How to choose the best stabilizer, aka stedicam

By: Lora Craft | 21.10.2020, 23:21

Theoretically (very theoretically!) any modern smartphone camera is equipped with a stabilization function, so that even the morning shaky hands of the king of parties it is not terrible. In practice you will not be able to make a decent quality video during walking, even if you sneak as a member of the cat family. Stedicam was invented to reconcile our desire for quality footage and our inability to take it with a steady hand.

While a usual selfie stick only solved the issue of distance between the face and the lens, the steadimeter eliminates hand shake of the operator thanks to gyroscope sensors. All the turns of a smartphone (and hence the camera), get smooth, soft, without bumps and jolts. If you want to have videos of adventures on vacation or a walk was "as the vloggers," without the stabilizer is indispensable.

Key parameters when choosing are: weight and size of stedicam (after all, it will take a long time to carry it in your hand, so anything heavier than 500 grams should be carried by your enemies), compatibility with your smartphone and stabilization type (of course, between single axis and triple axis you should prefer the latter, but it should cost a little more money).

Otherwise, all of them, the current stabilizers, are good, all support Bluetooth, work for more than 8 hours without recharging and know how to "behave" when shooting panorama.

And here are the ones we particularly liked today.

Contents

DJI Osmo Mobile 3 Combo

Foldable electronic steadicam with Bluetooth support and smart features. Built-in battery capacity 2450 mAh. Its main advantage is a three-axis gimbal that provides sliding and smoothly changing the position of the camera, it reacts to the movements of the host in real time. Built-in templates allow you to add effects, overlay music on the video just shot.

Compatible with all smartphones weighing up to 200g, up to 9.5mm thick and 62-88mm wide.

When unfolded, it measures 28.5×12.5×10 cm and folds to 16×13×5 cm.

Includes 4 anti-slip pads and a storage case. The manufacturer promises a 12 month warranty.

Hohem iSteady Mobile+

The strengths of this budget model are the low weight and advanced electronic three-axis stabilization system. Steadycam has face tracking, so the main character always stays in focus - no matter how he moves in the frame. It works in 4 modes: Panorama, Tilted Panorama, Block and Tracking. It's perfect for shooting sports activities and dynamic scenes, instantly reconfigurable and allows you to show even a runner clear, not blurry. Unless you want it as an artistic device, you can do it - there's a special kinematic effect in the stedicam for that. And besides blur, you can enjoy slow motion shots just like in an Indian movie!

The integrated 4000 mAh battery of the stabilizer can not only supply power to the gadget itself, but also recharge your smartphone by acting as a power bank. And in principle, such a battery will allow it to last up to 12 hours in a state of active operation.

It's easy to achieve the perfect position of your smartphone - there's an 8-step manual adjustment for that.

The Hohem iSteady Mobile+ comes with a tripod that attaches via one of the 1.4" connectors. This makes it very convenient to attach various accessories. And in general, the steadicam is comfortable and ergonomic - the handle, for example, has a special non-slip coating.

Snoppa ATOM

Why does the stabilizer have to be black and not pink, for example? Although, if you want, this one is also available in black version. Its main advantage is compactness with full functionality. It easily folds and hides in your pocket, and then just as easily unfolds, and fixing your smartphone on it is a piece of cake. It can hold up to 310g.

It can be charged both with USB cable and wirelessly. The handy buttons on the handle allows you to control the zoom, switch modes, adjust the focal length and even change the shooting orientation! Everything else is easy to do in the app. A handy reconfigurable slide button lets you play with zoom, focus, face tracking or moving object - in other words, feel like a true video pro.

Snoppa ATOM rotates your smartphone nonstop - even if it's 360℃. And you can connect an external microphone to the stabilizer for better audio recording - an indispensable feature for author's comments or interviews.

A full charge lasts for 24 hours of continuous operation - I wish we had that kind of power!

In this model, it seems everything has been thought out - for example, locks on the arms, not allowing the construction in the folded state, to unfold. Another nice detail - special holes for the volume and lock buttons - for those models of phones where they are located on the side.

Warranty on this miracle - 12 months.

DJI Ronin-S

Now this thing is expensive and, not dare the word, professional. DJI Ronin-S is not designed for smartphones, but for mirrorless cameras. Feel like a full-fledged camera crew in one person! You can mount your camera on it, or you can mount it on a tripod. In addition stabilizer can be placed e.g. on camcorder or crane, jolts are completely eliminated.

Three-axis stabilization with smooth shots, even switching from vertical to overhead mode. And when shooting sports footage, the video is ultra-precise and the hero is always in focus, because the steadicam does a great job of tracking moving objects.

You can even shoot from a car window if you don't want to speed - DJI Ronin-S motors provide stabilization at speeds up to 75 km/h. The easiest thing to do is to enable the Auto Adjustment feature and let the stedicam do everything for you.

Focus Wheel is a Focus Control that allows you to adjust the focus on the camera itself.

It is a modular build, so you can store and transport it easily and safely. What makes it stand out is its positioning above the roll axis. That puts the viewfinder at your eye level and lets you see what's right in front of you.

And, of course, you will be pleased with the package: in addition to the stabilizer itself it includes tons of cables, stands, mounts and holders, as well as a case to store all this wealth.

Here is an unpacking video:

EKEN S5B

It is compatible with both smartphones and action cameras, but only those that are no heavier than 250g and no more than 8.2 cm in height. The phone can be attached both horizontally and vertically. The stabilizer itself weighs about 500 g. It supports the application of typical stabilizer functions: face tracking, slow motion or panning, etc. In panning mode, it can rotate up to 330℃.

The design of the clip is reversible, allowing you to insert the phone as a screen from yourself, or vice versa - that is, to take pictures of someone (something) or yourself. A three-axis electronic stabilization system levels out the shake when shooting and gives you smooth shots. 

To zoom in just turn the wheel on the joystick. The highlight of this stabilizer is the "beauty mode" with multiplayer scenes. It comes with two tripods - a small plastic one and a large metal one. It's all packaged in a storage case.

FeiyuTech

This is a 2-in-1 device: stabilizer + miniature 4K HD camera. The whole construction fits in your pocket and weighs 115g. 

Three-axis stabilization is mechanical one, and digital stabilization is two. Therefore, FeiyuTech can shoot in spherical panorama mode and auto panorama - there are several types of them in the arsenal. Tzatzka also has the functions of self-portrait photography, slow motion and most interesting - intelligent mode. The feature is that the stabilizer is synchronized with the movement of the user's hand.

The FeiyuTech app, available on any smartphone or tablet, can be used to review all the pictures and make some adjustments.

A microSD card up to 512GB can be inserted into this tiny baby with a memory card slot.

A full charge of the built-in battery is enough for 3.5 hours of continuous operation, provided that you shoot 4K video. If you prefer Full HD mode, your camera+stedicam will last up to 4.5 hours. You'll need to wait 80 minutes to fully charge the battery again.

In general, the toy is quality, expensive, compact and functional. As a gift to someone a little spoiled is perfect.

ZHIYUN CINEPEER C11

Like the previous reviewed models, this is a handheld three-axis gimbal, suitable for all modern smartphones with Android above 5.0 and iOS above 10.0. The load can withstand up to 200 g.

It smooths the frames, leveling out the shaking of your hand, so you can take selfies even on the go and not shake in the frame. Steadicam also lets you take a picture of a person running and it doesn't turn into a blurry ghost but looks completely human and running. All the standard modes are available: panorama, portrait, zoom, tracking a moving object, slow motion and other movie effects.

Battery capacity is enough for 12 hours of continuous operation, and by the way, it can also work as a power bank, recharging your smartphone while shooting.

For those who want to know more:

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