🎬 Elevate Your Mobile Filmmaking Game!
The Zhiyun Smooth 4 is a state-of-the-art 3-axis handheld gimbal stabilizer designed for smartphones, offering advanced features like focus pull, zoom capability, and multiple shooting modes. With a robust 12-hour runtime and the ability to charge your device while filming, it's the perfect companion for aspiring filmmakers and content creators.
B**E
Very useful for fliming with iPhone
I am very much an amateur photographer, and not a particularly skilled one at that.If I visit an air show or some other event I will take plenty of pictures and if I'm lucky a few of them will be decent enough snaps. For stills I use a Canon ES 550 and for video a handheld Sony camcorder. I confess that I haven't got used to using all the various settings on both cameras, even though I've owned both for years.I also have my iPhone for those quick snaps I want to take for uploading to social media right away. And I've been experimenting with live video so I need the iPhone for that too.So do I need to carry the Canon and the Sony around all day? Couldn't I just use my iPhone? The answer it seems is yes, I can. The camera on the iPhone is adequate for my needs but I need something to stabilise the iPhone.And that's where the Zhiyun Smooth 4 comes in.It's easy to use and has a long battery life of about 12 hours. I had mine operating within minutes of opening the box.After using it for an hour or two I felt like it was already a firm favourite. It connects to my phone via Bluetooth and the interface on the iPhone is the Zhiyun app.Once the Smooth 4 and the phone are paired the controls on the Smooth 4 become active. They operate all the many camera settings on a menu that appears on the phone. As well as the default camera setting you can choose 180 degree pans and multiple frames.The gimbal then moves the camera, takes the pictures, and then stitches the shots together to make the final file. To capture footage of moving objects you simply pan around. The result video is much smoother than a handheld phone.I also like the way I can hold the gimbal stick low and film horizontally while walking. This is great for capturing video footage of cars from wheel height.And as you can see in this clip, you raise the camera up and down and move along a line to capture all the details. In this case, the cars in the paddock and the names above them. It also comes with a small tripod that screws into the base.So with the time lapse feature and the tripod you can set it up for some interesting photographic experiments. It's compatible with iPhones X, 8, 7, 6 Plus, and SE Plus.And it can charge your phone while it's in use, which is an added bonus for those long days out. So if you want to leave your heavier camera and camcorder at home and spend the day relaxing with you iPhone and a gimbal, this is your chance.There will still be days when you'll want a proper camera or camcorder but the Zhiyun Smooth 4 holding your iPhone makes a welcome change.
B**G
Well worth the money.
After reading many positive reviews I decided on the Zhiyun Smooth 4 Gimbal to accompany my Samsung S8+ The Smooth 4 looks and feels fantastic, well-built and a host of controls on the gimbal so the need to touch the phone screen to adjust the zoom or focus is almost eliminated. Smooth 4 is on the heavy side, but not really a big problem, well not for me anyway.The Smooth 4 comes with a tripod that screws in to the bottom and a USB cable to charge the battery (battery life is about 10 hours) and to update the firmware it also comes in a hard foam like box that will keep the gimbal protected, but I do recommend buying a dedicated hard case to ensure the gimbal stays protected. As I have only just received the Smooth 4 and it also being my first gimbal I can’t really comment on how best methods on its use. But as explained below there is many set-up guides and tutorials to get you started.If you are using a larger phone let’s say Samsung S10+ you may need to buy a universal counterweight they simply screw in to balance the device. Counterweights may also be needed if you keep the phone case on or if you use a lens attachment.I found the set-up information and guides from Zhiyun very poor, but there is plenty of very useful videos online that helped me. Another issue I found that there seems to be issues with certain features not available for Android like 4K video, this was not advertised very well by Zhiyun, which is disappointing. You will need to download an app from the Play Store so you can use all the functions on the gimbal, otherwise all you have is just a selfie-stick that don’t do anything. The app that Zhiyun recommends using is ZY Play. BUT this app has been removed by Play Store due to advertising fraud! Not sure exactly what that means, but my guess is the that as some features are not available for Android devices and as this has not really been explained in any great detail before you purchase the gimbal, I’m sure that’s where the issue is.But there is light at the end of the tunnel an app called Filmic Pro this is a paid app and it’s not cheap. The app is used by professional film makers to create stunning videos. If you have a search on-line you may find the app for free! Filmic Pro works brilliantly with the Smooth 4 and other popular gimbals all you need do is select Smooth 4 from the hardware settings menu and you now have a fully functioning gimbal. Just make sure you keep everything updated as this will give you the best experience.I’m very excited about the Smooth 4 and Filmic Pro and can’t wait to start taking it out and about.Would I recommend the Smooth 4? Yes.I will update this review once I have had some time with the gimbal.
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