Written by
Matthew Miller, Contributor
Matthew Miller
Contributor
Matthew Miller started using mobile devices in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since. He was a co-host, with Kevin Tofel, of the MobileTechRoundup podcast for 13 years and authored three Wiley Companion series books.
Full Bio
Posted in The Mobile Gadgeteer
on December 20, 2021
| Topic: Mobility
Earlier in December, I posted my review of the Zhiyun Smooth Q3, a great compact gimbal for creators who get out and about, shooting on the go in portrait or landscape as situations dictate. The new
Smooth 5
is a larger gimbal for those who regularly shoot in planned recording sessions.
The Zhiyun Smooth 5 is
available for $169 and $219
. The $219 combo package comes with some additional goodies; a protective bag, fill light and filters, ZY Cami one-year prime service card, and a wrist strap. The protective bag is well constructed, but I’m not sure the combination package is worth the additional $50 price.
See also: Best camera phone 2021: Take the best photos and videos.
Gimbals provide 3-axis stabilization with internal motors that activate after you mount your phone and then turn on the gimbal. The gimbal stabilizes tilt, pan, and roll while also providing various controls on the gimbal to pan, zoom, and move through various camera options. Your smartphone is connected via Bluetooth to the gimbal, and the smartphone software lets you view the content while customizing the shooting options and perspectives. The gimbal also acts as a selfie stick or even as a tripod and is an essential tool for video creators.
7.8
Zhiyun Smooth 5
Very Good
$219 at Amazon
Like
Solid build quality and constructionCapable of holding larger phonesIncluded tripod attachmentFull-featured smartphone software
Don’t Like
Lots of buttons and controlsLimited battery lifeDoes not fold up to compact size
Hardware
I was sent the
Zhiyun Smooth 5 combo package
to evaluate and appreciate the opportunity to check out the carrying/storage bag and one magnetic mounting light with four color filters. You can mount two lights on the Smooth 5, and eventually, you will be able to buy a second at a $36 price.
I opened up the retail package to check out the combination package and then charged up the gimbal via the USB-C port on the back of the handle. The USB-C port is covered by a silicone port cover and can be a bit of a pain to remove. There is also a USB-C port on the upper arm that is used to charge up your smartphone. This can be useful if you happen to be recording and need to get a session completed, but with just 2,600mAh capacity in the gimbal, I wouldn’t rely on charging up your smartphone for every recording session.
The Quick Start Guide is essential reading material that will show you how to fully unlock, extend, and setup your gimbal for use. There are 16 indicators, buttons, dials, and controls on the Zhiyun Smooth 5, so you need the guide to make sure you understand what each serves to control. It takes using the gimbal several times to get the hang of all of the controls, but once you have it down, then you will realize the gimbal is quite capable and powerful. I find the buttons and controls to be well-positioned too and easily accessible while holding the gimbal in my right hand.
It’s just a few steps to setup the hardware, including unlocking the tilt, pan, and roll axis. Note that the pan axis lock is a physical switch on the backside of the gimbal positioned above the USB-C charging port. The tilt and roll axis parts are unlocked by rotating the arm to move the locking nub outside of the beveled lock.
Software
You can use the gimbal alone as a stabilizer for your phone, but you won’t experience all of the special effects and creative options unless you use the included software. The ZY Cami software is available for Android and iPhone models and provides you with a full capturing and editing alternative to the camera software on your phone. There are options for video, photo, pano, dolly zoom, timelapse, hyper-lapse, and smart options. I’ve seen reports of software instability, but in my testing, with Android phones, the ZY Cami software has performed flawlessly.
The main use of a smartphone gimbal is to capture video content, and the mode button on the gimbal is focused on this experience. Pan follow mode (PF) means that the tilt and roll axis motors are locked, and the pan axis follows the movement of the stabilizer handle. The joystick is used to control the tilt and pan axis in this mode. When Lock mode (L) is enabled, the three motors are locked and will not follow the movement of the stabilizer handle with the joystick again controlling tilt and pan. In Follow mode (F), the roll axis motor is locked with the tilt and pan axis motors following the movement of the stabilizer handle. The Point of View mode (POV) is pretty radical in that all three motors follow the movement of the stabilizer handle. In Vortex mode (V), the tilt axis motor rotates upward by 90 degrees while the tilt, roll and pan axis motors follow the rotation of the handle. Push the joystick to the left or gith to control the rotation of the pan axis. In Go Mode, the camera pans and tilts following the movement of the gimbal at a fast speed while the roll axis is locked.
The ZY Cami app also has a powerful editor that lets you fully edit your captured content right on your phone. You can trim your video, add music, add subtitles, add stickers, change playback speed, reverse the video, zoom, rotate, add filters, modify colors, and more. The Prime service, one year is included with the combo package, provides you access to online editing, online video storage, and more templates for advanced editing of your videos.
User guides, tutorials, and content from other creators are all contained within the ZY Cami app. Viewing other content is good for inspiration and for providing ideas of how you can improve your content too.
Experiences and conclusions
I shot videos using the Zhiyun Smooth 5 with a
OnePlus 9 Pro
,
Google Pixel 5a
, and
Sony Xperia Pro-I
. The phone clamps securely, and the smooth silicone/rubber material protects the finish on the phones. If it is not a bulky case, you can even mount your phone in a case, as long as the thickness is less than 10mm.
Even with heavy phones, the tripod is very secure and stable. This is especially useful when shooting a panorama where the gimbal moves through various angles to capture perfect shots. When I just turn my body to capture panoramic shots, I tend to move up and down, so it’s nice to have a stable platform with flawless execution for this shooting mode.
The Zhiyun Smooth 5 folds down into a secure form, but it is not nearly as compact as the
Smooth Q3
or DJI gimbals. However, it feels great in the hand with sturdy materials, rubber-coated handle grip and easily accessible controls. There are a lot of controls, so spend time using them before you head out for your shooting sessions.
It isn’t really a gimbal for beginners with an overwhelming number of buttons, wheels, and controls. There is a solid Quick Start Guide in the retail package with the full user manual in the ZY Cami app to further define the buttons and available shooting modes. Experiment with the modes and get to learn the controls before you start shooting your content.
Overall, I was pleased with the Zhiyun Smooth 5 gimbal’s performance, build quality, and powerful shooting/editing software. It’s a bit pricier than comparable gimbals, but if you will be using the zoom/focus control wheel, then it may be worth the price premium for you. It is not that portable for packing on day trips for unplanned video capture, but it is a solid option for planned recording sessions.
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