What does the term “Gimbal” mean?
A gimbal is a product that allows a camera level to be preserved by letting it pivot on an axis. Gimbals have gained extensive popularity as a substitute to tripods especially when a particular need arises for mounting cameras to unmanned airborne vehicles, for instance, drones.
Drone professionals consider the use of gimbals as a vital aspect for capturing a consistent and stable video footage with the exemption of any agitation or vibration.
You’ve possibly observed a movie scene in which the camera sweeps down from the sky, concentrating on an area or point as well as keeping a seemingly impossible smooth transition. If you pondered how they did it, the answer is they simply used a gimbal.
Reasons To Use a Gimbal With Your Drone
- Gimbals make your video footage smoother as they have a tendency to cut the shaking effects formed by the floating drone.
- In this age, it is practically impossible to record a professional quality video without the aid of a gimbal due to the typical movements of the drone.
- The efficient stabilizing systems contained inside a gimbal lets you take smooth tracking shots – almost completely analogous to the effect produced while capturing with a Steadicam.
- Gimbals help in focusing the camera in a single intended direction, regardless of whether the drone is moving around a lot due to the windy weather conditions or perhaps due to bad flyer technique. This gives the drone pilot the consent to remain focused on a single point of interest for a long time.
Buying Guide – A few things to Consider Before Buying a Gimbal
Before picking up one from any of the widely varying Gimbals out there offering different features and specs, you may want to contemplate the following factors when preferring one out of the lot.
Tool-less Design
Typically, the most important aspect of a gimbal is speed on location. If I am conscious that I have the ability to take my camera off the tripod and mount it on a gimbal in a time period less than two or three minutes, obviously, I will be using the gimbal a lot.
In contrast, in case the mounting procedure reduces down by a few extra minutes, one will be using that gimbal far less. If you have a habit of rarely changing the lenses on the gimbal, then this might not prove to be a considerable issue for you.
Undoubtedly, the Came-TV is the smartest and the fastest to balance the camera during a lens change on the basis of its tool-less design.
Batteries
Battery timing is another crucial factor to be well-thought-out while buying a gimbal camera. The Pilotfly is equipped with an internal battery that can function for as long as one hour and 40 minutes.
However, regrettably the internal battery isn’t replaceable in the field without difficulty, swapping it normally consumes around 15 minutes due to the tiny screws that can get lost and it’s hard to stuff the power button back in its exact position before you seal it up again.
The Came-TV and Team Rebel Design units have been able to design batteries which can be changed out instantly in less than a minute.
Size and Weight Factors
The weight aspect of the gimbal is a significant feature to consider. The lighter the gimbal is, the more longer you can conceivably film.
Despite the fact that the tool-less design of the Came-TV Single is much remarkable, the actual design still originates at the cost of weight. The remarkable feature about mirrorless cameras for example the Sony a7S is that the camera is relatively light.
As an illustration, a full-size Ronin with a Red Epic camera can merely be used for around 5 minutes before you have to put it to rest, but then a Pilotfly with a Sony a7S can be consumed up till a limit of the 30-minute record time restriction.
Time
Perhaps, the most prominent factor to reflect when attaining one of these gimbals is time. It might take a lot of time in getting a gimbal tuned accurately for your camera and lens. Some really complex math calculations are driving these motors in order to keep the camera floating capably.
It can take a bigger portion of time in testing and retesting to make sure that the camera moves smoothly. Certainly, the best one to tune is the Came-TV Single for the reason that it’s the solitary one to encompass encoders.
Encoders are basic accessories to each motor that tend to make tuning practically non-existent if you own the right lens camera combination such as an a7S and the 10-16mm lens.
32bit vs 8bit
The majority of the opening gimbals that were presented in the market used 8-bit boards, now the modern gimbals are largely 32 bit. Therefore, the question is: Is 32 bit much preferable over 8 bit?
Well, it depends. If you are going to use the camera for steady shooting, with minimal turns or flicks, then you can choose either of the bits. However, the 32 bit board is greatly appreciated when you are moving the gimbal in extreme angles.
One of the best GoPro gimbals is the G4, learn more about it through my below detailed Feiyu Tech G4 Gimbal Review!
Feiyu Tech G4 3-Axis GoPro Gimbal Review
Feiyu Tech is a prevalent company popular for its specialization in manufacturing mounts for GoPros, cameras and phones. Currently speaking, Feiyu Tech possesses a nice reputation in its customer category and this status is the outcome of consistently releasing quality products for 10 years now. The Feiyu Tech G4 3-Axis GoPro Gimbal is an alleviating accessory for GoPro cameras.
Moreover, the price of the Feiyu Tech G4 handheld gimbal must be well-thought-out as a confident investment. After you succeed in installing the drivers and updating them, you’ll be provided with a stabilizer that assists you in making the evolution from amateur home video footages to lustrous pro-looking spectacles.
Additionally, it also works efficiently as a selfie stick at occasions such as family get-togethers. This innovative gimbal allows you to capture steady video shots with your GoPro HERO3/3+ and HERO4. The Feiyu Tech G4 made it to my list of the Best GoPro Gimbals for 2017.
Let’s Jump to the Review!
Product: Feiyu Tech G4 3-axis Gimbal
My Rating: 9/10
Price: Check
Cheapest Place to Buy: Amazon
The Specifications
The G4 Gimbal comes with a solo LED button, which is placed between the area for thumbs. This button lets you operate the LED light on the handle. The LED light will flash and show the mode in which the gimbal is operating.
The battery timing is approximately 4 hours of use for the included rechargeable batteries contained within, and comes packed with four total batteries — two intended for backup purpose.
You will know when you should prepare to insert in the extra ones by means of a battery level indicator.
After getting home, you can plug the G4 straight into a charger via a provided mini-USB cable. Two distinct groups of screws, one intended for holding the camera, and the other one for the purpose of fastening the GoPro with the accessories added on.
The lowermost part of the handle is threaded, permitting you to add an extension for attaining fine aerial snap shots.
Usability with GoPro
In the G4, one of the modes, available to operate by a simple button press, flips the camera round to create selfies with convenience.
Primarily, the G4 isn’t designed for taking nice little group photos of the family at occasions such as get-togethers, but then again while you’re traveling down the sidewalk and you desire to seize the magnificent scenery, it does perform the trick for you.
A voluntary remote control provides you access over the four operating styles. The GoPro can be connected to the gimbal’s battery for power support, in case the camera starts to run low on battery.
You might not be able to extend your dying GoPro’s life much, but the option proves to be convenient at time. There is an open access to the camera’s power and video ports at the back of the mount that lets you comprehend the built-in LCD screen on the HERO4 Silver or on the LCD Touch BacPac.
4 Different Shooting Modes
Heading follow mode is an incredible option for recording panoramic parts, since it allows the capability for the camera to tilt left and right, but avoids vertical movement.
Heading and pitch follow mode lets the camera move from left to right, as well as up and down. The camera can be adjusted to have any angle you want to shoot in, with the brushless motor ensuring that you can still pan horizontally.
Finally, with the lock mode, you can point the camera in a specific direction and keep it concentrated there. If you’re shooting a quick interview, you don’t need to worry about the inadvertent hand movements disturbing the scene.
Lastly, pressing the LED button three consecutive times inverts the camera. Reversing the camera lets you film yourself, or perhaps hold the gimbal upside down and easily film shots close to the ground.
Pros
- Four different modes with a single button operation
- Access to power and video output ports
- Four power batteries and an adapter for charging
- Additional LED battery level indicator light.
- An additional extension pole can be added to the handle.
- Extra screws for mounting on the GoPro, without requiring external purchasing.
Cons
- Incapability to update the firmware without a windows device.
- It might take time to get used to the different modes.
- A protective holder is not included.
- Updating the software can take some time.
Here’s a YouTube video by showing an overview of the Feiyu Tech G4 Gimbal:
Final Verdict
The Feiyu Tech G4 3-Axis GoPro Gimbal is yet another fantastic version from Feiyu. It is comparable to its previous edition sibling the G3, however all the upgrades truly make the newer version a piece apart.
The Gimbal is uncomplicated to use after you get the software uploaded and linked to the GoPro Camera. The videos are undeniably splendid and on point, extremely smooth footage.
If you are in search for a boundless handheld to use with GoPro, Gimbal, then the Feiyu G4 3-Axis is unquestionably the best-quality choice for you.
I hope you found my Feiyu Tech G4 Review useful. Please let me know if you have any questions by leaving a comment in the comments section below 🙂
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