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Oct 17, 2023

Gimbal for cell phone: Smoothe and smooth video recording

Imagine you’re on a breathtaking summit and want to capture the view in a video,

Imagine you’re on a breathtaking summit and want to capture the view in a video, but the result is blurry and out of focus. That's where a mobile gimbal comes in. This in-depth guide takes you deep into the world of gimbals, explaining why they’re essential in smartphone videography and giving you a comprehensive overview of the best models on the market.

Inhaltsverzeichnis / Table of contents

A gimbal is a mechanical device that usually has three axes and is used to keep a camera or smartphone stable. The main purpose of a gimbal is to compensate for camera shake and abrupt movements to create smooth and professional moving footage. Gimbals are especially popular with filmmakers and content creators looking for stable shots and cinematic pans.

The way a gimbal works is based on the principle of gimbal suspension. This is a type of suspension that allows an object to rotate around a single axis. In a gimbal, three such suspensions are combined so that the camera can rotate around three different axes: Pitch (tilt), Yaw (pan) and Roll (roll). This means that the camera can tilt in any direction without blurring or distorting the image.

In addition to mechanical stabilization, many gimbals use built-in electronics to monitor and automatically adjust the camera's movements. They use sensors such as gyroscopes and accelerometers to detect any movement of the gimbal. This data is then sent to a microcontroller, which instructs the gimbal's motors to respond accordingly and keep the camera stable.

Cell phones have come a remarkable way in recent years. The cameras built into modern smartphones can take impressive pictures and videos. But there is one area where they still lag behind professional cameras – image stabilization.

Although many phones have built-in image stabilization, it often can't keep up with the movements that occur when filming handheld. This is where the gimbal comes in. With a gimbal, you can reduce shake and capture professional-looking video even when you’re in motion. So a gimbal can be the key to unlocking the full potential of your smartphone camera.

Of course, there are plenty of brands hawking gimbals on the market. However, in addition to numerous relatively unknown names, a handful of manufacturers have established themselves that we’d like to introduce to you:

Of course, there are other manufacturers that offer high-quality gimbals, such as FeiyuTech, Moza, and Glidecam. When choosing a gimbal, it is important to consider your own needs, budget and compatibility with your own camera or smartphone.

The right gimbal for your phone? This can turn out to be a real challenge. There are a variety of models on the market, from affordable entry-level models to high-end professional models. Here are some factors to consider when choosing a gimbal for your phone:

When you hold your new gimbal in your hands, it might seem a little intimidating at first. But don't worry, using a gimbal isn't as complicated as it seems. Here are some tips for using a gimbal:

A gimbal is undoubtedly an extremely powerful tool that offers tremendous support in smartphone videography. It allows you to create professional and stunning footage. However, it's important to note that fully utilizing and maximizing gimbal capabilities requires practice, technique, and a bit of a learning curve. To get the most out of your gimbal, there are some important tips and tricks you can follow. These will help you improve your skills and achieve even more impressive results:

A gimbal is only as good as the camera attached to it. Therefore, you should make sure your smartphone has a good camera before investing in an expensive gimbal. Most modern smartphones have excellent cameras that can deliver amazing results when combined with a gimbal.

Most gimbals also have their own apps that you can download to use advanced shooting features. These apps can control your phone's camera settings and allow you to take photos and record video from your gimbal.

The compatibility of the gimbal with the app is crucial. Almost all gimbals come with an associated app that needs to be installed on your smartphone in order to use the full functionality of the gimbal. The app allows you to control the gimbal, adjust its settings, and use some additional features, such as tracking faces or objects, creating time-lapse or panoramic shots, and more. Therefore, it is important to make sure that your gimbal's app is compatible with your smartphone.

Some of the advanced features you can expect from a gimbal include:

Apps like DJI Mimo and Filmic Pro can help you get the most out of your gimbal. They offer different shooting modes, advanced setting options, and even editing tools to edit your videos right on your phone.

Yes, there are alternatives to a cell phone gimbal, although they may not offer the same stabilization performance. Some alternatives are:

In fact, there are smartphones that have a built-in gimbal function. One example of this is the Vivo X60 Pro Plus. In this device, the main camera is mounted on a gimbal that compensates for movements in all directions and thus enables excellent image stabilization. The successor model Vivo X90 Pro unfortunately does without the feature. However, such phones are still rather the exception and often cannot keep up with a proper gimbal in terms of stabilization and features.

With this information, you are now well prepared to dive into the world of gimbal phone videography. Whether you’re an avid hobbyist or a budding professional videographer, a gimbal can definitely make a big difference in your video quality.