I provide honest ratings and reviews on tech, toys, and consumer home goods that I've purchased and used. Reviews are based on hands-on testing and personal observations. All opinions and comments are my own.
Disclosure: ReviewedbyPhil is reader-supported. If you click on or buy something via an affiliate link on this site, I may earn a commission.
Takeaway: Decent video though not super crisp/smooth, audio just ok. You'll receive the action camera in a waterproof housing, an extra battery, a spare waterproof housing door, microUSB charging cable, a variety of clamps, mounts, sticky pads, straps, and accessories camera mounting and an instruction manual. The camera lens has a 16MP sensor and 170 degree wide-angle field of view. For ports it has a microUSB charging port, microHDMI output port and microSD card slot which accepts up to 128GB cards, however, one is not included. This camera supports WiFi for connecting to the smartphone app to use as a remote control and remote monitor. On the back is a 2 inch diagonal LCD screen. On a full charge, the camera runs with the LCD on for about an hour of recording time.
The quality of the video is decent. It got a high resolution (3840 x 2160), but fast motion tends to look blurry and a bit choppy. This is likely due to teh compression of using a h.264 codec. The white balance and color control isn't always perfect and bright scenes can look washed out while dark ones are grainy and dim. The anti-shake feature removes a little bit of the jitteriness of handheld filming, but it's not super smooth. I recommend a steadycam or gimbal to smooth out the video or simply mounting to a stationary tripod. The audio when inside the waterproof housing is virtually unusable, but out of the housing it seems to be okay though. If you download the XDV app, you can use your smartphone as a remote screen for the device over WiFi which seemed to work fine.
It's a pretty basic action camera that can be used for water sports and in wet conditions. While this is a much cheaper alternative to the GoPro, the video quality is not as smooth or crisp due to the video compression. However, the resolution is HD and it has a nice wide angle which might make it fine for a bit of B-roll footage.
Takeaway: Lightweight, fluid motion, easy to handle and operate, great for those on a budget. The gimbal comes in a semi-rigid clamshell carrying case that you can wear with a 5' adjustable shoulder strap; included is a flat microUSB cable for charging and an instruction manual. The gimbal is made mostly from plastic that is lightweight yet seems fairly durable, considering. The gimbal uses a built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery rather than removable batteries, eschewing the need for a charger. Instead, it charges simply using a microUSB port on the side and that'll last up to 12 hours of use on a single charge. You can also use its battery as a mobile power pack via the full size USB output port on the front of the handle near the base. On the handle facing you where your thumb sits are some on-board controls. There's a 4-directional joystick for controlling pan, tilt, and roll, a zoom slider, mode button, and shutter/record/power button. All the buttons are easily accessible using your thumb and the handle is curved and ergonomic for a comfortable hold despite lacking any sort of rubber grip padding. There are also two indicator LEDs for battery life and status. On the bottom of the handle is a ¼" mounting hole for standard tripods and mounting systems.
The tension mount that holds your phone expands to accommodate phones with width of 3.25" and action cameras like the GoPro that are mounted in a special adapter (sold separately). My phone is on the large side with a 5.5" screen size and I found that with the case on it was a really tight fit and the thickness prevent the phone w/case from seating properly into the rubber grips. For most smartphones I think you'll find they'll fit a little better out of a case. The max payload for this gimbal is 200 grams or about 7 oz so consider this when deciding to add other accessories like a clip-on microphone or lens adapters.
The gimbal requires minimal balancing with a single thumb screw to control rotational level which can be accomplished in a few seconds. The grip mount itself slides up and down to a small degree which will also help with tilt and maybe even charging port/headphone access, but if the grip sits too far to either side, it will interfere with the tilt axis mobility.
When powering on the gimbal, it defaults into Pan-Follow mode which allows the camera to follow the movement of the gimbal when turning left/right but locks the tilt and roll axes. In this mode the joystick adjusts the tilt. The second mode is locked mode which freezes the motion of all three axes so that the camera is always pointing in the same direction. The joystick in this mode controls tilt and the pan. The third mode is Follow mode and the camera will pan and tilt based on the motion/direction of the gimbal. The joystick here controls the roll. Finally, triple clicking the mode button spins it around so the camera is facing you for selfie mode. The gimbal works in both upright mode and upside down orientation, although on some phones the video may appear upside-down.
There are some limitations to the tilt and roll compensations. While the pan lock allows you to turn the handle 360 degrees on end without a problem. The roll axis can only handle up to about +/-30° and the tilt axis -135° to +185° before it hits a safety stop. The other thing to know when using it is that you'll need to carry your weight differently when moving around with the gimbal since up/down, back and forth, and side-to-side motion are not accounted for by the gimbals' motors. There's still the potential for shakiness if you run with the gimbal but practicing moving fluidly with soft steps and flowing movements helps stabilize your footage even further.
While the plastic doesn't feel very high end and is more susceptible to damage than a full metal construction, it is remarkably lightweight weighing only 1.5 lb even with the max payload. This makes it more usable over long sessions by reducing fatigue and allows it to be very travel friendly. Zhiyun has two mobile apps available to control the gimbal over Bluetooth though from what I can tell they both cover the same features using different interfaces. The ZY Play and ZhiYun Assistant apps lets you manipulate the controls on your phone's screen or a separate device rather than using the controls on the handle. You'll also be able to better fine tune the transition speed of each axis for directional and joystick control. This is also a "face tracking" feature that lets you highlight a face for the camera to follow. This face tracking is not perfect but works most of the time.
Overall, the gimbal is a pretty nice stabilization solution is you prefer filming with your smartphone or action camera. It's lightweight, easy-to-use after a bit of practice, and budget-friendly.
