Until very recently I would still ask myself: ‘Is a smartphone gimbal worth it’? Don’t phones have built-in stabilisation? Is this not a slight waste of money?
For now over a decade I’ve been shooting using primarily a dedicated camera, currently, I’m using a full-frame Sony mirrorless from the A7 series. I also fly drones since 2014 and shoot aerial photography/videography currently with the DJI Mini 3 Pro since it is the perfect small-size travel drone packed with advanced features. I’ve used many cameras and camera systems and I know my way around them. But I’ve never made mobile phone photography my main focus aside from casual daily snaps.
I do however enjoy using a smartphone to record behind the scenes and share videos on my Instagram stories and reels.
Most smartphones have excellent built-in stabilisation, but there is a limit to how much they can stabilise.
As it happens, Zhiyun, who manufacture gimbals, very kindly sent me a free smartphone gimbal to try-out, the Zhiyun Smooth Q4 smartphone gimbal.
Let me just say that I would not risk my reputation by claiming a £150 gimbal is great if it just isn’t. I review items honestly, as I experience them.
The Zhiyun Smooth Q4 comes either as a standard package, the gimbal alone, or an upgraded package called “combo” with a mini tripod, a (clever) magnetic LED fill light and few other extras. The latter is what I have and it retails currently at £149, it hardly breaks the bank and offers excellent value for money.
Great it is, and I will now explain why this gimbal has reinvigorated my creativity.
It is only when you fit your mobile phone onto a gimbal that you realise how amazing these are and how they suddenly expand the possibilities when filming with your phone. You can shoot timelapse, hyperlapse, video, photos and even shoot panoramas when mounted on its tripod which the gimbal creates by taking successive images from left to right and stitching them together.
2022 and we all feel increasing pressure from social media giants, Instagram being the biggest culprit, to create video through stories or reels. Photography itself isn’t good enough for the gram’s algorithm anymore!
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing or me yielding to the social media pressure, instead, I look at it as an opportunity, a motivation to look for other ways than just photography to create and share what I love.
I have no hesitation in recommending this gimbal to anyone wanting to shoot videos but not necessarily keen to do it with a dedicated camera which then requires a far more expensive (and heavy) dedicated gimbal for DSLR or Mirrorless camera.
I am a big fan of ease of use, lightweight gear that you can pack in a small bag and go create when the urge presents itself. Cameras are sometimes too cumbersome and seriously lack AI, falling behind smartphones and drones. Call it evolution and cameras have not evolved fast enough. Why aren’t DSLRs and mirrorless cameras equipped with Android for example? Their capabilities could be expanded by the power of certain apps. Cameras with Android do exist but it has not really caught on. Imagine shooting, editing and sharing online straight from your DSLR or Mirrorless? Perhaps not all the time as editing in Photoshop is far more powerful and visual but when on the move it’d be very useful.
Anyway… back to our gimbals!
When you use a smartphone gimbal, it feels like footage not too dissimilar from a drone. It is so smooth thanks to the various modes, tracking, follow, fpv…
I like that in the press of a button the gimbal returns to the centre. Pressing another button rotates your phone from landscape to portrait orientation. Press one button on the handle of the gimbal and it records, prress it twice and it takes a photo.
The added benefit from the Zhiyun Smooth Q4 is that it extends (like a selfie stick). I’m absolutely not a fan of selfie sticks but this has a creative edge. You can shoot from a metre above your head and this immediately feels like a low altitude drone shot. So not a bad idea at all for anyone unable to afford a drone but keen to shoot from a slightly elevated point of view which offers a brand new perspective to play with.
It links to your phone via the Zhiyun ZY Cami app which has not got the public’s vote. I’m not sure why as I’ve not had problems with it.
Well… Aside from when I set it up. It would not pair with my phone, I spent hours trying to work it out and it was painful. I eventually did. A simple firmware update on the Smooth Q4 gimbal fixed that and it immediately recognised my phone. I recommend anyone update the firmware on any new device as it may have an old firmware full of bugs from when it was manufactured a few months back.
This little gimbal is packed full with features.
It will smart follow for example. So if you walk behind your subject, you can draw a rectangle around your target and as you follow it will keep them in the frame.
Equally it will track you from left to right if you position it on a tripod and film yourself. So you can for example do a recipe video in your kitchen and it won’t lose you when you step out of the frame, it’ll just follow/track. That means effectively that you have an assistant filming you and it does it impressively well.
Do you like timelapse photography? The Zhiyun Smooth Q4 can be mounted on a tripod and shoot a motion timelapse. You simply click a waypoint where you want it to start shooting, and another where to end. Three waypoints are possible. This gimbal can also simply execute a panning timelapse from left to right and will for example pan 180, 270 or 360 degrees.
Motion timelapse is something that not long ago required expensive robotic motion controllers, not anymore.
Finally, it boasts a Vortex mode which is really another tool to shoot more creatively. This allows the gimbal to rotate your phone (nearly) 360 degrees like the dials on a clock. So the scene you shoot will rotate upside down like a wheel when played-back.
If you’d like to see a quick example of what I do with the Zhiyun Smooth Q4, head to my Instagram reels. I’m actually working on a longer video but it’s not up and ready yet so that’ll have to do!
I see creativity as a process that should not be interrupted or hindered by frustrating tools. Or heavy tools.
This gimbal will allow you to film great content (highly depends on skills and the quality of your phone camera), much more cinematic than just using your phone, in no time and without much effort. It lets you be creative.
I do not earn commission from Zhiyun, this is purely me reviewing a tool for creatives.
Until next time,
Nico