Zhiyun Smooth 5 Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphone

I’m a still photographer, but as social media algorithms have started to favor video more than stills, I have been trying to include more video content in my social media. Behind the scenes video of my photo shoots, for example. So I was in the market for a stabilizer for my iPhone. After some research I decided on the Zhiyun Smooth 5 gimbal. (The DJI OM5 was the other option, but the higher load capacity of the Zhiyun was the deciding factor, in case I decide to get a heavier phone or external lenses for my iPhone 13 Pro.) Right out of the box, the Zhiyun looked like a well-constructed and solid piece of gear, which is good because it’s likely to get thrown into a camera bag or backpack. I watched a couple of Youtube videos to familiarize myself with the functions and controls and was up and running pretty quickly. My iPhone 13 Pro mounted on the gimbal easily with the sliding clamps. Balancing the phone was actually pretty simple, with the slide out arm and the phone clamps. (I believe this doesn’t have to be very precise, because the motors are pretty strong and do a good job of balancing the phone anyway.) The little tripod they include is a nice touch and helps while balancing the phone as well as adding a little extra length which is useful when holding the gimbal with both hands. Installing the ZY Cami app and connecting the phone was smooth. A lot of folks complain about the ZY Cami app, but I thought it was ok. (It did crash on me once during usage though, and I had to restart the app.) I know Filmic is working with Zhiyun to make Filmic Pro compatible with the Smooth 5, so once that’s done I plan to use Filmic Pro anyway. I liked the controls on the Smooth 5, which are well laid out and intuitive. The large scroll wheel for zooming/focusing is great, and I got some pretty smooth zooming footage with a bit of practice. Set it to focus and you can use it to pull focus too, which is nice. The joystick works really well and you can use it to get some pretty smooth panning movements. The trigger is pretty convenient for setting the area to lock on to and follow (can also draw on the screen with a finger to do this) or for bringing the phone back to the home position. It’s worth taking a little time to learn all the different modes on the gimbal – Pan Follow, Locked, Follow, POV and the V mode where it spins around slowly (!). As with all gimbals you need a little practice for best results – for example the “Ninja walk” which helps you get smoother footage. I was able to get some nice smooth 4k footage on my first run to test out the gimbal as can be seen in my video. Would I recommend this stabilizer? Absolutely. If you are a content creator, iPhone film maker or just someone who wants to up the production value on their family videos, I think this is one of the best options, especially if you have a heavier phone or like to use external lenses and accessories to shoot your phone videos. And speaking of accessories – there is a magnetic clip on fill light which Zhiyun includes in the Combo package which looks really good. They will be selling this light standalone soon, and I definitely plan to get one.