You! Buy a gimbal for your smartphone and impress your friends and family with your cinematic skills

You can often get away with using a smartphone gimbal without specific software, especially if all you want to do is smooth out your video. That said, using a gimbal without a specialized app will usually mean missing out on most of the best features and optimizations. These include zooming, remote control, effects, object tracking, etc.

You! Buy a gimbal for your smartphone!

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Given that the gimbal has an app for your smartphone, you should be able to use any phone as long as it fits on the clamp. Gimbal motors should also be strong enough to carry the weight of the smartphone. These details can always be found on the spec sheet.

Those looking for the best phone gimbal will soon realize many options are available. Finding the right smartphone gimbal can be daunting, so we have curated a list of the best handset stabilizers available.

You need to consider several things when picking out a phone gimbal. The obvious factors to consider are price, size, weight, battery life, and build quality. Of course, mobile gimbals have other more complex features to keep in perspective. An essential one is the stabilization technology in use. Are you working with a 3-axis or a 2-axis stabilizer? 2-axis stabilizers smooth out tilt and roll, which means movements going up/down or from side to side. The third axis steadies panning.

The MOZA Mini-S Essential is another smartphone gimbal that positions itself in the middle of the road on pricing. It far outperforms its price tag, though. The Mini-S Essential offers three-axis stabilization, which is not always guaranteed on budget gimbals. It does weigh more than most on the list at 498g, but it supports up to 260g to give you impressive freedom to choose your device.

If you like filming video with your smartphone and are comfortable spending a little over $150 to achieve more-professional-looking results, a smartphone gimbal might be right for you. A gimbal is a handheld mechanical stabilizer that can help you shoot smooth, cinematic footage without the need for a larger tripod or an expensive dolly. We found the DJI OM 5 to be the easiest to use while also reliably stabilizing video.

Though a gimbal for a smartphone is likely to be less expensive, gimbals are available for nearly every type of camera, including DSLRs and GoPros. If you use a different type of camera more than your phone, consider investing in a gimbal for that camera instead.

We read Amazon and B&H reviews to find the most popular smartphone gimbals currently available. We also watched YouTube reviews and footage shot with different gimbals to find promising options. Going by what we learned, and keeping our own habits in mind, we determined that the following features are most important:

We timed how long it took us to set up each gimbal, ranked how much we liked the iOS and Android apps, noted our experience using the buttons on each handle, recorded how easy (or difficult) it was to balance each gimbal, and noted any included accessories. We also asked customer service at each company how to balance the gimbal, and we recorded how long it took a representative to respond and how helpful they were.

In another round of testing, in early 2019, we tested the DJI Osmo Pocket (a gimbal with a built-in camera) against the GoPro Hero7 Black and its electronic image stabilization, at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. We tested the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 in late 2019. Then, in late 2020, we tested the DJI Pocket 2, DJI OM 4, and Zhiyun Smooth X. In 2022, we used an Apple iPhone XR and Samsung Galaxy S8 to test the DJI OM 5, Zhiyun Smooth 5, and Zhiyun Smooth Q3 at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis.

There is a circular magnetic pad at the top end of the gimbal. You can either affix a clamp that will hold your phone (a standard design for gimbals) or stick the included magnetic disc to the back of your phone. The disc makes your phone magnetic and allows you to quickly stick it to the gimbal. The feature might be useful if you are constantly switching between shooting and using your phone for other purposes, but we were not that excited about saving a half-second in attaching the phone. Using a clamp attached to the gimbal is also quick and easy.

DJI publishes a list (PDF) of phones that are compatible with the OM 5; this includes larger modern phones like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, iPhone 13 Pro Max, and Google Pixel 6 Pro. Like the Smooth 5, this gimbal has a weakness when it comes to Android phones: Users of the Android DJI Mimo app can shoot 4K video at a max of 30 fps, while iOS users can shoot at up to 60 fps.

If you want to maximize the amount of control you have over your phone, the Zhiyun Smooth 5 has more buttons and knobs on its handle that put finer-tuned controls at your fingertips. These make it possible to shoot more-complicated shots without touching your phone. Some people may also wish to buy a Zhiyun gimbal to avoid the DJI brand.

Images, and the devices that capture them, are my focus. I've covered cameras at PCMag for the past 10 years, which has given me a front row seat for the DSLR to mirrorless transition, the smartphone camera revolution, and the mainstream adoption of drones for aerial imaging. You can find me on Instagram @jamespfisher.

But all the pixels in the world don't mean a thing if your handheld video looks like it's from a shaky Paul Greengrass action thriller. Stabilization plays a key role here. Many cameras include built-in tools to steady footage. But even with in-body stabilization, lens-based optical stabilization, and innovative digital tools, handheld footage can be wobbly, especially when the camera isn't stationary.

For static shots, you can get stable recordings with something as simple as a sturdy set of tripod legs, typically with a fluid head for smooth pans and camera movements. If you want to move during a shot you can opt for a video monopod, or, for rock-solid footage, a powered gimbal.

Once everything is up and running, a gimbal delivers perfectly smooth footage, like you get from a Steadicam on a Hollywood set or from a drone. The cameras on consumer drones use the same type of brushless motors to keep the image steady. Basic gimbals provide stabilization, typically along three axes, as well as motorized camera movement via joystick control.

Advanced models include USB camera control, wireless video transmission, motors, and gear systems to drive manual focus lenses, and mounting points for accessories. Motion-lapse, 360-degree rolls, and low-angle operating modes are also step-up features. Most include Bluetooth and a smartphone control app, but allow operation independent of a phone, too.

Smaller gimbals put the battery in the handle itself. Run times can be long enough for all-day use, and USB charging is a standard feature. Just keep in mind that when those batteries stop holding a charge, you have to replace the unit. Some options still use swappable batteries, however.

A gimbal that's too small to support your camera will deliver poor results because its motors will struggle to keep balance. Most gimbals have a payload rating and you should pay attention to it, especially if you use an interchangeable lens camera. Take a look at the entire weight (and size) of your kit and pick one that's close. You are likely to end up with a gimbal that can handle more weight than you need.

You should also be realistic about what kind of lenses you can use with a gimbal. Most will reach for wide angles, but standard and short telephoto lenses are usable too. I recommend keeping things at 85mm or wider. Wildlife photographers use gimbal tripod heads for extreme telephoto lenses, but despite sharing a name, gimbals for wildlife photography and gimbals for video cameras are very different things.

We included picks for everything from smartphones to full-frame mirrorless systems in this story and break down products by camera type. We haven't yet reviewed every gimbal on here, but there's a star rating next to those we have.

Gimbals for phones, compact cameras, and action cameras are typically quite small, because they have less weight to handle. They're also a lot less expensive. We've included a couple here that are available for less than $100, including a splash-proof gimbal for use with GoPros and other action cams.

The Zhiyun Smooth 5S is made just for smartphones (its app works with Android and iOS phones). It can charge your device and works with magnetic-attachment video lights to add illumination to your scene. On-handle controls and support for Vertigo dolly zooms and vortex rolling shots round out its features.

If your action cam's digital stabilization is letting you down, the FeiyuTech Vimble 2A is a good fit. It works with popular models from brands like DJI, GoPro, SJCAM, and Yi. It also includes IPX4 splash protection, which means it can survive some water exposure (but not submersion).

The DJI Pocket 2 isn't a gimbal for your camera, it's a handheld camera with a built-in gimbal for vlogging. It records in 4K, supports motion time lapse, and works with high-quality external mics. If you like the idea of gimbal stabilization, but don't want to fuss with mounting your phone, the Pocket might find its way into yours.

If you use a camera with swappable lenses, you need to budget a bit more for a gimbal, especially if you use a full-frame system. The DJI RS 3 Mini ($369) and the Zhiyun Weebill 2 ($469), are value picks; both are capable of supporting most mirrorless cameras. 2ff7e9595c