success. The good/template choices have been additionally enjoyable as they provide you some filters and strategies to experiment with simply the place you merely choose the template after which shoot the video.
Total, I used to be very happy with the Zhiyun Easy Q3 gimbal’s efficiency, worth, and highly effective taking pictures/modifying software program. The sunshine is a superb addition and it is a pretty compact gimbal. Whereas Zhiyun advertises 7-15 hours of battery life, my expertise was that the 7 hours is extra typical and must be anticipated. That mentioned, that is loads of time to seize video content material all day lengthy.